Robinsons Land Corporation Employees and Project PEARLS Brings Smiles to Children from Tondo during its Toy Drive

Through a simple gift-giving, a tradition was created and made the life for thousands of children in Tondo, Manila a little brighter. Those children were able to receive new toys from Project Pearls Toy drive. Project PEARLS was founded by US-based mother Melissa Villa and her daughter Francesca Mateo in 2010 after seeing impoverished communities in Manila. The organization is a real life example of a social-media movement that aims to tap its network to concretely help in communities. Volunteers learn about the project through Facebook and its website. Since its start-up, Project PEARLS obtains support from like-minded friends, social organizations and corporations which led in establishing supplemental feeding activities, scholarship programs and gift-giving.

Amongst Project PEARLS partners is Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC) through its RLove Corporate Social Responsibility program. RLC employees initiated a campaign in support of Project PEARLS Toy Drive, gathering in-kind and monetary donations from its offices. Brand new toys suitable for babies' up to 17 year-old children were handed by the employees to 300 children from Helping Land and Happy Land communities in Tondo, Manila bringing true Christmas to life.

Robinsons RLove is an employee driven CSR program where employees contribute their time, skills and treasures as their concrete expression of their commitment in making a difference to the communities and sparking a transformative social change. "RLC, through our employees, seeing Project PEARLS mission, supports its noble pursuits with the belief that partnerships creates a much wider reach and more lasting impact." Mike Torres, Robinsons RLove CSR Manager.

Project PEARLS were able to share the gifts and joy to more than 2,500 children in different communities of Manila, Bulacan, and Zambales, and in Philippine General Hospital (PGH) and in Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Hearts-Children's Home, Cebu City.