A Christmas tree to save young lives is lighted
THIS Christmas, some 90 children with cancer can expect to get help with their treatment. At least P104,000 was raised by a local hotel in a Christmas charity program aimed to help children suffering from cancer. With the money they raised this year, Cebu Parklane International Hotel donated the amount to the Cancer Warriors Foundation Inc. (CWFI) in Cebu to fund the children’s chemotherapy.
Cenelyn Manguilimotan, Parklane’s general manager, said they turned over the amount to CWFI during their annual Christmas tree
lighting ceremony last Wednesday.
Manguilimotan said that for this year’s Christmas tree lighting, they thought of using the event to help raise awareness of helping others among their guests and employees.
The hotel’s Christmas tree lighting event is held every year since Parklane was established 10 years ago.
In preparation for this year’s Christmas tree lighting, Manguilimotan said the hotel coordinated with CWFI and other nongovernment organizations to come up with a project dubbed “Be a Warrior, Save an Angel,” which they launched last September.
Through the project, employees and guests of the hotel can help children with cancer by donating an amount to their cause.
In exchange for their donation, the donors are honored by having an angel ornament with their name written on it, which they hang on the hotel’s Christmas tree.
The angels and the Christmas tree are made of discarded cardboards from toilet paper rolls.
Manguilimotan said that assisting CWFI was an idea of one of the hotel’s owners, who supported the foundation.
During the Christmas tree lighting ceremony last Wednesday, children who were under the care of CWFI attended the event.
Manguilimotan said with the success of the project this year, they plan to start a long-term project for the group.
Aside from donating an amount to CWFI, she said the hotel’s owners, the Ting Family, will be inaugurating “Bahay Silungan” in Cebu City.
The apartment building for “Bahay Silungan” was donated by the Tings and will serve as CWFI’s main facility in caring for children with cancer.
In a separate interview, Jennifer Ruby Baylon, CWFI Cebu program manager, said they are helping 90 children with cancer.
Since 2010, CWFI Cebu has catered to 130 children.
Baylon said the youngest patient they have is a year old while the oldest is 18 years old.
Around 80 percent of their patients are suffering from leukemia.
Most of the kids are from Cebu but there are also patients who come from Bohol, Leyte and some parts of Mindanao.