PERSONAL ang imbitasyon sa amin ni Shaina Magdayao para sa launching ng bagong tatag niyang Smile Cares Foundation, katuwang niya rito ang Ginebra San Miguel player na si LA Tenorio.
Nakipag-partner sina Shaina at LA sa Yes Pinoy Foundation na pinamamahalaan ni Dingdong Dantes at ginanap ang pirmahan ng Memorandum of Agreement kamakailan.
Tinawag na STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts & Mathematics) ang adbokasiya ng Smile Cares Foundation at Yes Pinoy at ito ang dahilan kung bakit nag-join forces sina Shaina, LA at Dingdong dahil iisa ang tinutulungan nila, ang mga batang hindi nag-aaral sa rural areas na tuturuan nila kung paano gumawa ng mga sabon, lip balms, solar panel at marami pang iba.
Sa Siargo Island, Surigao del Norte na may dalawang ektaryang lupa o 20,000 square meters unang itatayo ang eco-camp ng Smile Cares na ayon kay Shaina ay magkakaroon ng groundbreaking sa Setyembre. Donasyon daw ang lupang ito ng isang private citizen na ayaw magpakilala.
Kuwento pa ng Kapamilya actress, “Nu’ng nalaman nu’ng taong ‘yun ang purpose ng Smile Cares, natuwa siya at gusto niyang tumulong at nag-donate nga siya ng 2 hectares of land, kaya sobrang saya namin, kaya binisita namin ‘yung lugar at sobrang ganda as in, malapit siya sa dagat, sobrang refreshing.”
Malapit sa mga bata si Shaina at matagal na siyang tumutulong sa mga ito na hindi niya ipinaaalam, “It’s the first time that I publicly announce the foundation, I’ve been helping na, ayokong magsabi pero years na rin, ‘yun na lang.
“All my works that I’ve been doing, I’m doing it with my non-showbiz group. Like when I had the Visayas Run, kapag nalaman nila, they would openly give me donations hundreds of thousands, siguro alam nila na I used it properly. So, maybe this time having a foundation, mas naging official lang, but for the longest time, they’ve (friends) been sharing generously.
“Nahihiya nga ako ngayon kasi kailangan naming ipaalam sa media kasi ang purpose nito is to encourage people to help kasi lumalaki na siya, lalo na ngayong may Yes Pinoy Foundation. Ang tanging purpose lang namin is to help and bring education to provinces.
“Ngayon nagkakaroon na kami ng bigger dreams because of the Eco-camp. I’ve always been passionate in helping the youth, but I’m not that familiar with climate change, that’s where Dingdong comes in,” pahayag ng dalaga.
Sabi naman ni Dingdong, “Wala kaming mararating kung kami-kami lang ang kikilos. And mahalaga talaga yung if you get like-minded people, you share the same passion, love, and commitment to what you’re doing, so kaya namin ito ipinaalam sa lahat kasi ang target din namin hindi lang sa Siargao, siyempre nationwide.”
Ang naging tulay nina Shaina at Dingdong para mag merge ang kanilang mga foundation ay ang common friend nilang si Atty. Lucille Sering, kilalang environmental education advocate.
Ayon kay Atty. Lucille, “I believe that we may have the substance, but if we don’t have the (celebrities), like in the States, they’re using celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and I can see the potential. Dong has been helping us with the climate change commission before as our ambassador so it was just natural for them to hook-up and I’m glad that Shaina is also to environmental awareness, so it was easy to bring them together.”
At para makalikom ng pondo magkakaroon sila ng fundraising activities, “The first one will be on August (2017) and of course, we will be inviting again media. Matagal na naming dream ‘yun, it’s called ‘play for charity.’
“So ‘yung challenge island, one of the programs the we franchised from the States, gagawin namin ‘yun and we’ll be inviting Dingdong and his network kasi nakikita n’yo naman na magkaiba (Kapamilya at Kapuso), so we’ll unite for a cause,” ani Shaina.
Kailangan ng grupo ng P25 million para maipatayo ang Eco-Camp sa Siargao Island, “And we’re fortunate that may mga pumasok na and because people can see the property built. And after the groundbreaking in September, we’ll start building by October because our target is to open by May or June next year (2018),” ani Atty. Lucille.