Marc Butiong celebrating his birthday in honor of the Bayanihan Foundation
On November 12, 2017, NEXTGEN alumnus and Bayanihan Foundation board member, Marc Butiong celebrated his birthday in honor of the Bayanihan Foundation. What’s so special about this birthday celebration? Marc asked his friends and family to give to the foundation instead of birthday presents. Marc demonstrated the zeal of helping others and the true aspiration of the NEXTGEN Program of developing young people to help others and nurturing their leadership for the long-term. Bayanihan Foundation’s NEXTGEN Program is planting seeds for change and it has blossomed into young Filipino American leaders like Marc.
(left to right): Marc Butiong and Camillo Geaga visiting the monument of Jose Rizal, the Philippine national hero in Manila, Philippines (August 2017)
In August 2017, Marc took charge of the NEXTGEN Program that summer and made sure that the Bayanihan Foundation pushed forward with the program that year. Without his leadership, the program would not have pushed through or would be as successful. After our trip to the Philippines, Marc Butiong and Camillo Geaga were both eager to share what they have learned and are finding ways to fund raise for local and global projects. One of the projects they’re enthusiastically supporting is a local water drainage program in Cebu that benefits 60 impoverished families there. Such a project would prevent further cases of dengue fever and other water-borne illnesses for children and families.
(standing far right) Dale Asis and Marc Butiong talked to family and guests during his birthday celebration (November 2017)
In November 2017, when we got back to the US, Marc Butiong invited his family and friends to a birthday celebration at a local restaurant in Chicago. Rather than asking for birthday presents, he requested his friends and family to donate to the Bayanihan Foundation. Marc and I went around the table explaining to his friends and family the foundation’s mission and the many programs it conducts locally and globally, including the NEXTGEN Program. Marc was eager to share with his friends about the foundation. His enthusiasm is one of the reasons the Bayanihan Foundation’s NEXTGEN Program is successful. And it worked. At the end of the evening, his friends and family raised enough funds to ensure that the Bayanihan Foundation would be able to sponsor partial scholarships for the NEXTGEN Program in 2018.
Jeselle Santiago announces the launch of the Community Power Giving Circle with Shirley Pintado (second from right) and Alicia Santiago (far right) looking on (June 2016)
Marc Butiong is not alone in helping the Bayanihan Foundation. Other NEXTGEN alumni are also pitching in. In 2016, NEXTGEN alumna Jeselle Santiago also opened up her home and invited her family and friends to raise funds for the Bayanihan Foundation. Other NEXTGEN alumni Jane Baron and Camillo Geaga also offered to help the foundation and both continue to be involved. Is the NEXTGEN Program a worthwhile program? Yes. The program continues to nurture young leadership and plant seeds of change. It’s worth investing in young Filipino Americans so they can discover their roots and heritage, travel back to the Philippines, and find ways to help locally and globally.
Marc Butiong celebrating his birthday (November 2017)
And Marc Butiong exemplifies the success of the NEXTGEN Program in planting seeds of change and nurturing leadership for long-term change. In November 28, 2017, the Bayanihan Foundation is joining a national online giving campaign in the US. Would you consider donating to support the NEXTGEN Program and other local and global projects it supports? Your support is critical to the foundation’s continued success. You can donate securely through PayPal at this link.
