Parallel to the Child Safety Initiative (CSI) campaign announced at the last Manila International Auto Show, Volkswagen Philippines embarks on yet another corporate social responsibility (CSR) project geared towards children’s welfare with a donation of violins and cellos to the pupils of the Center of Excellence in Public Elementary Education (CENTEX) in Tondo, Manila.

CENTEX is a project of Ayala Foundation, Inc. in partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd), other corporate sponsors and local government units that aims to provide bright but economically disadvantaged children with primary education comparable to that of the best schools in the country. There are currently two CENTEX schools, one in Tondo, Manila and the other in Bauan, Batangas.

“For our CSR projects, we have chosen to go into one of the most basic foundations of society, and that is the care of the ones that we love the most – our children,” VW PH President and CEO John Philip Orbeta said during the ceremonial turnover of donation last May 12 at VW BGC showroom.

The donation of 21 violins and two cellos were turned over to beaming CENTEX students accompanied by their teachers and parents, who expressed their appreciation on the gift of music to the children. “Music, in particular playing musical instruments, has countless benefits for children; it increases their learning ability and is an effective way of building team work and confidence,” Orbeta further explained.

The unique ceremony was also attended by Ayala Foundation President Ruel Maranan and Senior Director for Programs Rowena Lopez.  Ayala Foundation, the social development arm of Ayala Corporation, has four key program areas, namely Youth Leadership, Sustainable Livelihood, Arts and Culture, and, Education (wherein CENTEX plays a crucial role). For this reason, VW PH has chosen this special project as their second CSR activity for the year.

Recipients of the musical instruments from CENTEX in Tondo gave an impressive musical performance after the program.  Seeing the happy children playing beautiful music together was enough to fully understand the relevance of this worthy endeavor.