Alongside providing effective outsourcing solutions to our clients and providing employment opportunities to Filipinos, giving back to the community has always been part of our mission at Virtua Solutions.
So for our 7th-anniversary celebration, we chose to give back to the youth; specifically the 4th graders of Eusebio Santos Elementary School in Taguig last September 28, 2024.
It was a fun-filled Saturday afternoon of smiles, laughter, learning, food, and games!
Virtua Is On A Mission To Give Back
Volunteers from our team and 4th-grade students trooped to the Eusebio Santos Elementary School grounds in Taguig to spend an afternoon together, organized by our partner Save the Children Philippines.
In her message, Virtua Solutions CEO Penny Lat said that it has always been her and co-CEO Francis Guintu’s vow to give back to the community once they succeed. She added that this is in line with the company’s long-standing mission to provide more opportunities for everyone; and it wasn’t just any group that they were going to help.
“Kabataan talaga ang malapit sa puso ko (The youth is really the ones closest to my heart),” Penny says during her welcoming message for the day.
She adds that it is more than just a corporate mission. Being a single mother, she wanted to share the love she showers her kids to more children.
Thus, when the opportunity finally came, we teamed up with Save the Children Philippines for our 7th anniversary.
Prior to the day of the leaning camp, we raised funds too and gathered volunteers from our team – both from our clients’ teams and internally.
An Afternoon Of Learning
As is with any learning camp activity, learning comes first!
For the first activity, Penny and our Head of Operations and Client Success Donn Barrera volunteered to become the day’s storytellers and read the prepared books. Entitled “Solving Climate Mysteries”, the books were all about the effects of climate change on children and how the youth can contribute to lessen its impact.
All 29 kids present listened attentively as the two narrated the characters’ adventures in the book. After each book reading, Penny and Donn tested the children’s memory and reading comprehension by asking questions related to the books.
The whole Virtua team was amazed at how the kids remembered everything they just heard from what was read to them!
Each student who answered correctly received a prize too.
Penny herself was delighted with the kids’ appreciation of the science behind climate change. According to her, they are some of the most vulnerable groups to the impact of climate change. She added that Virtua Solutions is glad to help teach the kids the important knowledge they will need to deal with climate change’s effects.
Playtime Fun
After the storytelling time and having a short rest, the kids were raring to move around and start playing.
And so they and their ates and kuyas from Virtua Solutions headed to the open area to join the games prepared by representatives from Save the Children Philippines.
The first game was Pass The Message, where the kids had to relay words between their two adult teammates from Virtua Solutions. Each team frantically passed on the words in secret, making sure other groups won’t hear the words.
After several rounds, the team of Marco Libed and Timmy Gonzales came from behind for the win to the delight of their teammates!
Both the kids and volunteers then prepped for the classic game “The Boat is Sinking”.
But there’s a twist: instead of just grouping themselves according to a specified number, the kids had to answer a math question first to find the number of people they needed to form a group.
The last game for the day was another math game. This time, it tested the volunteers’ ability to add long numbers and arrange the kids according to the numbers they were holding to show the sum of the numbers given. And they really showed their mettle with numbers!
Save the Children Philippines representatives said these activities are more than just games for the kids. They help hone the kids’ various skills, including math, problem solving, and critical thinking. Save the Children said these skills are essential in shaping their future.
Looking Forward To MORE
After all the fun and games, everyone settled down for snacks.
The kids also eagerly received their gifts from their new ates and kuyas from Virtua Solutions. They shared how much fun they had and what they learned during the afternoon’s learning camp.
Save The Children Philippines representatives also thanked Virtua for their participation.
Corporate Partnership Officer Vikki Masaquel said that the kids truly appreciate it and that Virtua Solutions’ volunteers made the kids happy. She also hopes that Virtua Solutions will join them in other projects in the future.
Virtua Solutions volunteers couldn’t agree more.
They all remarked that it was a fun experience as well for them. Many of the volunteers added that they are ready to be part of more similar initiatives.
Penny thanked Save The Children for letting them be part of the project and remarked that this is another step closer to them fulfilling the company’s mission to help others find more opportunities for themselves.
This value of giving back is embodied more than ever in Virtua Solutions as we strive in the years to come not just to deliver MORE for our clients, but also to give MORE to our local communities.