Melo Villareal
On its 20th year, the Jollibee Maaga ang Pasko sought to spread holiday cheer to even more children not just in the Philippines but overseas as well. For the second year in a row, Jollibee stores in Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuwait once again opened their doors to accept donations and engage global Pinoys to send gifts for their young kababayans.
Jollibees annual toy and book drive made its way to Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, enabling schoolchildren to experience the joy of giving
Jollibee Vietnam did its own adaptation of the campaign (“Christmas is Coming”) to benefit local kids. The store teams in Vietnam led a tour in primary schools in Ho Chi Minh to gather toy and book donations. Making the first international caravan even brighter is a special appearance of everyone’s favorite friend, Jollibee. The fast-food chain’s growing network paved the way in bringing the campaign to foreign shores. To date, Jollibee has 50 branches in Vietnam, three in Kuwait and one each in Hong Kong and in Singapore.
Filipino communities in Singapore readily opened their hearts to donate toys and books to the Maaga ang Pasko campaign
Filipino communities overseas also shared their blessings by making online donations through the Jollibee Maaga ang Pasko microsite (www.jollibee.com.ph/MaagaAngPasko). With the help of partners Toy Kingdom, Goodwill Bookstore and Blink, they were able to donate book bundles and toy packs to the Philippines. “Through the continuous help of various individuals and organizations, naging tunay na pinakamaaga, pinakamahaba at pinakamasaya ang Pasko. ( The recent Christmas truly became the earliest, longest and jolliest),” said Jollibee Vice President for Marketing Harvey Ong.
Since it was launched two decades ago, Maaga ang Pasko has brought early Christmas cheer to over 300,000 children nationwide, through the gift of over 1.5 million toys and books. Generous Filipinos also signed up as Jolly Family Toy Scouts, volunteering their time and energy to clean and prepare donations during the campaign’s clean-up phase.
