“Time Please!”

That’s the sincere but passionate request that Globe Telecom is asking from professionals, corporations, students, NGOs, schools, and any other individual or entity who wants to make a difference in this country.

Time Please is also an advocacy that mobilizes concerned Filipinos (and possibly non-Filipinos) to either teach a child through storytelling, help clean up our coastal frontiers, or choose among 1,001 socially relevant volunteering activities, which they can be a part of.

Among those who heeded the call are Humanist Alliance of the Philippines, International (HAPI), an international humanist organization that wants to make the world a better place for future generations by addressing environmental issues, and ARAL PINOY (Pag-Aaral na Alagang Pinoy) dedicated to education for life-giving relationships.

After a successful Manila Bayside Clean-up drive early this year, HAPI Metro Manila Chapter conducted a second garbage collection activity at the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA). LPPCHEA is a nature reserve of mangroves, ponds, lagoons, mudflats, salt marshes, and mixed beach forest that also plays a critical role in the survival of 41 threatened, restricted-range, and congregatory bird species from China, Japan, and Siberia. The activity attracted more than 70 volunteers during the whole-day event.

Jarwin, a 31-year-old full-time volunteer, said participating in the HAPI event broadened his horizons and confirmed to him personally that he was on the right track. Prior to volunteering, Jarwin had been diligent in deploying responsible waste removal. He was careful not to throw anything especially plastic into a body of water or a pipeline that could flush it into the ocean, as the accumulated mass of the material could spoil aquatic life and worsen marine pollution.

“Everything I learned in school about waste segregation and nature appreciation I was able to apply in the clean-up,” enthuses Jarwin. “I also saw that with the help of like-minded individuals and kindred spirits, I could change the world a bit. Everything I was doing before was vindicated. But this time, through HAPI, I am working with a bigger group to make a bigger impact.”

The second Time Please project focused on increasing the literacy of underprivileged school children while boosting their confidence.

The Lingkod Bayanihan was a one-day volunteer service project of ARAL PINOY in partnership with Barangay 730, Zone 79 in the City of Manila. The volunteers did not just help children develop reading skills, they also made them feel loved and cared for.