So it’s been over a year since the last time I posted anything related to volunteering. I’m glad to have the time again and I hope somehow, posts like this will still be relevant 🙂
To get straight to it, here are a few places you can spend your time in and specifically, spend it with children who need your care, guidance, and attention.
A-HA! Learning Center is a small NGO based in Makati that tutors public school children from the surrounding community. The A-HA tutors teach kids from 1st grade to 4th year high school in English, Math and Science. As tutors, you’ll be expected to teach anywhere from 5-15 kids at a time – alternating between teaching and playing with them. The center is active from the morning to the afternoon with kids coming in shifts based on their school schedule.
Aside from tutoring, you can also a) join the Volunteer Support Group, b) facilitate one-day workshops on art, sports, dance, and the like, c) donate books and board games, or d) sponsor a day in A-HA!’s feeding program. Other things you can participate in are their activities like Career Day where professionals from different fields can come and talk to the children about what they do. Just check out their Facebook page for updates.
Personally as an ex-volunteer, I’d say the experience and the things you’ll learn (about yourself, our school system and the brilliance of children) are 10x worth the time you spend there. Here’s a blog I wrote about it on Rappler. Reading it back, it’s an experience I’d like to repeat and hopefully, I’ll be able to 🙂
Contact them through the following channels: 0918-979-3629, ahalearningcenter@gmail.com.
Located in a small two-storey house on Bicol Road, Payatas, The Fairplay For All foundation started out as a free football clinic and grew into a drop-in center where kids from the community go to learn, play and just be children.
The children come in often feeling misguided, neglected or overpowered by negative influences. With time, they come out as self-disciplined, maturing individuals with slowly growing confidence. It’s a feat Fairplay For All achieves by giving them the freedom to chose their activities, voice out what it is they really wanna study, and then create these opportunities to learn. They’ve produced top football athletes and more impressively, happy children.
It’s something they can do better with your help. They are always looking for people who can teach not only subjects you’ll find in school but extra-curricular things like dance and even yoga. The foundation also accepts donations of any amount, to support their scholars 🙂
Get in touch with them at ffafoundation@gmail.com.
Meritxell Orphanage is something I wrote about a long time ago. It’s an orphanage in Peach St., Barangay Conception II, Marikina City that houses babies and young girls.
I haven’t visited in a while but I do know that they are always looking for help in any way, form or manner. Just spending time with the girls is already a huge thing. If you have any old clothes for girls, or anything the girls can use like old books and school supplies, send them over.
A little over a year agoTrail Adventours and I went with them on a Happy Heights hike thanks to the people who sponsored each of the girls for the climb 🙂 It was a great being around these girls and their boundless energy. It was the first time many of them had climbed a mountain and you’d keep on hearing one of them say about the sea, “Ang laki!” (It’s so big!)
Reach them at 0920-904-9960, meritxellfoundation@yahoo.com.
If you love children, check these places out. If you’re afraid of them (like I used to be), conquer your fear because you are definitely missing out 😉
Happy volunteering!
To see more places you can volunteer at, click here. ❤
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