"Old friends." Yes, the phrase carries with it that nostalgic sentimental feel of times past, of bittersweet growing through the teenage years. Old faces – yet totally new people in the re-meeting after some decades. The gawky girls have become women, the nerdy boys are now CEOs with receding hairlines. The "fast and furious" of high school have mellowed to become the most conventional while the late-bloomers have come into their most expressive. These are the stuff reunions are made of.
Reunions speak of the process of growing and becoming from a past to the present in this journey called life. Reunions remind us that we have once been together in the process of our becoming and again, meet up – this time with more noble causes such as fund-raising for the less fortunate.
Many shy away from such meetings, while others appear for mere curiosity. And many, yes, many, are filled with that warmth of nostalgia in seeing old faces, cracking old jokes, and reminiscing about that memorable prom night. But whatever one’s reasons, an alumni fund-raising event will always be a rallying point of a cause to work for, beyond ourselves and our personal needs. It allows us to volunteer and extend ourselves to charities, to help alleviate poverty, to raise minds through educational support and so many more. What one can do, many, together can do even better. So I think, to help make the world happier, to create less selfish people, and help make our society a more humane one, we should just keep meeting up, having fun and raising money for great causes.
Swing with the ’80s, an Assumption Batch ’80 Fund-raising Event was held last June 18 starting at 7 p.m. at the Main Lounge of the Manila Polo Club in McKinley Road, Forbes Park, Makati City. Show time started at 8:30 p.m. with the Route 70 Band playing favorites dance music followed by music of the ’80s spun by famed DJ Manolet Dario and pal Ricky Ledesma. Special artworks by artists like Eduardo Castrillo; Arturo Luz; Bencab; Lao Lianben; Susan Fetelvero Roces; and this columnist were sold. Artworks and special prizes were also be raffled off. All proceeds of the fund-raising event will benefit Assumption Alumni Association projects that include the mission schools in Malibay, Pampanga, Iloilo, Baguio and Antique. The other beneficiaries include the Quezon City Performing Arts Foundation for street children and Bossom Buddies, a support organization for breast cancer survivors and public awareness campaigns. Major sponsors of the event were Stagecraft International; Via Mare; Volvo; Plantation Bay; Tera Byte Solutions; and Intranet Business System.
(E-mail the author at jej1@easycall.com.ph)