Ukay-ukay to build schools

MANILA, Philippines - They use their voice to entertain people. Ogie Alcasid and Regine Velasquez also bank on it to help GMA Kapuso Foundation, Inc. raise P35M via Ogie and Regine’s Celebrity Ukay-Ukay. The fund-raising is part of Heat Wave Summer Bazaar at World Trade Center from April 15 to 17.

“We had a dinner at our house,” Ogie recalls the preparations for the auction-bazaar. “We invited celebrity-friends and managers. That night we had Tita Mel (Tiangco of GMA Kapuso Foundation). Mother Lily (Monteverde of Regal Films) donated P1M. We are thankful for her generosity. We will have another dinner for other celebrities.”

Is the charity work exclusively for Kapuso stars?

“Even if this is a Kapuso project, it doesn’t mean we only invite Kapuso artists; a Kapamilya or a Kapatid is welcome to bring their wares. The goal is to raise P35M, remember. There’s a backlog of schools that need to be rehabilitated. We need to fix 50 classrooms a year.”

Ogie, Regine and the Kapuso Foundation team are urgently raising P34M to hit the target amount. Although that requires a lot of hard work, the brains behind Celebrity Ukay-Ukay can find comfort in the belief that every project with good intention is always possible.

“It’s Ogie and Regine’s project,” says foundation’s executive director Jeronimo Perez. “They have been asking us how they can help. Dresses, accessories, shoes and jewelry are the things we encourage celebrities to donate and auction off. We have a booth for items with fix price tags. The auction is for the big expensive items like signature bags and gowns which stars have worn for concerts and awards nights. The auction is done three times a day. It will be held on the bazaar’s stage.”

According to Ogie, they will also sell clothes, shoes, suits, a sofa and musical instruments. He has spoken to stars like Dingdong Dantes, Gary Valenciano and Kris Aquino and managers Arnold Vegafria, Leo Dominguez, Annabelle Rama and Girlie Rodis to take part in this endeavor.

The Celebrity Ukay-Ukay is one of the many GMA Kapuso Foundation projects in helping the underprivileged in line with Department of Education’s Adopt-A-School Program. The foundation has gone to far-flung places nationwide constructing more than 200 classrooms since 2003. The effort is also a response to the classroom shortage in the country. The act has also shown how Filipinos value education and its capability to make an individual economically independent. Proceeds (100 percent) from the Ukay-Ukay and 50 percent from the ticket sales will go to the foundation’s school development efforts.

Yearly, there are other Kapuso Foundation projects one can take part of. They are Give-A-Gift: Alay sa Batang Pinoy, Give-A-Gift: Feed-A-Child project, Unang Hakbang sa Kinabukasan and Operation Bayanihan.

“I don’t think network affiliation will be a problem for this kind of endeavor,” Ogie says. “We’re not after finding out which is the best network. The objective is to raise money for the public schools in the Philippines, and to do repairs and construct schools where they are badly needed. The engineering team of Kapuso Foundation has been doing this for quite a while.”