TAYO Awards 2015

When I first created this blog, it was about documenting my advocacy programs before it became a professional blog site. Now, it became instrumental for promoting other advocacy campaigns. Last year, I had a privilege to see the awarded student initiative programs that was recognized for TAYO(Ten Accomplished Young Organizations).

Last year, I got to interview one representative of an organization and I was really impressed with what I got to know about the program. This time, I am about to start a series of posts about the campaigns of this year's TAYO. I assure you will be impressed with what these students done than any politician or philanthropists can innovate.

So let's start the ball rolling, shall we?

If there's a blood drive for transfusion, there's the Milk Drive. It's not from any dairy product. I am talking about mother's milk. It was an initiative from UP College of Medicine Phi Lambda Delta Sorority to initiate breast milk donors from communities they visit.

According to Ms. Maria Angela Villa of Phi Lambda Delta Sorority, this campaign not only helps promote awareness that breastfeeding is still the best source of milk in the child's first years, but it also initiates other mothers provide breast milk for those who can no longer provide it.

If the biological mother is no longer capable to give breast milk for her child due to possible and various reasons, this is the right program to help the community. Just like blood transfusion, Ms. Villa said that applicants are also screened before donating breast milk and they also help educate mothers.

The Milk Drive was already been operational for less than a year and they already have been visiting communities/health centers in Tondo and Quezon City or even outside Metro Manila and even in the Philippine General Hospital. The milk they had gathered from the communities is contained in an ice chest and will be pasteurized and brought to PGH. The campaign was successful that even their fellow sorority alumni members showed interest and support.

I will continue with the rest of the participating organizations and their campaigns on my next posts. If you are interested with the campaign I featured and desired to get involved, feel free to reply to this blog post or directly message me via my L.E.N.S. blogs Facebook page.

Coca-Cola, TAYO Foundation open new season of outstanding youth organization awards

Release material

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Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines with its longstanding partner, Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations (TAYO) Awards Foundation, is once again calling student and youth organizations across the Philippines to take on the 12^th TAYO Awards challenge. The TAYO Awards recognizes the outstanding contributions of Filipino youth groups to their respective communities throughprojects that address relevant needs or opportunities such as poverty reduction, education, disaster risk reduction, financial literacy, environmental conservation, and tourism.

In its most recent run, TAYO received a total of 286 entries, of which the following winners were chosen: Gualandi Volunteer Service Program, Association of Locally Empowered Youth-NM, Hayag Youth Organization, Kawil Tours, Tanay Mountaineers Incorporated, Reduction Advocacy Program, TC Youth Laboratory Cooperative, United Architects of the Philippines Student Auxiliary - Foundation University Chapter, Tulong sa Kapwa Kapatid, Volunteer Service Provider, and University of San Carlos-Pathways.

Special recognition was also given to a high-energy team of Sarangani mountaineers dubbed Team BUNDOL, this year’s Coke Barkada awardee. The Coke Barkada Award is given to one of the TAYO finalists that best demonstrates the qualities of a Coke Barkada – a group that shares happiness and embodies the passion to change communities through projects that mirror the Coca-Cola sustainability pillars ofwater stewardship, women empowerment, and promotion of well-being.

A Lasting Partnership

The partnership between TAYO Foundation and Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines – the social investment arm of Coca-Cola Philippines and Coca-Cola FEMSA Philippines - began in 2005 upon the institution of the Coke Barkada Award as a special category in the annual TAYO Awards.

“At Coca-Cola, we believe that you can never be too young to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others. People may be calling this generation the ‘selfie’ generation but, as one TAYO Finalist put it, it’s a we-generation or a TAYO-generation, not a me-generation, as I’ve come to know them. I feel like a proud mom to them, hearing their stories and getting to know all the wonderful work that they do,” said Cecile Alcantara, President of the Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines, Inc.            

                           

In 2006, Coca-Cola Foundation scaled up its partnership to be the TAYO Award’s sole co-presenter.

“Last year, I remember being brought to tears when one of the TAYO Finalists went to the audience to hug her friend during the awarding ceremony. Moments like these are the result of the golden triangle at work: where business, civil society and government pool together to help towards the growth of the country and its people. As a Company, we believe that our business is only as strong and sustainable as the communities we serve and through partnerships like these, we take the opportunity to contribute all we can to make a positive impact,” said Atty. Adel Tamano, Vice President for Public Affairs and Communications of Coca-Cola Philippines, who also serves a judge in the panel for TAYO.

  

“You don’t forget groups like the Team BUNDOL Mountaineers, Tulong Sa Kapwa Kapatid, or even the Cebu Youth Ambassadors from the year before. These aren’t just groups, these are real people with real stories and I look forward to being part of the panel again this year to hear all of them,” he added.

The TAYO Awards 2014 is presented by the TAYO Awards Foundation, together with the Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines, in partnership with the National Youth Commission and the Office of Senator Bam Aquino.

Joining the search

To join the TAYO Awards, organizations must accomplish a TAYO 12 Entry Form and TAYO 12 Project briefer that can be accessed through in the Tayo Awards Website (http://www.tayoawards.net/tayo12/). Documents proving the existence and veracity of information, list of officers, leaders and founders and three-page project documentation must also be e-mailed to Tayo secretariat.

The TAYO Awards accepts entries from interested youth groups, organizations, clubs, and societies that are composed of at least 15 members, more than half of which must be between 15 to 30 years old. The submitted projects must have either been recently concluded or are still ongoing.

