A sweet taste of paradise
The children who are fortunate to be housed by the Gawad Kalinga (GK) projects may not be so lucky when it comes to a birthday party experience. With this in mind, Goldilocks and GK Batang Bayani teamed up to throw the biggest birthday bonanza ever called “Paraisong Pambata” for select GK children. These kids came from different GK areas in Mandaluyong City, Taguig, Manila, and Quezon City.
In order to provide goldi-good delights for at least 7,000 children, six batches of more than 1,000 kids were entertained from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. As part of the GK spirit of volunteerism, Goldilocks employees from all departments, branches, and units lent their assistance to this daunting task. In fact, the company’s executive committee gave their all-out support to make the birthday bash a success.
Goldilocks party hats were distributed in advance to the invited kids. This ingeniously served a three-fold purpose: as an entrance ticket, a nametag, and a party souvenir. After the welcome remarks, the party kicked off with a rousing song and dance number followed by parlor games.
After the intense revelry, all the celebrants for that month gathered in front of the stage to blow out their birthday candles. Loot bags (which seemed to stretch out into infinity) were distributed to the guests. This was the “celebration cycle” the Goldilocks volunteers went through, so that they would be ready with a smile for the next group of party-goers to arrive.
The icing on the cake were the presence of showbiz personalities like Iza Calzado and Makisig Morales, a.k.a. Super Inggo, who were warmly greeted by the giddy GK kids.
GK and Goldilocks helped build a little piece of heaven here on earth. Taking care of all the preparations for the special day of just one child is challenging enough. Just imagine the logistical coordination necessary to make 7,000 kids realize that their birthday is indeed a very noteworthy occasion. Notwithstanding their visibly exhausted faces, it was very clear that the entire Goldilocks brigade welcomed this event with arms and hearts wide open, for it was clearly demonstrated in the way they looked after the GK kids.
Goldilocks marketing director Pinky Yee and GK visionary Tony Meloto personally expressed their heartfelt gratitude to all those who helped make this ultimate birthday party a meaningful experience for all the GK kids.
“Hopefully, these children will be able to look back on this wonderful memory with bright-eyed smiles,” Yee later explained. “For once, they had the limelight. For a brief moment, they had a chance to just be kids. We can all do our part to ensure that their happiness does not end here. As they grow into responsible citizens of this country, they in turn can share these beautiful encounters with everyone they meet,” she further added.
