September 11, 2004 Update

Hi everyone!

Since our dear Joy is traveling all over the country (job-related naman) and our dear Finina has the whole of October flying in and out of the country on business, I was given the task to update the batch.

Before anything else, we would like to thank Bing Padilla-Santos for her hospitality! Naku, we just kept on eating! This was a meeting regarding the homecoming but instead of holding pens, we were holding forks! From the 23 that signified their attendance (the spirit was willing but the body couldn¹t take the traffic) only 11 made it to Bing¹s house in Filinvest. Gigi flew in from Cebu pa!

Those present were (1) Bing (syempre); (2) Elaine Sarmiento (she was the first to arrive!); (3) Gigi; (4) Judy (if it were not for Gigi, Judy would have stayed at home!); (5) Vivian (sayang, she had to leave early); (6) Grace Fojas-Vinarao (with her Avon products); (7) Suzette Cuevas (and her curvaceous figure!); (8) Ochie (all the way from CaviteŠ ahem); (9) Joy; (10) Finina; and (11) Mica.

Hey, there Tricia, thanks for the push! We've collected the money!

DO YOU REALIZE THAT WE HAVE 15 MONTHS TO GO BEFORE THE HOMECOMING ON JANUARY 2006?

Sometimes, I don¹t know what is harder to donate: time or money. With our batch, we have a hard time donating both! Our name is at stake here: so we think that what has to be accomplished is to produce a memorable homecoming program.

What is our goal? Our goal is to produce and run the 2006 homecoming event. The money that we make in excess of the homecoming expense goes to our chosen beneficiary. How much does the homecoming event cost? Expenses incurred by batch '79 for their homecoming event this year showed that it cost them a total of Php300,000 (approx US$5,500) with additional items reflected as ex-deals or donations. They even had a fireworks display at the end of the program which we were told was the first time it was done. Finina has the breakdown but this is only a guide.

How much have we collected so far? We¹ve mentally converted the USD into Pesos. Php 8,721 ($153 c/o East Coast/Michelle Bayot; money still to be picked up at house of Michelle's mom) **could you confirm with Cecile the amount - - not sure if $153 or $135 Php 6,000 (collections fr Sep 11- - Mica, Finina, Joy, Gigi, Judy, Bing, Grace, Suzette,Vivian, Elaine, Mary Ann Cruz-Ragasa & Luisa de los Santos c/o Gigi ... Php 1,500 25% commission fr. Grace Fojas' Avon sales during the meeting! (I love the lip gloss! J) Php 4,000 (Mica's contribution fr. her raffle ticket commissions) Php 4,000 (Joy's contribution fr. raffle ticket commissions plus extra) Php 1,000 Elaine Sarmiento Php 11,200 Ochie pledged to contribute $200!!! Thanks in advance! Php 36,421 TOTAL SO FAR

What is the easiest way to complete funds we need for the homecoming? Since our batch always wants the easy way out, a very good suggestion came from our dear Gigi Ermita-Alvarez: Gigi suggested that we divide the targeted cost of Php 300,000 by the number of batchmates reached. Right now, as I have previously reported, we are 70 girls. Which brings us to the amount of Php 4,000/ USD 100 per girl. All funds are to be deposited into the batch bank account (which we still have to put up).

We are hoping everyone will agree, then we do not have to worry our pretty heads about where the funds for the event will come from. Our minds will be more relaxed in cooking up the program. What do we do with the funds collected? We see two (2) options that can be done: (1) Deposit, earn minimal interest & withdraw to pay for homecoming expenses (ugaling tamad talaga, we don¹t have to lift a finger for events and go on with our busy, hectic, neurotic livesŠ but where¹s the fun in that?) or (2) Use the money to fund an activity (i.e., show, concert, exhibit, raffle, etc) that will generate income and allow us to cover for, not only homecoming expenses but to do something noble such as to donate to a beneficiary with the funds on hand, when a good project comes up, we do not have to panic where to get the money and scream at everyone to help out. Anyway, everything will be reported through email broadcast. Please make sure you read your email regularly. With the successful fundraising activities earning a substantial return, what happens to the money we put in? Here, you have a choice: you have the option to get back your contribution or to keep it in the bank account as a revolving fund for other projects. Maybe this is a good time to say that tithing not only benefits those we help but brings back a thousand-fold to a whole-hearted giver J? Everybody in? We are counting on you.

How do you send your money? We will assign area heads to handle collections. So far, we suggest: Cebu/ Davao Gigi Ermita-Alvarez; Quezon City Bing Padilla-Santos;  East Coast USA Michell Bayot-Trinidad;  Central, USA Chiqui Javier Ketchem; West Coast, USA Maga Chico Maxfield.  The rest of the Philippine areas to follow.