Entries are judged on the following criteria: Impact of project entry on stakeholders; harnessing the spirit of volunteerism and citizenship; creativity and innovation; and sustainability and effective use of resources. The winning organizations will receive a special trophy created by Philippine sculptor Tyom De Leon Imao, and a Php50,000 grant from Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines.

Deadline for entries is on September 30, 2014. Interested organizations may submit their entries through the official website of TAYO Awards, www.tayoawards.net.

TAYO Awards 2014

During my college years, I was very active in social functions not because I was an elected student council officer but it is nice to make a difference in the society even if you are still young. The only problem is the school may or may not approve the project for lack of budget.

The Award Winning Youth Groups with Sen. Bam Aquino(7th from the right)

Which is why Coca Cola Phils. supports their partnership with TAYO( Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations) Awards to give these potential projects a consideration to achieve their plans. These groups are not only represents their schools but also their campus organizations.

TAYO is the only award giving body for this specific purpose. The group submits their proposal and when TAYO recognizes the potential and relevance of the project, they will give them the support to make it happen.

After the project is implemented, it will be observed how the project made an impact on the society, the immediate environment,etc. I got a chance to chat with one of the project leaders and I am quite impressed with the activism and dedication of the project and the idea that they conceptualized. Senator Bam Aquino was present because he himself was an active youth organizer before he ran into politics and he shared his insights about his experiences.

I first created this blog to document my own advocacy. Now, it is instrumental to promote other advocacy. For more updates about the TAYO Awards, follow this blog or like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook.

Coca-Cola calls on youth groups to join the 2013 TAYO Awards

Coca-Cola Philippines, through its social investment arm Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines, Inc., is calling on youth groups all over the Philippines to join this year's Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations (TAYO) Awards, which recognizes the outstanding contributions of Filipino youth organizations in social development through innovative projects.

TAYO's partnership with Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines, Inc. began in 2005 through the "Coke Barkada Award," which is given to the group that best demonstrates the Coke Barkada spirit of collective volunteerism, or "working together for the community and living the value of positive action for positive change.” The winning group receives a trophy and a cash grant. The award is part of the Foundation’s response to the global initiative of Coca-Cola that aims to focus on sustainability by improving personal well-being, building stronger communities, and protecting the environment. Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines, Inc. has been the sole co-presenter of the TAYO Awards since 2006.

“Coca-Cola believes that the future of our society is in the hands of our youth, and that the power to change is multiplied exponentially as people come together on a common goal,” shares Cecile Alcantara, President of Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines, Inc. “Through TAYO Awards, and the Coke Barkada Award, we want to show the Filipino youth that they can indeed become forces for positive change.”

The Coke Barkada Award in 2012 was given to Cebuano Youth Ambassadors for “BasuraSkwela: Changing Lives One Bag at a Time.” The project was inspired by a single bag crafted from used tarpaulin. Making bags from discarded materials has become a source of livelihood for the urban poor community of Tingub in Mandaue City, Cebu. To date, the project has been able to fund scholarships for 50 children in the community.

“BasuraSkwela is an innovative project that has made a tremendous impact in the community of Tingub,” says Atty. Adel Tamano, Vice President for Public Affairs and Communication of Coca-Cola Philippines. “It has empowered the residents in many aspects – trash recycling has helped improve the environment; as a source of income, it has helped improve the lives of families; and by giving access to children’s education, the project ensures the future growth of the community. ”

Tamano, who was also one of the judges for the awards, also noted that the Cebuano Youth Ambassadors is a great example of how the youth can make positive change happen when they work together. “Coca-Cola is all about sharing happiness, and this group definitely exemplified that barkada spirit we are looking for. When they presented BasuraSkwela to the TAYO Awards panel, I could tell that they also had a lot of fun working on the project.”

 

About the TAYO Awards

Since it was first launched by the TAYO Awards Foundation in 2002, over a thousand youth organizations have joined the search and are now part of the growing youth network that aims to contribute to the development of their local communities, schools, and workplace their trailblazing, valuable programs.

The TAYO Awards accepts entries from interested youth groups, organizations, clubs, and societies that are composed of at least 15 members, more than half of which must be between 15 to 30 years old. Nominated entries should be projects that have either been recently concluded or are still ongoing.

These entries will then be judged based on the following criteria: impact of the project on the stakeholders, harnessing the spirit of volunteerism and citizenship, creativity and innovation, and sustainability and effective use of resources. Winning organizations will receive a trophy created by Philippine sculptor Toym De Leon Imao, and a grant of Php50,000.00 intended to fund their new projects, or sustain the ongoing ones.

Other winners of the 2012 TAYO Awards include Angat Kabataan (Youth Wing of Angat Taytay), CBA-Kalipunan and Junior Marketing Executives, La Salle Debate Society, One Million Lights Philippines, Ramon Magsaysay Technological University’s Electrical Engineering Society, Monte Verde 4-H Club, Inc., University of Luzon Students in Enterprise, I CAN Make A Difference, Inc. and Dire Husi Initiatives, Inc.

Projects of winning organizations range from rural electrification, environmental rehabilitation, livelihood programs, and agriculture, aimed at making a difference in the lives of people from marginalized Filipino communities.

The TAYO Awards 2013 is presented by the TAYO Awards Foundation, together with Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines, Inc., in partnership with the National Youth Commission and the Office of Senator Kiko Pangilinan.