Dear Santa

CEBU, Philippines – Christmas is widely regarded as a time for sharing - and a season for the children. At this time of the year, everyone seems to want to bring a smile to the face of a child. And this does not take much to do; the main thing it requires is the will to do it.

Best Western Lex Plus Cebu did its share by opening its doors to children seeking for their hearts desire. The hotel recently fulfilled its corporate intention of bringing smiles to the children, as a way of giving back to the community. The gesture is out of gratitude for all the blessings the hotel has received this year.

On December 23, just two days before Christmas, Best Western Lex Plus Cebu invited 50 children of poor families from a nearby barangay as beneficiaries of the "Dear Santa, I wish..." campaign. The project, on its second year, granted the wishes of the little ones. On the occasion of its annual Christmas Tree lighting, the hotel displayed pictures of children and the gifts they wanted to receive this year.

In the first year of the special gift-giving project, close to 80 children from Medellin town had their wishes granted, courtesy of the hotel and its guests. The kids were all smiles as they received their bags, clothes, toys and bikes a month after typhoon Yolanda wreaked havoc in the town. After the success of the project last year, according to general manager Bernard Neil Tanchan, they knew they had to do it again.

This year, Best Western Lex Plus Cebu chose children close to home from Barangay Camputhaw, Cebu City. The kids were gathered at the hotel, where they feasted on food specially prepared for them, participated in fun games with exciting prizes, and received nice gifts.

Tanchan shared how so many guests were eager in participating and even the hotel's own personnel were shelling out various amounts from their own pockets for the project. Janine Vienna Matig-a, sales and marketing manager, assured that the annual project will go on, and Best Western Lex Plus Cebu will continue to entertain kids' letters that read "Dear Santa, I wish…"