Featured Partners
07.10 — Accenture
This year, Accenture supported FHM with a major financial contribution. Locally, the commitment goes beyond financial. Over 30 Accenture volunteers made a trek to the woods to join FHM kids at camp. Employee volunteers prepared a great slate of games to enjoy with the kids. They solved puzzles, cheered each other on in races, and challenged the children in a Quiz Bee. The answers came so fast, their surprised new employee friends exclaimed, “Wow! You’re smart!” While laughing and playing, these Accenture “big brothers and sisters” also made the kids feel special. In the kids’ words, “We will remember these wonderful memories for a very long time!” “They inspired us to think, listen, participate, and work as a team.” “We had a great time!” Special thanks to Regina Lim and Ken Chua for organizing a great day of fun! |
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07.10 — Pam Deml
Over the years, many volunteers have contributed behind the scenes in ways that have made a big difference for FHM kids. But no one has done more to provide a global window into the world of FHM than designer, Pam Deml. Pam designed the original website and continues to maintain it. Flash introductions and the FHM Facebook pages are the result of her imagination — and sometimes, her prodding. The work of FHM teachers deserves a good telling. The way FHM students and graduates are overcoming challenges to show what kids can accomplish against the odds should be seen. Thank you, Pam, for hundreds of hours volunteered to create a platform on which we can grow a global network in support of kids!
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Archived Featured Partners
02.10 — David Larson is a Valued FHM Friend
Dave Larson, long-time EVP of Cargill, has been a true friend of Food for Hungry Minds. With his heartfelt commitment to education as the path for people reaching their full potential, Dave began championing FHM along with his other work for education, including service on the University of Minnesota Board of Directors and outreach through the David and Janis Larson Family Foundation. In 2004, he encouraged Cargill’s support for the launch of a FHM school in Bulacan, the Philippines, a place he knew as architect of Cargill’s Animal Nutrition business. As a FHM Friend, Dave has contributed his time and strategic expertise to strengthen the organization. His personal contributions support both FHM elementary students and FHM graduates, now in good private high schools on scholarship. As you retire from your fulltime corporate role, Dave, may you find even more pleasure and satisfaction in your ongoing work, carving pathways for others to make their contribution to the world. Thank you, from a whole lot of kids and their families! |
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02.10— General Mills
In addition to a financial contribution to FHM Philippines, General Mills made some happy kids − and board members − by donating two months of breakfasts for 150 children at the two FHM schools in the Philippines. Milk was included with the cereal and hotcakes. Even the mothers had a chance to take home samples for the family. One child wrote, “When she cooked the pancakes they were so delicious! The sauce was very sweet. When it was already cooked, I put some cheese and it was so yummy!!!” Thanks for stretching the FHM budget and helping us grow healthy students. |
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12.09 — Navitaire Employees Outdo Themselves!
Again this year, a team of Navitaire employees led a year-end fundraising effort for FHM high school scholarships. Executives donated great prizes. Three bands of software developers jammed in off hours. Colleagues could view their performances online and vote with their contributions. FHM kids, working with employee volunteers, prepared dances to go with the music. Pesos piled up in Manila. Votes came in from Australia through PayPal. Employees in the US gave dollars to local office organizers or went online to give. Some employees even voted with donations through Razoo. All totalled, employees raised $9,502. This will pay for a year of private high school education for 15 FHM graduates! Congratulations to everyone involved. You rock, Navitaire! |
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12.09 — FCED
Over 20 years ago, Ms. Teresita Silva, a leading pioneer in the field of social work, established Families and Children for Empowerment and Development (FCED) to serve informal settlers living in the Metro Manila communities of Paco and Pandacan. FCED has organized parents, provided funds to help children stay in public school, offered livelihood trainings, and worked to improve community services. Seeking partners for the first FHM school in 2004, FHM was very fortunate to meet Ms. Silva’s and benefit from her experience and wisdom. The FHM team now includes a social worker. FCED’s knowledge of the community makes possible our holistic work with children and families. In a crisis, FCED’s expertise is invaluable. After the recent fire, our FCED-trained social worker gathered key data so that donated funds went to empower homeless families to rebuild their lives. Congratulations, Ms. Silva, on a lifetime of meaningful work. Thank you, FCED for these years of fruitful partnership!
