Girl does good
Antoinette Taus never tires playing lady of help to the needy
Antoinette Taus may be a celebrity but fame and fortune have not hardened her heart to the less fortunate. Antoinette has been helping other people through CORA (Communities Organized for Resource Allocation) Cares, a foundation named after her mother, and one that aims to end hunger, spread love and inspire others.
“Actually ’yung mother ko talaga ang mahilig sa charity work. She really does it regularly. Halimbawa, may beggars na dadaan, she always tells us na ‘Oh go, you give him food na,’” she recalled. “So it (helping other people) was something that we really grew up to, aside from doing the big charity event. Kasi my mother was a firm believer of put others first, give to people when they need.”
Upholding those beliefs, Antoinette stressed she is not doing charity for the publicity or worse, to get a government position.
“Wala akong balak (tumakbo for a government positon) as in no way talaga!,” she insisted. “First of all I’m a humanitarian, I’m not a politician. I don’t know how to govern a country so I am not running for any position.”
It is all about her love for other people especially the kids, the actress said.
“Actually nawawalan na nga ako ng time for my (showbiz) work. I’m not here for endorsements, every time that I do this (charity), I never think na ‘Oh my gosh! I’m this person.’ I just think what I want to do for the mission, for the cause. It takes a lot of sacrifice pa nga eh lalo in terms of my career but no regrets at all.”
Celebs for one goal
Antoinette recalled the days when she and celebrity friends Cheska Garcia and Danica Sotto, among others, first did charity work in Pasig River.
“It was like barkadahan lang talaga. Tapos mga eight siguro kami noon, sa condo lang namin ginawa (’yung pag-aayos ng mga gamit). Then pumunta kami ng Pasig River, du’n kami namigay.”
It was a simple act but Antoinette was happy they came together for a common cause.
If anything, the actress hopes to collaborate with her celeb friends anew. In fact, during the interview, Antoinette revealed she and Jolina Magdangal are already talking about several charity projects.
“Marami akong mga celebrity friends na may mga foundations din. So I hope we could collaborate in the future. Ako naman I really started (doing charity) with nothing talaga, but my family as well as my friends, put their money together to sustain the projects. It’s all about dedication and love lang talaga,” she maintained, adding being a celebrity is not always about glitz and glam.
But what about those celebrities who post their charity works on social media? Antoinette doesn’t see anything wrong about it.
“That’s another thing we want to see… na ’yung charity work, hindi na ginagawang secret ngayon. Kasi lahat naman pino-post natin sa Instagram and Facebook ngayon, so walang masama du’n. In a way ’yung makakakita (ng posts) ma-inspire din sila to do the same thing,” she noted.
To naysayers who claim celebrities are not really charitable, Antoinette has this to say.
“Bahala na si Lord sa kanila. Kasi ’di ba when a person is trying to do good and someone tries to pull him down? It’s really disgusting,” she said. “Me naman, I’d never met one that’s not sincere (in helping others)… basta whatever their intentions may be, the important thing is they are creating a ripple of change no matter what.”
She cares
Since last year, Antoinette has been spearheading the #HashtagLunchbagPH through her foundation. The project aims to give effective and sustainable means of distribution of resources for those who need it the most as well as dealing with food waste management.
“A lot of our campaigns deal with food. ’Di ba ’yung sinasabi sa atin nu’ng bata tayo na kailangan nating ubusin ’yung pagkain kasi ang daming nagugutom sa mundo? Cliché siya but it’s true,” she said.
“When we talk about food waste on the planet, believe it or not one third of the food produce goes to waste. And food waste is one of the biggest causes of climate change, and people don’t know it.”
Apart from that, Antoinette explained CORA Cares also aims to have a sustainable feeding program that intends to give joy to kids. She also advocates environmental issues like climate change.
“We really care about children. No matter what, you have to take care of children first. They can’t be by themselves ’di ba? Ideally we wanted to take good care of the whole planet as much as we can but for now, our focus is on children and of course the environment,” she explained.
Just recently, Antoinette with her colleagues Carla Humphries, Alex Godinez, Franco Saycon, and Tom Taus came to support and play games with the children of Payatas.
“We want to let go of the old ways of doing charity na kapag birthday, kapag Pasko lang. We believe that every child deserves to have happiness and love. We organized the party so that the less fortunate gets to experience that. It’s a party with a purpose,” Antoinette said.
The activity was in partnership with Fox Life Philippines, previously Star World, in their aim to turn on fun, entertainment and laughter by giving back to the community.
“We are really here for a sincere reason so whenever we do projects it’s not about us anymore. It’s about what’s the mission, and if we are on the same page, the same journey. So we’re really happy with this partnership with FOX life,” Antoinette enthused.
’Yung charity work, hindi na ginagawang secret ngayon. Kasi lahat naman pino-post natin sa Instagram and Facebook ngayon, so ’yung makakakita (ng posts) ma-inspire sila to do the same thing.