Where do we deposit the money? Cecile Ventura is donating her time and talent to register with the SEC so that we can open a bank account and mount the fund-raisers we plan to do. We will file our registration under the corporate name: St. Paul College of Manila HS'81, Inc. and the corporate reps would be 5 officers of the steering committee based in Manila - - Joy, Finina, Mica, Cecile & Elaine. (Unless there are any other suggestions we will be glad to hear from you!) The bank account will be under the name: SPCM HS'81 and the 3 signatories will be the ff: Cecile, Joy & Finina. Elaine S. will serve as the "audit" representative of the batch. There must always be two signatories minimum to authorize bank withdrawals. Cecile will give us the specifics on SEC Registration and the activation of the bank account. NEWSFLASH: BTW, according to Cecile, there are a lot of SPC groups registered at SEC so we have to have a different name. Here are some suggestions from Finina: Paulinian 1981 Movement, Inc. Paulinians@Work, Inc. Paulinian Spririt of '81, Inc. or what about ... SPUNK, Inc. (St. Paul's United Kolehiyalas) ... puede na rin Kikays ... joke lang =) Any other suggestions, ladies? Once set up, keep the cash coming in but please inform Cecile and Elaine about your deposits. Fax or email a copy of the deposit slip for their records. For those making their contributions in checks, we will announce the final account name later on.

What activities do we have in mind? … A calendar of events and reunions should be planned out at the next meeting so that everyone can adjust their schedules. Maawa naman kayo, it is not easy to call each one to find out about attendance. Let us all follow the RSVP rule. Each one gets in touch with the person in-charge. … OUR NEXT GET-TOGETHER IS ON NOVEMBER 19, FRIDAY, 6PM ³SPCM HS¹81 Christmas Party cum Mini Bazaar² ­ inspired by the success of Grace¹s Avon Sale (where a percentage was given to our growing funds!). This is a great way for us to sell our wares (like Grace¹s Avon, Ana¹s jewelry or patis and suka?, Judy¹s pasta sauces, Rita¹s South Beach diet goodies, etc). MAKE MONEY DURING THE HOLIDAYS and pledge a little commission to the batch funds. VENUE to be finalized we are open to suggestions. It should be accessible (Makati or Pasig area?) and spacious enough to accommodate tables. Children and hubbies are welcome.

WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE VOLUNTEERS TO HELP IN PLANNING. pleeeeeeaaase! … OCHIE¹S suggestion: partner with a radio station or events group in mounting a show/concert and then split revenues; … Despite some harrowing experience and walking around with a bodyguard named Rick, Bel Castro is still looking for possible projects. The group agrees to look into mounting one big event in 3Q 2005 (which is quite last minute, but hey, that¹s what we¹re known for). … Group also agreed to look into doing small but relevant batch projects: (1) one idea is to mount an exhibit, a retrospective of Paola Luz' photography together with a re-issue of a book that features her works (Judy promised to talk to Paola's mom re: the project) (2) also another idea is to publish a coffee table book on the Paulinian 'colegiala' - - so far, no batch has done this and we could own the project! …

LASTLY, BEGINNING OCTOBER, monthly meetings will be held every 3rd Tuesday of the month, 12nn-2pm at Grassi's cafe at Rockwell (kilala ni Bel so may discount?). Everyone is welcome to drop by, have a good lunch or coffee & dessert and join the steering committee in the discussions. We would love to have the place packed with our batch! Mark your calendars! For busy moms, get a yaya to watch the babies (Grace, malaki na ang mga babies mo!)

Who is the beneficiary of fundraising events? We could make our batch the beneficiary, but that would make us a selfish bunch. Instead, we think it would be good to play surrogate moms to 6 young girls (ages 11 to 16) under the guidance of Sr. Eva (Sharon says she is a St. Paul doctor but I can¹t remember!). Sr. Eva cares for these young, promising girls (4 are rape victims) and she gets very limited funds from Our Lady of Peace Mission for food and lodging and their school allowance. Sharon will provide a full report. Wouldn¹t it be nice to support these girls and watch them grow from young girls entering high school, supporting them through college and join in their celebration for landing their first job? (My gosh, how old will we be by then?) It takes dedication to get into this project. But it is simple. The best projects are simple ones. Let¹s not complicate our lives!

Where in the world are the rest of our batchmates? Search your phone books for numbers of batchmates you¹ve bumped into! The more the merrier! We¹ve gotten in touch with Estela Jorge, Maida Enriquez, Ana Enriquez, Faustina Baez.

 Ladies, does anyone have a new contact number of Ana Santos? Her cellphone number is different na ata. I have been so busy but will go over the list of batchmates this weekend so I can give a copy to Cres. On the personal side of things, I will be staying in Holland next year for 6 months (for residence visa) but I will continue to support the batch projects from there. I will be back by 3rd Q of next year.

This is all for now, I think I need a paracetamol.  We would love to hear your ideas and comments, please!

Mica Calica-Kerkdijk for Finina and Joy

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