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The first time I heard about exchange arena, I
thought it was a new swapping store ala ukay-ukay or a venue for
events. Turns out, it’s a little of both after a few minutes of
explanation. It is novel project convened by eight partner
organizations to provide a creative opportunity for companies to
help alleviate poverty or to improve the education, health and
environment-related concerns starting with the National Capital
Region.
The idea is simple and
inexpensive enough: a company invests 1 percent of its annual
employee time for nation building through employees volunteering
with the Exchange Arena Project.
To be exchanged are corporate
talents and time for social action with civil society groups, local
government units and micro and small entrepreneurs. Rich lessons
from development work are to be shared in exchange for gaining
employee-volunteers as additional resources for local and national
development. The arena is a “meet-and-match” event under the
slogan of “We help find a good match!”
Employees right now volunteer for
many of their favourite causes, including church and
non-governmental organizations. Others are involved in Rotary,
Lions, or Jaycees which have nation-building projects. They do it to
lead more meaningful lives and try to make a little more difference.
Employees individually benefit
when they build project management skills, team-building concepts
and enhanced loyalty to their company for the freedom to express.
Business leaders of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP)
agree that sharing business skills, not financial resources, are the
most important contribution companies can make for social
development. It is time to go beyond philanthropy understood in
terms of sponsorships or giving away freebies.
Companies are awakening to the
corporate social responsibility tenet that they exist not purely for
profit but for an overriding social good and service. More reasons
for a company to participate: increase in corporate visibility in
society, enhancement of its market positioning, increase of employee
morale and productivity and nurturing of work-life balance for its
employees which translates to better performance and better
bottom-line figures.
Instead of trying to look for the
projects themselves and providing parallel spending, employees and
companies can decide to join the Exchange Area Project for best
value matches. The Exchange Arena serves as the information and
education exchange and links the creative, innovative
community-based development programs and the corporate sector in a
dynamic environment. It monitors and evaluates the volunteer
matches. It is a win-win situation for everyone.
The go-to person who
conceptualized and implemented this project is Deanie Lyn Ocampo, a
UP professor and managing director of Pinoy-rin, Inc. She tapped the
Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency and the
United Nations Volunteers, Philippines as lead agencies.
The 1 percent of annual employee
time equals three volunteering days only for each
employee-volunteer. Companies may decide to invest all its employee
volunteering days to a single organization or any combination of
civil society organizations’ programs and projects.
The target organizations, with
manpower and cost constraints, get to realize their local
development goals and plans, improve their capabilities to better
the communities they serve and develop meaningful partnerships with
the corporate sector.
Fast gaining ground, the project
is jointly-organized by the Caucus of Development NGOs, Foundation
for Communication Initiatives, International Movement of Development
Managers, Kaisa Para Sa Kaunlaran, Inc. and Philippine Business for
Social Progress with Philippine Association for Volunteer Effort
Volunteer Organization, Information, Communication and Exchange,
Inc. (VOICE) as the resource institution.
Already, strategic partners
include the Association of Child Care Agencies in the Philippines,
Caritas Manila and the Archdiocese of Manila, DepEd NCR-Division of
Makati, DepEd NCR-Division of Parañaque, Employers’ Confederation
of the Philippines, Management Association of the Philippines,
National Council for Social Development, Philippine Elementary
School Principals Association-NCR, Philippine Partnership for the
Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas, Titanium
Technologies, VOICE-NCR.
What else is there to do except
e-mail Exchange.arena@gmail.com.
Be involved today and get to know the true meaning of exchange in an
arena for socially responsible people.
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