Meaningful Volunteer at the Filipino Independence Day Festival

The day started out sunny and hot just like in the Philippines, but today we are in Coquitlam, British Columbia getting ready to participate in the Filipino Independence Day festival.

I set up a booth for our Meaningful Volunteer Organization which was really easy. It consists of a table, my banner bamboo stand and my face painting kit. As I looked around, I saw the other booths setting up with piles of “stuff” – free stuff! Filipinos sure love receiving free “stuff” and today was jack pot day of freeness!

There were all sorts of free food: Lichon (roast pig), Filipino barbeque stick, sticky sweet rice, smokies, and hot dogs, and there was even a cotton candy machine! The different venues gave away free water bottles, key chains, pens, note pads, Filipino style spaghetti sauce, pancit noodles, and pineapple juice. There were also free prizes such as pots and pans, air conditioners, and concert tickets. The generosity of the businesses that participated in the Independence Day Festival was amazing.

Meaningful Volunteer didn’t have any physical items to distribute, some would call me korepot (thrifty), but we did offer something just as fun and maybe even more meaningful. I spent time with the kids, painting their tiny Filipino/Filipina faces and just talking. They asked me to draw Dora, Thomas the Tank Engine and Spider Man but I told them I would draw something better. I drew and painted red hearts and drew the flag of the Philippines. And while coloring their tiny faces I asked them “do you know why I am drawing a heart and painting the flag of the Philippines?” Some kids said “it’s because it’s Filipino Day” but most others said “it’s because we love being Filipino”. I was really pleasantly surprised by their answers and quite touched that they were proud of their roots. I was really waiting for one of them to say “because you suck at face painting, you don’t know how to draw!” That didn’t happen because Filipino children are quite respectful!

“Love being Filipino” was one of the main reasons I wanted to set up Meaningful Volunteer at the Filipino festival, as a reminder that even though we were born here or were raised here in Canada, we still are Filipinos and we owe it to ourselves and our children to keep our heritage and culture alive by staying connected and having meaningful connection with other Filipinos. The whole day was spent doing just that; talking, eating and visiting with each other. It was a hot sunny day just like in the Philippines but today we were in Coquitlam, BC.

Meaningful Volunteer may not have had physical “stuff” to give away but we did make lots of friends and I think they all walked away with meaningful smiles.