A new campaign puts the spotlight on showing gratitude to people who helped us keep going and show them that life goes on.

Strange? Crazy? Traveled to a parallel universe? No matter how you describe the year 2020, it’ll go down in history as one that redefined what it means to live.

The last 9 months revolved around:

• unemployment and late payments
• health issues for both of my parents (not COVID-19 related)
• keeping a small food business afloat
• homeschooling two grade school kids
• taking care of a dog (first time, hands-on)
• flooding
• taming our crazy landlady
• keeping up with (two simultaneous) project demands
• fighting anxiety and fatigue

Honestly, I don’t know how we would be able to pull through without the support of others. I am sincerely thankful to those who…

• look after my well-being. A simple message asking about how I’m doing, sending me cute posts/memes, and responding to my posts with encouraging messages works wonders.
• offer help selflessly. Grateful for those who reached out especially when the pandemic started and were hit by typhoon Ulysses
• give me opportunities to learn and earn. Sometimes I’d feel like I didn’t deserve them but both have been rewarding experiences so far.
• share their blessings. I barely had to worry about food as we continually received ayuda (rice, canned goods, instant noodles, and other essentials) on way or another.

I also express my gratitude by paying it forward c/o donation drives, sharing my knowledge with others, supporting other people’s business by following their social media accounts, etc.

If you have been on the receiving end but feel like you don’t have the means to help others, consider this: let AIA Philam Life help you pay it forward to those in need by donating on your behalf through their Tuloy Ang Buhay (Continuity of Life) campaign?

The mechanics are simple: send your nomination via bit.ly/PALSignUpForACause, which will serve as your raffle entry. If you’re lucky your chosen charity will receive P100,000 from AIA Philam Life.

Choose from one of these charities:

• For the children. SOS Children’s Village provides long-term family-like care for orphaned, abandoned, and neglected children.
• For the elderly. Anawim Home for the Elderly in Rizal is a facility for poor and abandoned elderly people.
• For the sick. Cancer CARE Registry Philippines Foundation was organized to create a registry of cancer patients in the Philippines which can serve as a database for responsible and ethical cancer research.
• For people with disabilities. Leonard Cheshire Foundation advocates and protects the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities in adherence to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
• For Mother Earth. The Haribon Foundation promotes environmental protection, conservation of wildlife, sustainable use of natural resources, and the preservation of Filipino tribal culture.

You also have the option to input the name of the charity that’s close to your heart. Read through the full mechanics at https://bit.ly/PALSignUpForACauseMechanics. Voting ends December 31.

2021 is going to mark a new beginning in many ways and I hope that you will continue to hope, dream, and persevere. Remember: tuloy ang buhay! Have a happy, healthy, and a peaceful new year ahead 🙏✨