At the first graduation, Ms. Silva spoke:
We have been able to see…our children grow from very poor, dependent, rather shy, to some degree not functionally literate, very low income, malnourished - and with very limited or no opportunity for development. At FCED we have assisted [by 2007] over 1500 students to go to [public] school. The children that have been selected to become participants in this [FHM] program have really been the most fortunate, the most blessed.
Even as early as a year after they joined FHM we saw a very distinct transformation in the way the children developed more self-confidence, more capabilities for expressing themselves. And now, three years later, we see the children blossomed into really, I would say, educated children - educated in the fullest sense of the word: IQ, EQ [Emotional Intelligence Quotient], showing that here at FHM there has been a real effort and a thrust with very successful results at wholesome, holistic child development. And for this we are really very grateful. I would like to say to all those donors that you could not have invested your resources in a much more fruitful and productive human development effort as you have done through FHM and through FCED.
It’s really amazing to compare these children with other children in our community - to be able to see the distinct difference in terms of self-development, self-confidence, and a wholesome approach, an approach to life that is really generated by a lot of hope for their own future. All of us at FCED are so touched by the fact that a whole new world opens to them as they enter high school…excellent schools which our children would never normally be able to afford. For this we are very grateful. |
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10.09 — Friends of FHM
Several years ago, Shelley Klevos of OCI and CFO Kaye O’Leary led in the creation of the Friends of FHM. Other major donors joined to become the US Friends of FHM, a group of business leaders that offered networking and their strategic advice. In August, FHM Friends like Cargill Executive Vice President, Dave Larson and retired Accenture partner, Mike Dickoff joined the US FHM Board of Directors in a full day of strategic planning. FHM partnerships among educators, business leaders, and those working in community development again brought together the best thinking of various fields to chart a path toward more children receiving the unique FHM opportunity. One important goal: develop FHM Friends networks in the Philippines, Honduras, and other US cities. |
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10.09 — Teachers Who Put Students and Learning First
This fact is being noticed afresh: a key variable for student achievement is teaching that engages and inspires student learning. When a consultant compared independently-administered test scores between schools, he noted high FHM math scores. “Here’s the teacher factor” he commented. This year, FHM faculty has taken advantage of two training events. The first, offered by education-partner CENTEX, focused on new research on the brain and learning. The second, offered by the University of the Philippines, focused on math and science and was appropriately titled, “Let Children Shine.” FHM teachers oversee an academic program with longer hours and a summer program. Their commitment to their students means that, as a team, they invest in helping each other work smarter – and stay positive. Like these teachers, their kids do shine! |
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10.09 — Employee Volunteers
One FHM distinctive is that donors can often see – and sometimes even meet and hear! – the difference their contribution makes. Employee volunteers impact children in many different ways. When GE volunteers host an Art and Slogan-Making contest, they let children sense that they have something to offer the world. When busy Cargill employees take time to escort children to a day at a museum, they model what the future can be like if the FHM children turn their devotion to helping their families into studying and working hard. When individual employees commit Saturday mornings to help a struggling student, several lives are changed. As Accenture employee Cecile Divinagracia said, “The first time I saw the kid’s faces, warm feelings overflowed. I felt compelled help them have a better future. I thought I would teach them love by example, but I learned from them instead.” |
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07.09 — Cargill’s 3-Year Involvement with FHM is Broadening and Deepening
In 2009, Cargill’s 3-year involvement with FHM is broadening and deepening. Cargill Animal Nutrition in the Philippines decided to sponsor a second group of students for the 3-year FHM program in Malolos. In her new role chairing the Philippine FHMS board, Cargill HR Director Lani Gomez benefits the whole organization with her enthusiastic, competent leadership. The company’s support for a new Honduran school will give Cargill “FHM kids” on both sides of the world. |
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07.09 — Ronald McDonald House Charities Support Allows Students to Dream
The first class sponsored by Ronald McDonald House Charities has just begun their third year in the program.
