For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Leezel Tanglao
January 29, 2021
Filipino Young Leaders Program Helps Deliver Over 400 Meals to Filipino Community’s Seniors, Frontliners and the Unemployed Through Its Caretaker Project
LOS ANGELES – The Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO)’s Caretaker Project helped deliver more than 400 meals to the Filipino community’s most vulnerable during the COVID19 pandemic in the past two months.
Filipino senior citizens, frontline workers and the unemployed in the Los Angeles area received meals in partnership and collaboration with Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA), Mabuhay Credit Union (MCU), the Philippine Independence Day Foundation (PIDF), and the Filipino Community of Carson (FCC).
Through the collaboration with SIPA, four Filipino restaurants – Tatang in North Hollywood, Native Fields in Walnut, HiFi Kitchen and BSweet in Los Angeles delivered 200 meals at the end of December 2020 to Alexandria House and Everlasting Adult Day Care Center – which serves seniors and homeless community members.
“In this time of uncertainty, we cannot forget about our community. To help our small businesses along with boosting the residents morale, we wanted to get hot meals donated to the people who need it most during the holidays. That’s when we got the call from FYLPRO about their generous Caretaker Project,” said Dave Andrew, Business Coordinator at SIPA.
The donation program with Mabuhay Credit Union in January 2021, which was spearheaded by FYLPRO Treasurer Fred Docdocil, delivered 235 pre-packaged lunches from Manila Sunrise, Silog, and Jollibee to the medical frontliners at Harbor UCLA Medical Center in collaboration with PIDF and the FCC.
According to Docdocil, “it was truly a privilege to have the opportunity to be able to get the community together and amplify our attempts to honor the fearless frontliners at Harbor UCLA, who are doing so much during a global pandemic, while also supporting Filipino restaurants.”
Through a Booz Allen Foundation Innovation Grant, FYLPRO’s Caretaker Project launched in October 2020 with Tayo – a virtual help desk to connect Filipinos with vital, culturally relevant services such as wellness resources and legal assistance; debunk misinformation and warn against fraud and scams; and improve collection of data to better serve the community.
In addition, the Caretaker Project supports direct care to the Filipino community’s most vulnerable social groups — seniors, frontline workers, and the unemployed – through this meal initiatives in collaboration with local organizations.
“While hopeful we’re at the tail end of this pandemic with COVID vaccines rolling out, we must continue supporting our healthcare heroes on the frontlines who are bearing a financial, emotional, and health burden during this ongoing crisis,” said FYLPRO President Louella Cabalona. “I applaud the efforts of our community partners, our volunteers and our alumni in providing aid and services to members of our community, through the Caretaker Project and other initiatives, during this extraordinarily difficult time. May their generosity inspire many others in the future.”
About The Caretaker Project
The Caretaker Project was developed by FYLPRO’s COVID-19 Task Force, which is chaired by FYLPRO Vice President, project director, and spokesperson Leezel Tanglao. Project leadership also includes FYLPRO alum Tiffany Batac, who serves as project manager, as well as product manager Dexter Ligot-Gordon, project operations coordinator Pia Besmonte and product designer Jiggy Villanueva, all of whom lend their talents from Kalibrr, Southeast Asia’s highest rated job search application. FYLPRO alums Krystle Canare serves as the project’s Fellowship Director, Donny Rojo serves as Product Advisor, TJ Simba-Medel serves as Creative Consultant and Risk Mitigator, Mark Calaguas serves as Product Counsel, Dr. Melissa Palma serves as Medical Advisor and volunteer Jobel Vecino serves as Special Projects coordinator.
FYLPRO alums Joshua Ang Price, Fred Docdocil, Brian Tajo, Ireneo Reus and Kit Furukawa round out the Caretaker Project team.
More information on FYLPRO and the Caretaker Project is available at fylpro.org.
About the FYLPRO COVID-19 Task Force
In response to the ongoing crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, FYLPRO formed the COVID-19 Task Force in April 2020 to tackle the specific needs of Filipinos in the diaspora and back home. As part of the formation of this task force, the COVID-19 Relief Fund was created to support these efforts.
The FYLPRO COVID-19 Task Force is looking to identify other opportunities for collaboration both in the United States and the Philippines. If you are aware of potential partner organizations or prospective beneficiaries for FYLPRO’s COVID-19 regional relief program, please complete our information request form. Donations to the FYLPRO COVID-19 Relief Fund are also being accepted at fylpro.org/support. For additional questions, please email [email protected].
About the Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO)
FILIPINO YOUNG LEADERS PROGRAM (FYLPRO) is a network of high performing, next-generation leaders who advance the Philippines and the Filipino people through their advocacy and expertise in various industries.
We continually expand the pipeline of Filipino young leaders in the diaspora. By connecting them to the motherland, we foster collaborative multinational relationships that create innovations and support the socio-economic progress of the global Filipino community.
###