‘Crystals of Hope’

The holiday season was officially welcomed at the Makati Shangri-La with the annual Christmas tree-lighting activity held at the hotel’s main lobby. The hotel also launched its Christmas environmental advocacy entitled “Crystals of Hope,” which endeavors to provide water to an urban poor community. This project is in partnership with Manila Water.

Makati Shangri-La’s hotel manager Andrew Den Oudsten and Manila Water group director for east zone business operations Ferdinand Dela Cruz led the lighting of the Christmas trees, featuring a winter-inspired holiday décor.

Den Oudsten said, “This is a tradition that symbolizes the commencement of the holiday season for Makati Shangri-La.” He was followed by Dela Cruz who shared a few words about the importance of the partnership and how much help it will bring to the beneficiaries — the many families of Southville 8, a relocation site in Barangay San Isidro, Rodriguez, Rizal.

A pas de deux performance from Ballet Philippines of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol was featured, choreographed by Edna Vida-Froilan. On the other hand, the UP Manila Chorale sang classic Christmas tunes.

Throughout the season, Snow maidens at the hotel lobby will sell clear acrylic snowflakes, signifying crystallized water, in two sizes: small for P250 and large for P350. Guests may purchase the snowflakes from the hotel’s Crystals of Hope collection and give the gift of water to a family in need. The P250-snowflake is worth an average of one month’s bill of a family of five in Southville.  This can cover basic household usage such as cleaning, laundry, drinking and taking a shower. Meanwhile, the P350-snowflake is equivalent to an average of 21 cubic meters or 21,000 liters or 5,547 gallons of water. This can cover more comprehensive usage of water in an average household.

The hotel has pledged to help provide potable water for the remaining families in Southville through its Crystals of Hope endeavor. All proceeds will go to the water installation for this community.

(For more information on Crystals of Hope, visit www.bit.ly/CrystalsofHope, or call (632) 813-8888. For exclusive hotel updates, visit  www.shangri-la.com/makati.)