Nutrition, education and parents participating in making a program work for their kids: it all adds up to success.
RMHC support lets this student poet dream:
I am cheerful and adventurous
I wonder where the submarine goes
I hear the hooting owl at night
I want to travel the sky
I am cheerful and adventurous.
From the parents, you’ll hear a rousing, “Thank you.” |
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07.09 — Hard-Working FHM Students
FHM does not “give” anyone an education. Achieving a good education requires a student’s own engagement with the world and with our human languages of writing and math. This picture of Wesley was taken the year he started FHM. Here are some of the words of appreciation he offered at this year’s Makati graduation.
The road leading to my house is dark and narrow. So maybe is my future, since my mother is the only one I have to support me. However, no matter how narrow the road is, it does not stop me from studying and being what I want to be. I used the challenges in my life to succeed, and Food for Hungry Minds School helped me start my path towards that success…
…I remember (the fire) not really because it was a very sad experience, but because of how everyone showed their love by sharing their strength, time, homes, money, food and clothes for the families who were affected. It only shows that the bond that FHM built within our families and with our benefactors resulted to a united people.
Today, I can proudly tell others that I am in a place that makes me smile all the time...This is a place where we learn to trust, explore, and bravely face the challenges that came my way. This is our very own Food for Hungry Minds School. |
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04.09 — Rina Clamor: Recognizing Five Year of Service as Philippine Board Chair
Rina Clamor’s contributions to Food for Hungry Minds are too numerous to list. As a Navitaire HR director at FHM’s inception, Rina shaped the professional standards which mark FHM. Her team helped identify the first group of teachers. Her connections led to key initial partnerships. As Chair of the Philippine FHMS Board of Directors for five years, Rina’s legacy is marked by her personal commitments to creating value for companies, to education, and to warm personal relationships. Happily, Rina, now at Accenture, continues to serve on the board. FHM is grateful, Rina, not to lose your laughter - or your tears! |
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04.09 — CENTEX
Congratulations, CENTEX, on the 10th anniversary of pioneering high-quality education for disadvantaged children! Your generosity in sharing educational expertise, notably from Ms. Carol Atacador, Ms. Lilia Tantoco and your Manila Master Teachers, has fueled FHM in carrying forward this kind of education to the children of other communities. Thank you, for your partnership, CENTEX. All best wishes for many decades of success ahead! |
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04.09 — Navitaire Software Developers Raise $7500
Organizing a major fundraiser engages all kinds of talent. From a Manila organizing committee to a Salt Lake City volunteer collecting donations to global executives donating prizes for a raffle, lots of people contribute so that “their class of kids” will have the opportunity for a better life. While the end of 2008 brought a flood of bad news, employees investing with Food for Hungry Minds ended the year with some “feel good moments.” Thank you, Navitaire, for faithfully delivering for the kids! |
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01.09 — Seabury OCI
Seabury OCI is a global human capital firm specializing in compensation, development, selection and workforce analytics. When managing principal Shelley Klevos had a chance to visit FHM, she saw an initiative that employees like her could believe in. Shelley began personally supporting FHM growth and enlisted Seabury OCI and other colleagues, too. “The engagement of the kids and parents was what made me want to contribute.”
