Yahoo! Philippines Answers blog

Hi everyone, the planned maintenance and outage yesterday was moved today, November 21, again around 4:30pm and lasting for a few hours.  This is the second of the two planned outages and will conclude the scheduled maintenance for the immediate future.  If there is any change to this schedule, I will update everyone ASAP through this blog.  Again, thanks for understanding.

In the meantime, do check out the details on the planned YAPpers Christmas activity, aptly dubbed “YAPPasko 2008″.  To those who expressed their willingness to support this worthwhile activity, kindly email me (jonasdelosreyes [at] yahoo [dot] com) how you intend to do so (through your attendance, through cash or kind) because the YAPPers will start buying the gifts this weekend.  To those who just found out about this, your support and donations are very much welcome!

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Thanks so much to everyone who left a comment and emailed me regarding their support of YAPPasko 2008 and their willingness to contribute to this charitable endeavor!  This event is spearheaded by the YAPpers and we’re here to support the community and join in this noble cause.

As promised in my earlier post, here are the details on the upcoming YAPPasko 2008:

Who: YAPpers (short for all Pinoy community members of Yahoo! Answers!)
What: YAPPasko 2008
When: December 13, 2008, Saturday
Where: Cottolengo Filipino Orphanage in Montalban, Rizal

For everyone’s info, the Cottolengo Filipino Orphanage is a non-stock, non-profit religious and non-government organization licensed and accredited by the DSWD and is owned and managed by the Sons of Divine Providence Congregation.  Their mission is to give special children a home to live and the possibility to be rehabilitated.  In short, they take care of physically and mentally disabled children.  Right now, there are 40 orphan boys living in the center and they also help out 45 poor disabled children in the nearby community.  All of these children receive free special education and basic medical assistance in this orphanage.

What we all need to do right now are two things:

1. Raise Awareness

Spread the word to your fellow Pinoy Answers user about upcoming YAPPasko through your blog, email, text or simply word-of-mouth.  Let’s get as many people involved as possible because volunteers who will be buying the gifts, wrapping them and joining the community to visit the kids on Dec. 13 are surely needed.  This will be an excellent opportunity for the community to meet each other, get to know one another and extend the bond of friendship offline, while we all do something for a worthy cause.

2. Raise Funds

Aside from your presence, the YAPpers will be needing donations that will be given to the kids of the Cottolengo Orphanage.  If you plan to give in kind, donations like clothes, books and educational kid-friendly toys will be much appreciated!  If you wish to give cash (ideal if you’re based abroad), I can email you the details of the bank account.  The money will be used to buy more gifts for the kids and food for the party (although I’m hoping to help get a sponsor for the food) and hopefully, if there’s enough, allow us to donate a brand new computer for the orphanage.

If you’re willing to be part of all of this goodwill, whether as a volunteer or someone who wish to donate (or both), please email me at jonasdelosreyes [at] yahoo [dot[ com and I’ll send you further details regarding the outreach immediately.  Feel free to leave a comment as well if there’s anything else you want to share to me and the community.  Thank you very much!

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Nope, I didn’t screw up the lyrics, and neither am I in a singing mood, but Christmas is just around the corner and for all the YAPpers out there, this means another year of YAPPasko!  YAPPasko is the title of the YAPPers’ Christmas Party and Community Outreach they conducted for street children last year.  YAPper Lai (or more popularly known in Answers as kahlan nynaeve) shares to us her experience at last year’s YAPPasko:

Last Christmas 2007, Yahoo! Answers Pinoy users more popularly known as YAPpers organized a Christmas Party for street kids.  Nearly 400 children benefited from the said event with each child going home with a gift and a smile in their face.  Aside from the gifts, the kids enjoyed playing games and eating delicious party food from Jollibee.  Much to their delight, the appearance of Santa Claus and Jollibee in YAPPasko all the more made the event memorable!

Nothing can indeed be as fulfilling as making others, especially children, happier during the Yuletide season.  Seeing these kids faces wreathed with smiles and hearing their joyful laughter was simply made YAPPasko 2007 for theYAPpers a truly memorable and meaningful one.

Thanks to Lai for writing that post, and of course to all the YAPpers who contributed and participated in last year’s YAPPasko.  It’s such a blessing to see this act of kindness and generosity by the Answers  community in giving back to another community who is in need.

This year, the YAPpers will be organizing another YAPPasko in an orphanage this December and we’ll be there to support them.  They plan to do a repeat of last year where they gave gifts to the kids, played some games with them and fed them with delicious party food.  I’ll be sharing the details in succeeding posts but right now, I’m calling on all YAPpers, old and new, to spread the word around.  We need people to support this in cash and in kind (preferably toys, clothes and children’s books) and the more participants to the event, the better.  Any offer of help will be very much appreciated.

If you’re interested to support this activity, please feel free to leave a comment or email me at jonasdelosreyes [at] yahoo [dot] com.  We only have a month to prepare for this event but we can certainly make it a reality.  In the end, we’ll all experience how giving back to people in need doesn’t actually cost, but it pays.  Many thanks everyone!

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