Dear Fellow Filipinos and friends of the Filipinos,
On behalf of the other leaders in the Filipino Communities of Oregon and SW Washington, I would like to ask for your help in disseminating this information to all Filipinos and friends of Filipinos who may want to help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy in the Philippones.
Below is a document prepared by leaders from the Council of Filipino American Association in Oregon, from the SW Washington Filipino American Association and the Filipino Catholic Community of Oregon. This is a HUMBLE but EARNEST appeal to all to step up and make a difference in lives of thepeople who were gravely affected by the typhoon and those who may be in danger as stronger typhoons pound on the country.
This relief project is called ONDOY OFFERING - Pacific Northwest Relief Project. The document describes in detail the steps you can take to help. By bringing out this guideline, we may be able to help people navigate the process of donation. It also provides guidance on organizing efforts as groups, families or institutions.
A website called http://oregon4ondoy.blogspot.com/ is up and running and which you can access to get updates on the process, for more information and data on the situation of typhoonn victims, and other pertinent information on the relief effort here in Oregon and SW Washington and in the Philippines.
The foundations chosen to handle our cash donations (Philippine Jesuit Foundation and Ayala Foundation, both 50`1c3 organizations) have been tested the last 2 days and they work. We have provided you also with more choices of avenues for donating and they are all in the website. However, many of them do not offer tax deduction on your donation nor have they been tested for efficiency, effectivity or accountability.
This collaborative organizing is an effort to HELP but also to BUILD, a stronger Filipino community, its bayanihan spirit and resilience to the challenges that face us today. We hope that the power of this spirit will move you to pass this on to ALL the people in your networks: parish, organization, schools, workplaces and social circles. Let this action of love and compassion ripple throughout until it reaches our brothers and sisters in the Philippines.
MARAMING SALAMAT PO! (Thank you very much). We do apologize though for any cross postings.
Together...ONE!
Respectfully,
Pia de Leon
Eric Tadeo
Welo Rivera
Titay Schommer
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ONDOY OFFERING
Pacific Northwest Relief Project
The Filipino communities of Oregon and SW Washington are joining together to help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy in Manila, Philippines.
We encourage everyone to step up and help in organizing and donating the very much needed help for those whose lives have been gravely affected by Ondoy.
In this document we have described for you in detail the ways you can help, what you need to do with what you feel compelled to share. This document serves as a guide to donors and is to be disseminated to all who may be interested in donating or organizing efforts.
CASH DONATIONS:
Cash donations are the most expedient and helpful for the local economy and so it is recommended that efforts be focused in asking people to donate cash.
We are recommending two foundations that have 501c3 tax status in the United States: Philippine Jesuit Foundation and the Ayala Foundation. This means that your check or online donations are tax deductible and they will be sending you tax receipts.
Here are the ways to donate:
1. For donations by check
a. Issue the check to "Philippine Jesuit Foundation"
b. On the memo line please write: For "Ateneo Task Force Ondoy c/o OSA & SLB"( "OSA" means Office of Student Activites, Loyola Schools, Ateneo de Manila University and "SLB" means Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan)
2. For donations online:
b. Click on the "donate now" button, click on the credit card icon, and select Ateneo de Manila in the drop down menu. Write "Ateneo Task Force Ondoy c/o OSA & SLB" for your choice of beneficiary.
c. Please email Marivic Padilla <marivic@af-usa.org> or <marivi.padilla@gmail.com> or <info@af-usa.org> or call her (+650) 598-3126 for step by step assistance or to inform her that you have made a donation online.
*Ateneo de Manila in Quezon City is a designated evacuation and drop off center. If you wish to click on other centers serviced by Ayala Foundation such as the Philippine National Red Cross, you may do so as well.
3. Other agencies you can use to send money through are listed in the website listed below. Those agencies are not necessarily 501c3 accounts and may not be able to give you a tax receipt.
Other Ways of Helping:
1. Prayer services and fellowships may be organized in various groups and organizations in the next few weeks to provide Filipinos here in Portland and SW Washington the opportunity for community and a safe place to share their grief and concerns about this tragedy in our homeland. If a collection is to be made, please designate from the two choices the agency you want to handle your donation.
- Checks collected may be sent to CFAA (Council of Filipino American Associations, P.O Box 65053 Vancouver, WA 98665) and they will send it to the agency of your choice. CFAA will send you an acknowledgement they have received your gift.
- When you have done a collection, please include with the checks a list of names, addresses and amount so you or CFAA can send that information to the agency who will distribute your money in the Philippines and at the same time track our progress.
- We would appreciate a report back of activities organized and money collected so we can keep track of how Oregon is responding to this appeal. Please direct your reports to Welo Rivera – welo.rivera@gmail.com with the subject heading: “FUNDRAISING EFFORTS” or to any of the other organizers of this project.
2. IN – KIND Donation -At this point, we are NOT receiving any collected goods. If you wish to collect goods and send to the Philippines, either as individuals or groups:
- Please call LBC or Willex and send them as you would any Balikbayan Boxes. Some of these companies have promotional deals that can help you help the people in need. Please check our website for more information.
Medical Teams International is sending a medical mission to the Philippines to help in the disaster relief. For more information about this group, please check their website: http://www.medicalteams.org/.
Updates, information, other links related to ONDOY OFFERING will be posted regularly in our website: http://oregon4ondoy.blogspot.com/
Eric Tadeo – evcntadeo@msn.com – 360-690-0774
Titay Schommer – tkschommer@gmail.com
Welo Rivera – welo.rivera@gmail.com
Pia de Leon – piadeleon343@yahoo.com – 503-481-5228
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