Ayala group builds a nationwide ‘Brigada’ of volunteers

In Photo: Jaime Z. Urquijo joined Ayala group employees at a daylong #BrigadangAyala volunteer event held at the Ayala Mall Manila Bay. (Ayala Group File Photo)

To kick off a year-round series of volunteer activities, the Ayala group of companies gathered over 300 employees at Ayala Mall Manila Bay on February 24, packing and organizing survival kits for families living in vulnerable communities in times of calamities and other emergencies.

This activity was one of several volunteer events organized by Ayala Foundation through the #BrigadangAyala Corporate Citizenship and Volunteerism program, which seeks to harness the power of Ayala’s 65,000-strong employee base as a force for good.

The event also served as an opportunity for Ayala to affirm its commitment to contributing to nation-building, which has been an integral part of in the conglomerate’s culture throughout its 190-year history.

A total of 5,500 survival packs were prepared for shipping and distribution to partners in different parts of the country. An additional 25,000 survival kits will be packed and distributed in subsequent volunteer events. The survival kits were donated by Liquide International Corp. and will be distributed through partner institutions for the benefit of select communities in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. 

Said Jaime Z. Urquijo, Ayala chief sustainability and risk officer, and Ayala Foundation vice chairman: “Our purpose of building businesses that enable people to thrive has not only been a guiding light in why and how we do business, but it has also ensured that we are able to attract colleagues across the group with a strong calling to make a difference in the lives of Filipinos. It is this calling that brings out the volunteer spirit in each of us, which has again shown itself today in the kick-off of this incredible initiative. I hope this is just the beginning of many more opportunities for scalable impact through our Corporate Citizenship and Volunteerism program.”

The #BrigadangAyala Corporate Citizenship program serves not only as a venue for employee engagement but also as a way to strengthen a culture of malasakit or concern within the group. In its first year, the program will provide volunteer opportunities under the following themes—health, education, financial literacy, and environment. (PR)