CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – The Giant Lantern Festival Foundation Inc. (GLFFI) recently donated P500,000 worth of school supplies to the City Schools Division of San Fernando, through the Project NEST (Nurturing Environment and System for Thriving): Education Community Pantry.
The turnover of donations was held at the division’s office in City Civic Center in San Isidro and was led by GLFFI President Alfrito Bong Mah, with the attendance of division office Superintendent Dr. Imelda Macaspac and Project NEST Founder David Zab Jimenez.
“Naglaan tayo ng P500,000 upang magawa ang proyekto natin para sa City Schools Division at Project NEST ngayon. Ang perang ginamit natin dito ay galing sa savings ng foundation at ngayong may pandemiya, minarapat natin na gamitin ito upang tulungan ang education community pantry at mabili ng gamit pang-aral ang mga kabataan,” explained Mah.
Donated materials included boxes of pencils, papers, and ball pens, which, according to Macaspac, will be distributed to more than 40 schools in the city to be handed to the learners.
“Prayoridad nating bigyan yung mga kabataang wala talagang kakayahan na makabili ng sarili nilang gamit. Gumawa tayo ng listahan ng mga tatanggap ng mga supplies na ito at mayroon tayong alokasyon sa bawat eskwelahan sa Siyudad,” she said.
As of this writing, Project NEST exists in about 45 schools in the city from the initial 27 schools under the first batch two months ago.
“Malaki yung pasasalamat natin sa foundation sa proyektong ito dahil sa mga nakalipas, puro individuals o members ng community ang nagbibigay. Kaya naman sa karanasang ito, inaanyayahan natin ang iba pang private groups, socio-civic organizations, at foundations na makilahok upang maipagpatuloy natin yung serbisyo ng proyekto,” Jimenez shared.
Project NEST issued guidelines on donating and acquiring of materials and services, including the list of participating schools.
Apart from keeping the giant lantern-making tradition alive for more than a century now, the GLFFI has been a regular benefactor of the City Schools Division for the past years in realization of the projects and initiatives for Fernandino learners.
Included among the foundation’s major beneficiaries are two of the largest public schools in the city – the San Fernando Elementary School and Pampanga High School.
