‘Wicked' musical donates P8M for rehab of schools
As curtains were drawn to close the last performance of the smash musical “Wicked (The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz)” in Manila, new doors will soon open in schools affected by super typhoon Yolanda in Northern Cebu.
Proceeds from one of its weekend performances amounting to Php7.9 million were pledged to the Aboitiz Foundation to help fund the repair and rebuilding of schools in the typhoonstricken province.
On top of the musical’s donation, event partner TicketWorld, Inc. president Bob Sewell pledged an additional Php230,000 from his own personal funds for the Foundation’s schools rehabilitation initiatives.
The symbolic turnover of the donation, which was facilitated by show producer Lunchbox Theatrical Productions, was made onstage by the musical cast themselves, together with some sponsors last March 7 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) in Pasay City.
Aboitiz Equity Ventures Senior Vice President and Chief Reputation and Risk Officer Susan Valdez and Aboitiz Foundation Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Sonny Carpio accepted the check in behalf of the foundation.
“We would like to direct that the funds are used for school rebuilding / building in the Yolanda affected area/s,” Sewell said in a correspondence with Carpio, referring to some elementary and highschool classrooms in Bogo, San Remigio, or Medellin – the hardest hit areas in Northern Cebu.
Touted as “Broadway’s biggest blockbuster” with 50 awards including Tonys and a Grammy to boot, “Wicked The Musical” opened in Manila to a full house last January 22 at the CCP Main Theatre and finally closed its curtains last March 9.
The musical was brought to the country by Lunchbox Theatrical Productions, with the support of Concertus Manila, Hi Definition Radio, Inc., David Atkins Enterprises and TicketWorld.
Recently, the Aboitiz Foundation received Php11.3 million-worth of pledge from the Harvard Club of the Philippines to help repair damaged classrooms and build new ones in Curva Elementary School in Medellin, one of the hardest hit schools in the city.
Harvard Club of the Philippines is an association of Philippine-based alumni and students from different Harvard Schools including Kennedy, Business, Law, Medical, Public Health, Education, Arts and Sciences, and the Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. It has more than a hundred members to date.
Aboitiz Foundation has earlier earmarked Php140 million of the Php203 million it was able to raise last year, for its schools rehabilitation efforts, which will focus on heavily and partially-damaged school buildings.
The Group is set to repair around 130 classrooms and build 70 new ones in 28 schools in Bogo City and San Remigio in Northern Cebu starting this month. This will benefit some 13,000 students who had to continue holding classes on dilapidated classrooms, some without even having roofs.