Alvin graces kiddie camp's graduation

Alvin Patrimonio seems to be taking all the troubles in his personal life in stride. Life goes on for him, apparently, and he recently played his role of father to the hilt when he decided to send his kids to the TJ Camp, handed out graduation certificates and gave in to the kids' requests for autographs.

The occasion: the first Purefoods-sponsored TJ Camp under SNACK or Summer Nature and Arts Camp for Kids at the Taal Lake Yacht Club in Talisay, Batangas. Alvin's kids Tintin, 8 and Angelo, 11 enriched themselves with the experience, especially since they were not treated as celebrities but merely as among the kid participants.

SNACK has been in operation only for a year but already it has gained a reputation for being the leading exponent of outdoor children's activities. Starting off its initial salvo summer of last year, on to Halloween '99, SNACK 2000, and finally the TJ Camp this April, activities on a full five-day camp include sailing, basic mountaineering, archery, pottery, trekking to Taal Volcano crater, star-gazing, basic photography, kayaking, horseback riding, kite-making and kite-flying and the LUBID team-building adventure games.

Tintin and Angelo quickly integrated themselves with the Purefoods kids (gathered from top students eight to 13 years old) and immersed themselves in various activities.

With the interest in children's camps increasing, journalist and talent manager Bibsy Carballo, SNACK's organizer and director, is mulling over the possibility of holding other camps during the year, possibly as part of the school curri-culum's physical education and extra-curricular activities.

"Results have really been so encouraging," Carballo says. "Assessments are held after every camp with improvements and additions to activities implemented," she adds.