Find fresh insights about special children that the CFP mined through keenly moving and often funny notes and illustrations from a high school journal writing class at the Reach International School. Marvel at how the thoughts and emotions of normal teenagers and special kids seamlessly integrate with each other in a universal display of raw wit and honesty that merit attention and understanding. Discover a visual language and vocabulary for connecting with them that allows for heartfelt and meaningful dialogue. Pour over the journals that the CFP has compiled with the help of Reach International School writing coach and Palanca awardee, Tweet Sering.
To create a have of hope, a positive vision for the future, and a strategic solution to special children’s challenges, lend your strength to the Parents’ Support Group of the CFP. Team up with the likes of high-profile parents such as media personality Karen Davila, progressive attorney Adel Tamano, and horse whisperer Henry Ocier as well as dedicated parents such as Lydia Schnabel and Sunny Velasco. Join activities for special kids such as field trips to the highlands for therapeutic interactions with horses or talks on how special children can be taught to be “instructors” themselves when they grow up.
Discover, in a fund and active manner, the rights and privileges of persons with disabilities through friendly talks and get-togethers with the special children and parents of the CFP. Follow the footsteps of families as they share experiences, give gifts, and travel from places such as Barangay Poblacion in Makati and Sunnyvale Christian School in Binangonan, Rizal to Boracay Island, Aklan and Sagada, Mountain Province. Equip yourself with the knowledge on how the CFP enlist the support of institutions, the media, and the public in forming a powerful and effective lobby group that promotes society-wide awareness of the plight of children with special needs and their families.
Wow crowds in rain-drenched or sunny weather when you kick off with kick-ass special kids. Play like a true sportsman without spite when you join junior booters who laugh and throw their arms around each other instead of cursing and hurling fists when yellow-carded for errors. Following the CFP’s philosophy of inclusion, you empower teams of special children who progress from quarterly matches on pitches in Metro Manila to the Special Games held in stadiums around the globe. Get to work with the foundation and its partner organizations such as The Henry V. Moran Foundation, Inc. and the Nayon ng Kabataan.
In warm fellowship with Cottolengo Filipino, Inc.; Futkaleros; Payatas B Elementary School, Nayong ng Kabataan; and the Virlanie Foundation, Inc., help make children with special needs feel the festive season with a sumptuous feast, colorful face painting, wacky photo booths, and exciting gift packs. Contribute or assists in raising funds that serve as Christmas money for these selected charities. Along with the close-knit staff, children, and families of the CFP, recount and share the numerous blessings that have accumulated throughout the year, express sincere gratitude through kind words and gestures, and spread the joy and cheer of the cool holidays.
In close coordination with the Rotary Club of Makati GEMS, lend the CFP a hand in holding supervised painting workshops entitled “Hand-in-Hand: The Special Power of Two” for kids with developmental disabilities. At venues such as the ECCA Gallery, special children begin potential masterpieces that renowned painters retouch or complete. Encourage hundreds of kids from special education or SPED schools within Metro Manila to grow and express themselves artistically. Promote the sale of these works of creative collaboration for the benefit of the various activities of the special education schools.
Add a ray of sunshine to the lives of special children with an alternative way of seeing their world, of capturing moments of emotions, and of expressing themselves through interactive lens of a digital camera. Through the interaction between the CFP and partner schools, you can help special kids upgrade their skill sets to include a handy and profitable hobby that will allow them to cope and thrive in the wide world during their adulthood. With the proceeds from the sale of photographs that the kids produce, you further the fund that propagates their proficiency and improvement.
Rally for the Boracay Guardians, the dragon boat team that the CFP sponsors at the 3-day racing festival held annually along the beachfront of the eponymous island resort. Encourage the 20-strong crew, especially the 5 members who are parents of special kids, to best national and global teams and row for the cause of individuals with special needs. Applaud and admire the CFP-branded paddles and the white rush guards with blue sleeves and yellow accents that bear the logo of the foundation. Throw in your support for funding these and other sporting needs along with the registration and related fees.
Because the best and ablest teachers and parents are those who guide children until their guidance is no longer needed, you can enable special children to know their way about outdoors through field trips. Because the best guides are those who lead their charges to the right door and provide them with mental maps, you allow special kids to become able explorers of their world by simply being there to catch them when they fall or sheperd them when they go astray. Guide CFP kids through worthwhile adventures in places such as the Manila Ocean Park, the Avilon Zoo, and other parks and places of interest they would otherwise not be able to navigate on their own.
Let literacy play an integral role in the lives of special children who are also part of the philippines’ future. Promote the CFP’s advocacy of literacy through the use of an Early Literacy Enhancement Program(ELEP) kit, developed by the Rotary Club of Makati GEMS, and an Easy English Palm Size Learner (PSL) gadget. Help train special education or SPED instructors from Cottolengo filipino, Inc.; Payatas B Elementary School; NGayong ng Kabataan;and Virlanie Foundation, Inc. to show kids how to use an ELEP kit and a PSL gadget. With the CFP and the Rotary Club of Makati GEMS, help stem the riding tide of illiteracy in our country.
