City of Dreams Manila marks its third year in helping build better lives for local communities and its human resources through long-term and sustainable corporate social responsibility programs and volunteerism.
The integrated resort’s executives and employees have been engaging in about three volunteer activities per month for the benefit of disadvantaged local communities, orphans and children and the elderly and in the preservation and development of the environment, public health and safety, among others.
In addition, City of Dreams employee volunteers also conduct free internal courses in their respective areas of expertise for interested colleagues, providing additional skills training to enable them to have an alternative source of income or a productive hobby during their free time. Among the workshops that have been held are, namely: meat processing for pork tocino and beef tapa; chocolate-making; creating floral and balloon arrangements; and basic photography.
Property President Geoff Andres spearheads the resort’s regular CSR activities with employee volunteers to date, such as: renovating a children’s orphanage, educating orphans; visiting the elderly; tree planting; house painting and building, and regularly holding blood donation drives with the Philippine Red Cross.
The community engagements have exemplified the Christian virtue of helping those in need, feeding the homeless along the nearby highways of Pasay and Paranaque, as initiated by City of Dreams Manila’s security team who brought bags containing rice, canned goods, noodles, bread, and coffee to homeless families and other impoverished areas along Roxas Boulevard, Quirino Avenue, and Coastal Road (CAVITEX).
Volunteers from the engineering team also renovated My Father’s House, an orphanage in Las Piñas. They replaced the tiles of the kitchen area, fixed and installed door knobs and repaired swimming pool pipes. They also fixed and installed new electrical outlets and lighting fixtures. The renovation provided the orphans with a cleaner, safer, and brighter place to live in.
City of Dreams Manila team’s visit to St. Anthony Village in Baranggay Talon, Las Pinas has helped liven up the small community. Volunteers from various departments successfully painted the exterior walls of some 20 homes, as the children warmly thanked their benefactors with a song and dance presentation.
Volunteer employees also participated in CSR activities that addressed the emotional and educational needs of orphans and less fortunate children in the community. For the Bahay Aruga orphanage, the kids have been treated to an educational and fun-filled trips to Museong Pambata, were taught proper grooming and hygiene practices, and encouraged to live a healthier and more active lifestyle with a Zumba class. At My Father’s House, the children were taught to express themselves through artistic t-shirt painting. Most recently, a tie-up with the Department of Tourism’s Brigada Eskwela campaign resulted in the cleaning and refurbishment of 12 classrooms in San Dionisio Elementary School, Paranaque.
Volunteers likewise reached out to the Anawim home for the elderly and spent a day with the senior members of society, sharing stories and singing heartwarming songs together.
In caring for the environment, two tree planting programs in Noveleta and Ternate, Cavite, were also done during the first half of the year, with over 3,000 mangrove seeds planted during both activities. Mangroves protect the soil from erosion and shield against cyclones and other ecological disasters. They are also ideal breeding grounds for a variety of marine animals, playing a vital role in the ecological balance of coastal communities.
The regular blood donation drives in support of the Philippine Red Cross, draw an average of 100 employees, to help provide a healthy and sufficient blood supply for the organization.