0 Merry Christmas

Wishing all the Hope, Wonder and Joy that the Season can bring, and may the Holiday Spirit be with your Family and Friends today and throughout the New Year.

Merry Christmas!!!

0 Pedrito and the love that keeps on giving

Aldrin and Matthew were
certainly as adorable as
Pedrito, especially with their
hearts of gold. San Pedro,
these kids are yours!

Cousins Aldrin and Matthew made my heart melt today. While selling Pedrito dolls for our ‘Abante Bisaya’ campaign, these two cute boys, together with Aldrin’s dad came to us with 2 plastic bags filled with one-peso coins, saying they want to help the typhoon victims, as well as have a Pedrito doll. They were so excited to get a doll, but then while counting, we realized they only got Php 200 (The doll costs 650).  Unfortunately, I was the one tasked to tell the dad, “Sir, the doll costs Php 650.”

My heart broke into pieces as I watched as the excitement in the eyes of these two boys went from excitement to sadness. I wanted to cry as they told me, the money came from their own savings. They just wanted to help. So, together with their dad, they told us, “Okay, we will not get Pedrito anymore, but we will donate the money.” And so they left… I so wanted to give them a doll.

Pedro intervenes…

Five seconds after they left, six of us, YouthPinoy volunteers, who were there decided that we couldn’t just let them leave like that. They deserve to have that doll. Each one took his wallet and gave what they could to raise the amount needed to purchase the doll. We then looked for them;  one searched all over from the 5th floor to the 1st; one hurried over to the information booth; one ran to the other building of the mall, all the while praying to San Pedro, St. Anthony, Mama Mary, to Jesus, calling all the saints, “Where are Matthew and Aldrin?”

Finding Jesus

It was a moment of grace when we found them and handed our little gift to these two young boys. It was like walking on the clouds with Jesus. We were full of smiles and laughter as we talked more with them, got to know their family and just thanked them for what they had done.

Matthew and Aldrin reminded us to keep on giving and sharing — without asking for anything in return. We found Jesus in them that day. And as we celebrate the first week of Advent, we can’t help but be thankful for the grace of knowing Matthew, Aldrin and the dad.

Truly a glorious way to start Advent.

by Jandel

0 Leveled-up ‘Pedrito’ fundraising to benefit typhoon victims too

MANILA - The youth group that earlier re-launched the sale of limited-edition Pedrito Dolls to support Church-led relief operations in Bohol and Cebu after the killer earthquake last month has decided to upgrade its fundraising project to also benefit the victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda in Eastern Samar and Leyte.

YouthPinoy has gotten in touch with selected parishes in Metro Manila, looking at the possibility of directly selling Pedrito Dolls to parishioners as well as quickly raise funds for the displaced typhoon victims. The group has reportedly sold 500 dolls for the first three weeks of its fundraising via online sale. YouthPinoy officers April Frances Ortigas and Nirva’ana dela Cruz have flown to Tagbilaran to remit the proceeds of the sale to Bishop Leonardo Medroso last November 7.

“With all the recent events now in the Visayas, our task became bigger.  The call to help out our brothers and sisters in need became more urgent—not only in Bohol and Cebu but to the whole island of the Visayas,” Ortigas said.

Ortigas said the decision also stemmed from the request of followers of the Saint Pedro Calungsod Facebook fanpage—which YouthPinoy administers—for Pedrito Dolls to be readily available in the market. As of press time, ordering Pedrito Dolls is still done online and payment is coursed through the bank—a process which patrons find tedious and inconvenient.

In an online poll, Facebook users supported the idea of selling Pedrito Dolls in the parishes. More than 1,000 fans have “liked” the idea of aggressively marketing the Pedrito Dolls a day after the online poll was mounted.

A certain Facebook user Ruby Beloved Joy said “yes please, that would be a lot easier to avail them. Not all parishioners have online access plus the fact that those of the purchasing age are not that techie to order online.”

