New Year New Hope

It's only a few more hours before we say goodbye to a year full of tragedies.  A couple of weeks ago, the Philippines was hit by typhoon Sendong.  Crops and infrastructure were destroyed.  A lot of lives were lost.  Many young children and elderly died.  Those who are lucky to survive this calamity on the other hand have nothing to eat nor drink.  They even have no clothing to protect themselves against the cold nights.  

My husband and I used to donate used clothing and blankets to typhoon victims when we were still in the Philippines.  Now that we are in another part of the globe, we still managed to find a way to help the victims of Sendong.  Last night we took part in a fund raiser headed by a Filipino community in our place with the cooperation of a Chinese restaurant owner.  The owner promised to donate half of the bill incurred by the participants.  Apart from the donations (monetary and in kind), there was also a raffle which raised quite a decent amount. 

I do hope that Filipino communities from around the world also did their part in helping out these unfortunate people.  If you have not done your part yet, there is still time to do so.  The Philippine Red Cross is accepting donations through PayPal or credit card.  Please click on this link http://www.redcross.org.ph/donatenow to donate.  Globe and Smart subscribers can also help via SMS by typing the following on your cellphones:

For Globe Subscribers:

via SMS, c/o Red Cross – text RED <amount> and send to 2899 – valid donation amounts are P5, 25, 50, 100, 300, 500 and 1000 (For ex, RED 10). Transaction is free.

via GCASH, text DONATE<space><amount><space><MPIN><space><REDCROSS> and send to 2882

For Smart Subscribers:

via SMS, c/o Red Cross – text RED <amount> and send to 4143 – valid donation amounts are P10, 25, 50, 100, 300, 500, 1000 (For ex, RED 10).

May all of us be an instrument in bringing new hope to others.  Have a blessed new year my fellow bloggers!