In its bid to play a vital role in uplifting the lives of the marginalized Filipinos, Globe Telecom believes that the greatest contribution it can deliver would be through sustained corporate social responsibility programs.
Thus, the birth of the telecom company’s integrated CSR program called Globe Bridging Communities (Globe BridgeCom) in 2004.
Globe BridgeCom aims to enrich community leaders and micro-entrepreneurs through various community and enterprise development projects as well as supports and improves education initiatives by utilizing the company’s core products for the benefit of the mass market.
In a recent press briefing with the Cebu media, Globe Community Relations Head Jeffrey O. Tarayao said aside from making a difference in the community, BridgeCom has also somehow inculcated the spirit of volunteerism within its system by involving its employees in the implementation of its CSR activities.
Tarayao said they were able to somehow train or it made a paradigm shift by involving the employees.
“Today we already get proposals from them about how they can help better the community, and point out the advantage of their prospective. Like, if they were to solve the poverty problem how they would go about it? In the process, they become more sensitive to the community and they are able to help in a much better way,” he said.
Globe Head for Public Relations Jones T. Campos said “Globe believes that its greatest contribution to poverty alleviation is sustaining its corporate social responsibility programs through the effective use of its core products and services to uplift the lives of marginalized Filipinos as creating opportunities for greater involvement of the company with the communities.”
In its first year alone, the Globe BridgeCom program has already started taking in a number of accolades such as the prestigious Anvil Award and the Gold Quill Award from the Public Relations Society of the Philippines and the International Association of Business Communicators, respectively.
However, despite these, Globe continues to move forward in reaching out to more areas in the country and make a difference.
And in its effort to prepare the youth for tomorrow's global arena, BridgeCom focuses its efforts on helping the Filipino youth become more internationally competitive through various literacy and leadership programs employing the latest in information technology.
These programs include Text2Teach, Internet in Schools, GT Eskwela, and other related activities such as computer donations, youth leadership development, and international youth volunteerism exchanges.
Through the Text2Teach program, the power of text messaging provides a remarkable teaching tool for elementary grade school pupils.
This program has been made possible through the collaboration of Globe Telecom, Nokia, Ayala Foundation, and Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization-INNOTECH, the Text2Teach program brings in learning tools and training to communities all over the country through educational videos downloaded via SMS or text messaging.
Teachers can order over 900 kinds of educational videos in Science, Math, English and values. Today, about 900,000 students from 203 public elementary schools found in Quezon City, Manila, Batangas, Calapan, Oriental Mindoro, Antique, Cagayan de Oro City, Maguindanao, Cotabato City, North and South Cotabato and Sharif Kabunsuan are able to use Text2Teach.
On the other hand, getting young Filipinos connected to the rest of the world is the target of the Internet in Schools Program (ISP). In partnership with the Gearing Up Internet Literacy and Access for Students (GILAS) Consortium, ISP reached a pivotal mark in 2007 as it provided free Internet access to 815 (or 49%) out of the 1,670 GILAS-assisted public high schools. Bulk of these schools is found in the Visayas with 392 schools, followed by Mindanao 313 and Luzon, 110.
There is also the Globe Tulong Eskwela (GT Eskwela) which mobilizes employee volunteers to teach students in adopted public elementary schools in identified areas nationwide.
“Globe BridgeCom invests on young Filipinos’ access to education because this is their bridge and tool in leading the future,” Campos said. —Joefel Ortega Banzon
Tarayao further said that this year Globe BridgeCom will further strengthen its advocacy to champion education.
“We reaffirm and renew our commitment to continue to deliver relevant Globe BridgeCom programs that will change the lives of young people. In Globe, our commitment to society is our mindset, philosophy, and our way of doing business,” he said.