It was a different kind of tree-lighting ceremony because the light shone not just from the tree but from the luminous joy of the children who attended it. They are special children, and how special they truly were that night. They weren’t just guests — they were hosts and servers as well.
The Hyatt Regency Hotel & Casino Manila jump-started the holiday season by celebrating with Down Syndrome Association of the Philippines Inc. (DSAPI). Special children took the center stage for the entire night starting off with the lighting of the hotel’s Christmas tree at the lobby. Together with them were the executives of the hotel headed by the general manager Richard Simmons and the current president of the DSAPI Elmer Lapeña and their representatives.
A Dinner for a Cause in Market Café followed the tree-lighting ceremony where more kids joined the F&B service team of Market Café to look after the diners. Guests walked in and they were greeted with smiles and open arms by loving, gentle and amazing children. Each of the kids was given an assignment and was partnered with a service team to ensure that each would enjoy the work and have fun. Simple tasks such as assisting the guests to their table, serving and clearing tables, and even slicing up a pizza or scooping an ice cream from the show kitchen’s dessert station gave them a chance to experience working at a hotel restaurant for a few hours.
Indeed it was truly a heartwarming evening of lots of smiles, fun, fundraising and food. Christmas is for children, especially those who forever look at life through a loving, cheerful lens.
Hyatt Regency Hotel and Casino, Manila is a five-star hotel surrounded by the city’s culturally-rich and well-preserved historical points of interest. This 33-storey mixed-use complex offers 376 elegantly designed guestrooms and accommodates the largest number of suites in the Bay Area, including 58 specialty suites and four presidential suites. The hotel features three innovative and authentic restaurants, a pastry shop, an entertainment outlet, four floors of Regency Club accommodation, as well as the most stylish and advanced event spaces in town.
The Down Syndrome Association of the Philippines, Inc. was founded to support families through projects concerning Down Syndrome. These projects include parent counseling, seminars, trainings, recommendations from specialists and even social activities for children with the syndrome.
(For more information on the Down Syndrome Association of the Philippines, call 895-9642 and 895-3606 or visit www.dsapi.org.)
(You may e-mail me at joanneraeramirez@yahoo.com.)