6.12.2013

Nurture. Inspire. Give. -- A Note For The Future by Wyeth

I am a frustrated artist. When I was a little girl, my lolo and lola would always say that I would grow up to be a fine artist. I remember back then, I would always draw and paint. It was a passion. I know that I am not that good at it but I loved doing it. But obviously, that dream wasn't fulfilled. I went on a different path and took a computer related course in college. But I still love arts until now. That's why I'm so happy whenever I see my 19-month old toddler, whom I am still proudly breastfeeding, get his crayons and paper to scribble and doddle. He seems to like arts, too. If he still likes it until he grows up, his Tatay and I would support him all the way.


It was Pablo Picasso who said – “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” He may have said this decades ago, but these words still ring true until now. After all, how many children – all brimming with promise and creativity – just fade away when they grow up?

Today, Wyeth Nutrition and Synergeia Foundation are working hand-in-hand to do their part by nurturing future generations through education. And they’re doing it through a simple but ingenious way – by giving notebooks to thousands of underprivileged schoolchildren all over the country.

Yesterday’s Dream. During Wyeth Nutrition’s launch of “Nurture. Inspire. Give.” through the Synergeia Foundation, students from Bagong Tanyag Elementary School performed, “Yesterday’s Dream,” as a way to say thank you to Wyeth Nutrition and artists, Marco Flores and Antonio Tordesillas, for presenting them with the limited edition notebooks designed by the two young artists.

“A notebook may not seem anything special to some, especially for kids who have had the benefit of growing up with cellphones, tablets and gaming consoles; but for a same-aged child, who’s not as fortunate, a simple notebook can represent his canvas for the future,” says Richard Arboleda, Associate Director for Communications, Wyeth Philippines. 


GIVE. From one student to another. Young artist, Marco Flores, presented notebooks with his design to pupils from Bagong Tanyag Elementary School.

Arboleda shares that what makes the notebooks extra special are their designs, which were specially made by three gifted artists who are schoolchildren themselves.  The child artists are Allie Arroyo who began painting at 5 and is now improving her craft under noted artists Bambi Manosa and Elaine Herbosa; Antonio Tordesillas, who has already had a solo exhibit at the age of 14; and Marco Flores who hails from the art capital of the Philippines, Angono, Rizal.

Nurture. Inspire. Give. (L-R) Wyeth Nutrition’s Associate Director for Communications, Richard Arboleda, talented young artists, Marco Flores and Antonio Tordesillas and Dr. Milwida Guevara, Chief Executive Officer of Synergeia Foundation during the launch of “Nurture. Inspire. Give.”

“Our aim is to promote literacy and to encourage children to be creative and value education; we are able to achieve that through the gift of these three children. Access to notebooks leads to more writing and reading, which then fosters an increase in proficiency,” says Arboleda.

Nurture. Inspire. Give. (L-R, back row) Wyeth Nutrition’s Associate Director for Communications, Richard Arboleda, talented young artists, Marco Flores and Antonio Tordesillas and Dr. Milwida Guevara, Chief Executive Officer of Synergeia Foundation with the pupils from Bagong Tanyag Elementary School during the launch of “Nurture. Inspire. Give.”

A note for the future. The little girl from the left shows off her new notebook to her classmates. The covers of the notebooks given away by Wyeth Nutrition bear artworks of other young students as part of “Nurture. Inspire. Give.”

From June 15 to August 15, Wyeth Nutrition and Synergeia Foundation will be launching the Nurture.Inspire.Give. campaign. Here, any purchase of Aqiva (900g), Progress Pre-school Gold (900g and 1.6kg), Promil Pre-school (900g and 1.6kg), Bonakid Choco Boost (800g), Bonakid Pre-school (900g, 1.2kg and 1.6kg), Enercal Plus (900g), or ProMama (900g) comes with a free limited edition notebook and a scratch card. The scratch card has a promo code, which one can use to register through SMS to be eligible for the raffle promo and to enable a child to receive his/her own notebook.

Wyeth Nutrition will give away P20,000 worth of gift certificates for school supplies and an educational gift pack worth P5,000 to 50 raffle winners on July 17 and another 50 winners on August 16.

Wyeth Nutrition and Synergeia Foundation pledge to give away notebooks equal to the total number of registrants. 10,000 registrants would mean 10,000 notebooks to be given away to less fortunate schoolchildren in the Philippines.

“No one understands children better than children themselves; and it is because of this that we chose to have Marco, Allie and Antonio design the notebooks,” notes Arboleda. “Looking at their designs, it’s no exaggeration to say that we may be very well looking at the future of Philippine art.” 

Arboleda is also proud of Wyeth Nutrition’s partnership with Synergeia Foundation, which implements programs to improve basic education to nearly 1.5 million schoolchildren in 250 municipalities in the Philippines. Since 2011, the organizations have collaborated to implement feeding programs and inspire employee volunteerism.  “What they do is travel to the remotest barangays in the country to work with communities in order to upgrade basic education – and that’s why we’re sure that help really reaches those who really need it.

“It’s our hope that this initiative will serve to inspire and somehow influence the future of children. This is, after all, what Wyeth Nutrition is all about – nurturing generation after generation of Filipinos.” 

For more information, visit www.wyeth.com.ph. Per DOH-FDA Permit No. 0801 Series of 2013. 

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About Wyeth Nutrition
Wyeth Nutrition, formerly Pfizer Nutrition, is part of Nestlé S.A.  Wyeth Nutrition develops premium-quality nutritional products scientifically-designed to meet the needs of infants and young children, pregnant and lactating mothers, and adults. As pioneers in infant nutritional science, our mission is to provide the best nutritional support for future healthy outcomes. For nearly a century, Wyeth Nutrition has leveraged scientific research, world class manufacturing and product safety standards to drive scientifically-sound solutions that offer parents confidence, help nourish children and support their healthy futures. It employs the same level of excellence in delivering nutrient-rich products to adults.

About Synergeia Foundation
Synergeia started as a coalition of individuals, institutions, and organizations working together to improve the quality of basic education.  Led by former Undersecretary of Finance, Dr. Milwida M. Guevara, Synergeia implements programs that affects nearly 1.5 million schoolchildren in 267 local government units all over the country including ARMM. It mobilizes members of a community and builds their capabilities to design and implement programs that will help their children complete basic quality education. Its flagship activity is “Reinventing Local School Boards” which promotes community engagement in improving education. Through a vibrant school board, Synergeia engages in local governments, the Department of Education, socio-civic groups, schools, teachers, parents and students to implement systemic programs that will improve the processes, systems and structures of learning and teaching.


1 comment :

  1. Kids have potential to be n artist when they grow up, little encourage, support and let them inspire in every aspect of life. I love to draw when I was little but, As, you said, I took a different path in life..:)

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