Megaworld Foundation, Inc. - Scholarship Program
Name of Organization / Company: Megaworld Foundation, Inc., Taguig City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Category: Award for Excellence in Innovation in Non-Profit Organizations or NGOs - Up to 100 Employees
Entry Title: Megaworld Foundation Scholarship Program: From Building Homes to Building Lives
Essay:
MEGAWORLD FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM: FROM BUILDING HOMES TO BUILDING LIVES
From the perspective of once a scholar who wakes up early to walk to school and goes home late from the library to borrow books and study, Dr. Andrew L. Tan, now Chairman and CEO of leading real- estate developer, believes that an opportunity at a good education can give the less- privileged a chance to change their lives for the better.
For 21 years, Megaworld Foundation upholds this vision by giving the youth a chance to a better life with the power of education. Through the Foundation, this same vision has transcend Megaworld from building homes to building lives.
EDUCATION BUILDING
Megaworld Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of Megaworld, is dedicated in empowering literacy. It has refurbished libraries, donated school boats that ferry students to public schools, and built classrooms across the country.
Of all this, the Scholarship Program is its flagship initiative. Its scholars are financially- challenged students who, like Dr. Tan before, live in humble homes, have minimum wage- earner parents, and are already working to help their families. These students, no matter how humble their backgrounds are, are bright and have big dreams in life.
Starting with just eight scholars in 2000, the Foundation has been providing tuition and miscellaneous fees, school supplies, and allowances to 350 high school and college students in 2017 which further expanded to 400 students by 2018. These students are enrolled in 45 premier partner schools in the National Capital Region and nearby provinces. To date, the Foundation has given more than 5,800 scholarship grants and celebrated the achievements of over 600 graduates –almost half of which graduated with honors.
CHARACTER BUILDING
Megaworld Foundation believes that educating the heart is as important as educating the mind. Thus, it innovates its support by communicating values- formation through various activities that contribute to the scholars’ holistic growth.
Starting with the “Scholars’ Orientation”, newly accepted scholars are introduced to the advocacies of the
Foundation. The “pay it forward” culture is then inculcated by making them ambassadors in the Partnership- Building Program and volunteers in feeding, tree planting, and outreach activities.
Their experiences are further enriched by the “Scholars’ Tour” wherein they explore Megaworld’s projects. In 2017, this was revamped to “Alliance Global Tower Tour” as the scholars visited Megaworld’s state- of- the- art headquarters. Dr. Tan himself invited the scholars to his own office and shared encouragement.
NATION BUILDING
To secure a better future for the scholars, Dr. Tan’s companies under Alliance Global Group (AGGI) provides career opportunities through Megaworld Foundation. The Foundation supports accountancy, architecture, business, engineering, human resource, information technology, and interior design students, in relation to AGGI’s businesses.
In 2017, the Foundation helped alleviate the lives of 321 scholars who joined the workforce hence, by 2018 this increased to 388. To support the continued development of this growing number, the Foundation spearheaded “Values- driven Leadership Seminar” to equip them with the values they must uphold as professionals.
These scholars, no matter how successful they become, never forget to “pay it forward” by joining the Foundation’s charitable initiatives. For the Foundation’s 21st Anniversary, alumni scholars volunteered for a first of its kind party in an orphanage with children who rarely have a chance to celebrate their own birthdays.
This CSR program has been recently recognized by International Business Awards with a Gold Stevie Award, and by 2019 the Foundation aims to continue improving this by affording scholarship grants to more underprivileged youth, helping them succeed in life through education. This is the ultimate goal Megaworld Foundation has met and will continue to pursue –not only to improve the access to education in the Philippines, but to build it, and not only to improve the lives of Filipinos, but to be a ripple that builds the nation.
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