SM Store donates P4M for church rehab

CEBU, Philippines - The country’s top retailer, The SM Store has donated P4,000,000 for the rehabilitation of the St.Peter the Apostle Parish Church  in Loboc, Bohol which is considered one of the country’s “National Cultural Treasures. ”

The Church was heavily damaged when the 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit Cebu and Bohol provinces last October 15. The amount is the biggest donation received from the private sector to date for the rehabilitation of Bohol Churches severely damaged during the earthquake. 

This significant donation to Loboc Church was announced at the end of a Thanksgiving Concert by the Loboc Children's Choir held at the SM City Cebu Northwing last Sunday, December 1st. 

The Thanksgiving Concert was part of SM City Cebu’s 20th year anniversary celebration, “Celebrating 20 and Helping Rebuild Communities." 

At the same event, The SM Store also handed a donation of P500,000 to Loboc Children’s Choir to assist in the choir’s scholarship programs, allowances, and other needs.  The Loboc Church is the “home” of the Loboc Children's Choir.

The Loboc Children’s Choir under the baton of school teacher, Alma Fernando Taldo, was founded in 1980 and its members are students of the Loboc Central Elementary School.  In 2001 the choir was the National Champion in the category of Children’s Choirs during the National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA).

In 2003, the choir was presented by the Metropolitan Museum of Manila in a series of concert tours in Europe dubbed “TUBO: A Musical Journey for Heritage and Peace.”

The choir has also garnered two major awards at the 6th International Folksong Choir Festival & the Europe and Its Sings 2003 Cup held in Barcelona, Spain in September 2003.

The amount donated came from a nationwide fund-raising campaign of The SM Store held from October 21-31,2013 to assist earthquake victims and the rehabilitation work required.  For every P1,000 purchase, P10 went to the campaign.  Earlier, SM Prime Holdings President Hans T. Sy handed over a check for P5 million each to the City & Province of Cebu to help in the rehabilitation efforts after the earthquake bringing to a total amount of P14.5 million donated by the SM Group to Cebu and Bohol in the aftermath of the October 15th earthquake. (FREEMAN)