The feedback from netizens has convinced the group to upgrade the sale of Pedrito Dolls, especially as proceeds are meant for the relief drive for the Visayans. Calungsod himself was a Visayan, who was claimed as a native of Cebu, Bohol and even Iloilo.

“There’s a lot of people who are willing to help and many of them sent us message through social media, text and email, requesting to have more Pedrito Dolls available.  There’s a flood of orders, and we are grateful that these orders not only comes from people who wants to have a Pedrito Doll, but people who have generous hearts for the Filipinos,” she added.

Ortigas said that YouthPinoy volunteers—who tag themselves as Online Missionaries for using social media as a tool for evangelization—are offering their time and energy not only to raise funds for the victims of calamities in the Visayas, but to also continue promoting the life and martyrdom of Calungsod.

“The call to help, the call to reach out and the call to extend this mission is strongly present in our hearts because too many have lost their lives and properties. Too many people need help so we are extending more of St. Pedro.  Through these dolls, we could help more people and we could touch more lives.  Letting them know that St. Pedro Calungsod is praying for us and is with us amid these trying times,” Ortigas said.

YouthPinoy adviser Msgr. Pedro Quitorio said proceeds of the upgraded Pedrito Doll sale will be channeled primarily to the diocese of Borongan in Eastern Samar and archdiocese of Palo in Leyte. This excludes the dioceses of Tagbilaran and Talibon in Bohol and the archdiocese of Cebu, which were the initial beneficiaries of the fundraising after being hit by a 7.2 –magnitude earthquake last October 15.

Meanwhile, thousands of Visayans are reeling from the aftermath of the devastation caused by Yolanda, which made land fall in various Philippine islands over the weekend. At least 10,000 unidentified people are feared to have perished due to the strongest typhoon recorded in world history.

Each Pedrito Doll is sold at P650 and under the YouthPinoy fundraising project, the P100 proceeds of each doll will be donated to Church-led relief operations in the affected dioceses. Pending the announcement on which parish will host the Pedrito Sale, placing of orders is still coursed through youthpinoy.com. (YouthPinoy)

0 Bohol bishop thanks ‘Pedrito’ buyers for generosity

TAGBILARAN City - The Bishop of Tagbilaran expressed his gratitude to the hundreds of ‘Pedrito’ doll patrons after receiving the first remittance of donations from the sale of the said dolls.

“I thank these people who buy these dolls of San Pedro Calungsod…They were not afraid that they would be deceived. They were so generous,” Bishop Leonardo Medroso said in an exclusive interview upon meeting YouthPinoy Vice President Sky Ortigas, who flew to Boholto remit P50,000 in initial donations from the sale of ‘Pedrito’ dolls to the Diocese of Tagbilaran.

Willingness to help

Bishop Medroso praised ‘Pedrito’ buyers for not just wanting to have a ‘Pedrito’ doll of their own, but for being willing to give money that will “help other people suffering in Bohol.”

This intention, according to him, is admirable and demonstrates Filipinos’ readiness to help others.

“They know that this money of theirs that they used to buy this small [doll] will go to the relief, rehabilitation and restoration of our communities here in Bohol destroyed by the earthquake,” Bishop Medroso added.

Still recovering

Since the earthquake, everyday life has yet to return to normal with super typhoon ‘Yolanda’ cutting off power and water supply in the province of Bohol.

At present, the city of Tagbilaran enjoys water and electricity rationing, while the power situation in nearby towns like Calape, Loon and others is expected to stabilize within a month with most areas suffering from daily brown outs.

Online orders for ‘Pedrito’ may still be made through http://youthpinoy.com/home/order-your-own-pedrito-doll/.

From the P650.00 sale price of one ‘Pedrito’, P100.00 goes to the restoration and rehabilitation of Bohol.

For more information, email pedritodolls@gmail.com [Nirva’ana Ella Delacruz]

by Jandel