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01.09 — FHM Parent: Tatay Jun
Parents are a child’s first educator. FHM parents go beyond this. They contribute to educating many children. In Filipino, all mothers and fathers are addressed with these titles. In the FHM experience, some parents do become “other mothers and fathers” to the children. The experience of all the Makati children is shaped by Tatay [Father] June: he drives the “bus,” a “jeepney.” As the number of children grew, so did the length of the jeepney, ingeniously engineered to fit our needs. Over the years, Tatay Jun went from simply driving to gradually buying the vehicle. His own son now studies at Don Bosco high school, but the dependable care of Tatay June continues to be felt by FHM children and staff. Thank you, Tatay! |
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01.09 — Surprise!
This Christmas season, Mr. Silas Yu of Hong Kong was visiting Microsoft business partners in Manila. The gifts of Christmas goodies piling up on his desk made him want to give something back. Then he thought of the less privileged. When Mr. Yu shared this thought, Microsoft employees who had been at the school brought him to a FHM Christmas program. There, he happily wrote a check that will cover most educational expenses of a child for a year! Happy New Year! |
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11.08 — FHM Friend, Mike Dickoff
When FHM was just an idea, Accenture Partner and Navitaire’s founding CEO, Mike Dickoff, enlisted his executive team to consider investing in a class of FHM kids. Soon, he engaged a friend to support another class. Now the Dickoff and Grudnowski families support a class, while Navitaire continues to support its second class. Mike also serves with a small group of FHM Friends, business leaders who provide guidance, connections, and funds for FHM. FHM congratulates Mike on his recent “graduation” from Accenture. All best wishes in your next venture! |
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11.08 — Accenture Hungry Minds Volunteers
In the Philippines, Accenture awarded its major Gantimpala award to the Hungry Minds Volunteers, led by Ken Chua. Receiving the award “for developing and implementing the best people programs that positively influence employee engagement” were by Dan Agbada and Nico Africa, who led the Hungry Bands fundraising project, and Philippine FHM board member, Jen Que. |
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11.08 — General Mills
In the Philippines, the Christmas season is well underway in October. New sponsor General Mills is celebrating by contributing a portion of Haagen-Dazs purchases to Food for Hungry Minds. Holiday cheer, tropical warmth, ice cream — plus support for quality education…sounds like a winning recipe, doesn’t it? |
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10.08 — Cargill
The rain poured down on 150 FHM students and staff camping at a mountain Boy’s Scout Camp. This didn’t stop Cargill employees from showing up! Quickly assigned to teams like “Flexibility” and “Strength,” employees took the lead and cheered on the children. Eventually, all the kids braved the obstacle course heights — and the mud! Cargill teammates were there with moral support and occasionally a very literal “helping hand” to pull a child across. Cargill’s commitment to “Nourishing” was on full display! |
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10.08 — Navitaire Employees Mobilize for Fire Victims
On July 21, 2008 fire swept through the Paco, Manila. Over 100 families lost their homes. Seven FHM student families were homeless. Soon a table went up at the library where FHM families lined up to make donations. Within an hour of hearing the news, Manila Navitaire employees contributed funds to buy food for displaced families living on the basketball court. Within two days, a Navitaire Salt Lake City employee called the US FHM, “How can we get funds to the fire victims quickly?” Global software developers had also been emailing asking how they could help. In addition to household goods and clothes, funds are buying planks and cement so people can keep out this season’s rain. With Navitaire, this global FHM bridge makes a difference! |
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10.08 — SAP
Welcome SAP, as a new connection in the FHM global bridge for children’s education! As part of an anniversary celebration, employees contributed to FHM, the Red Cross and an organization serving special children. The generosity of SAP employees covers all of five children’s costs for a year in FHM. Thank you, SAP employees! |
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10.08 — General Electric
GE Volunteers, FHMS, and Bantay Kalikasan (Nature Watch) organized an event at the Lamesa Watershed, where efforts are focused on saving a clean water source for Metro Manila residents. Volunteers and children enjoyed an eco-race. For urban FHM children, a day in the beauty of nature is a very special gift. Rowing together on the lagoon, employees and kids became more aware of the importance and joy of nature. It’s a day they’ll never forget, GE employees!
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