Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Mini-drive for Yolanda / Haiyan Victim

UPDATE: Next batch of goods will be distributed through my former university, DLSU - COSCA, sending relief to less-reached areas.

This is my mini-drive for Yolanda and would like to have the tally here as well for any contributor to see and confirm. Growing up in the Philippines, I somewhat already lost faith in donating cash. If you grew up in the Philippines, you will too. I have been repeatedly told to always donate cash as it's more flexible but it has become a personal preference for me to always help in kind: my time, goods, my blood - literally. 

I am sure there are plenty out there who doubts whether the money will be properly used. If you are someone who are overseas and prefer to donate in-kind, I can help organize that for you myself or give you directions.
(Survivor walking through the ruins of a whole city / Copyright Postmedia)

 

Here's how my drive works:


1. COLLECT MONEY - friends, colleagues, family, enemies...mostly everyone I spoke wanted to help but didn't know how. Make it easy for them!  I also offered to purchase first if they prefer to see the receipt first before giving money.

  Donation Options: 
  • Bank Transfer 
  • Cash
  • Pledging - You don't trust me? You can pledge an amount which I will pay for first then show you a receipt later of the goods with the total tally. 
  • Through Medilife - my bosses at work were generous enough to let me use their payment system.
2.ORDER GOODS IN BULK WITHIN PHILS  - my best friend currently works in a grocery bulk supplier / wholesaler(Suysing), giving the most ideal prices in the market.


3. DELIVER THE GOODS - I have made contact to a friend who is mobilising an independent team going directly to Dalag, Leyte by November 18 where they can DIRECTLY DELIVER THE GOODS TO THE VICTIMS.
---->This batch has been dispatched. 


(Man Making an SOS for Food in Tacloban Image by: Noel Celis/AFP/Getty Images)

UPDATE : Due to the generosity of people, more contributions came that poured towards a second order. I am communicating with my former university, DLSU, and goods will go to our COSCA(Center for Social Concern and Action). They will be heading towards less reached locations such as Capiz, Palawan, Cebu...
 


Anyway, if you think I am dodgy and feel the need to donate directly, I would recommend non-for-profit versus government agencies. My top picks are: Red Cross Ph, Habitat for Humanity and World Vision PH. Donating with them is also easy either via Paypal, Mastercard, Visa, et cetera...


Click here to view my current tally. This is so that contributors can verify if their donation is being accounted for.



Given the dollar power, what is little to us here in Australia is a great help to the victims. To give you an example, here are some things I was quoted me on: 
  • 26.70AUD / 1085.35php  = 48 cans of pork and beans 230g
  • 38.57AUD / 1567.70php = 40 bags of 44-piece pack soda crackers 
  • 18.75AUD / 762.20php = 48 cans of corned beef 150g
 If you want to make a donation in the same way on a later date, let me know and I can organize your order for you.  Your order will  be dropped off at the Red Cross Ph or DLSU-COSCA. 



A big shoutout thank you to my workplace, who offered to let me use their payment system for issuing receipts and receiving contributions via visa / mastercard.







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