Maraming salamat to SM City San Lazaro and the generous shoppers who donated 350 teddy bears to the Tanging Yaman Foundation. This is the second time we are recipients of their Bears of Joy project.
We immediately distributed the teddy bears to a range of children. These include the Kuya Center which houses former streetchildren in Cubao, Caritas Kalookan’s Mga Anak Sila ng Diyos Program which feeds streetchildren every Saturday, children at a daycare center in Pansol, Quezon City managed by the Ancilla Cordis Iesu Sisters, families assisted by the Santo Cristo Parish in Las Pińas City, farmers' children in Nueva Ecija, children attending catechism classes of religious sisters, and children in Payatas who lost a family member to extra-judicial killings.
Some of the children look a bit somber, as if they could barely believe their fortune, before breaking out in wide smiles. These teddy bears promise immeasurable joy and hours of play.