Honoring everyday heroes

Ben Canlas would’ve turned 19 yesterday. He passed away in March last year, leaving behind his grieving parents Dr. George and Glennda Canlas who thought the world of their son. Ben was a graduating senior at Beacon Academy and had just been accepted as a merit scholar at Ateneo.

On Ben’s 40th day in heaven, Glennda delivered a beautiful message of hope, love and thanks to everyone who expressed condolences and shared in the family’s bereavement. “May you always have the courage to be kind,” she said. “If there is only one thing that you carry with you as a reminder of Ben, let it be this – may you always find the courage to be kind – for this is what has defined Ben’s life and the legacy for which he would want to be remembered.”

To celebrate Ben’s 19th birthday, Dr. Canlas and his wife came up with an idea to honor today’s heroes struggling to survive in this pandemic, the heroes with the courage to be kind to others in the spirit of coming together for the health and safety of everyone. Initially, Dr. Canlas planned to give away seven Cross mountain bikes to each winner of a contest in line with Ben’s Grant-A-Wish Day through the Benjamin Canlas Courage To Be Kind Foundation. But the other day, Dr. Canlas said instead of seven, 19 winners will be chosen. The winners will be announced on July 7.

The contest is uniquely inspiring. “We’ve all heard the stories about people walking hours to get to work during this pandemic,” said Dr. Canlas. “We want to honor these everyday heroes with Ben’s foundation giving away 19 bikes to deserving individuals.” Joining the contest is easy. Simply send a photo of your everyday hero with your comment to the Facebook account of My Halcyon PH or Instagram @myhalcyonph or email your nomination with the accompanying story to [email protected]. If you’re sending via email, please comment or DM on Facebook or Instagram to confirm receiving your story.

“Tell us why you or your everyday hero deserves to win the bike,” said Dr. Canlas. “From home farmers, caretakers, grocery store clerks, delivery couriers, nurses, doctors, pharmacists, security and all the people who are helping out during this crisis, we are here to celebrate you. Make sure to like our Facebook page and follow our Instagram account @myhalcyonph for the announcement.”

Increasing the winners from seven to 19 was in response to the overwhelming show of support by those who believe in the principle of courage-to-be-kind. “Because of the response we’ve been getting, the family has decided to increase the number of bikes to give away,” said Dr. Canlas. “Right now, it’s 19 as Ben would’ve been 19 this year. But I’m sure we’ll be giving out more than that.”

Each mountain bike is made by the world-famous Cross Ltd., a Bulgarian company established in 1995 specializing in bicycle manufacturing. The bike is a size 26 with a steel frame, alloy rims, double disc brake pads, shock front, saddle, rear derailleur and adjustable seat post. Let’s honor today’s everyday heroes in Ben’s memory!