Everyday Adventures

Shop Online and Get Rewards at ShopBack.ph

By Mommy Donna and Kib - October 17, 2015

Shopping online is the ‘in’ thing these days. With the heavy traffic in the Metro—especially that it’s already holiday season—people would prefer to stay at home than to be stuck on the road for hours. Sometimes I also do online shopping because there are some items that are unique and are not available on physical stores. I can also get the best deals online too. I can save a lot when shopping online!

But…do you know that there is a website where we can be rewarded for shopping? Yes, try shopping at ShopBack - you can get the best deals and savings!

ShopBack is a unique online shopping website where you are rewarded with cashback rewards when you purchase through their website. ShopBack gets commission from their partner-shops and they split the commission to their shoppers in form of a cashback. Apart from the cashback rewards, ShopBack also gives their shoppers the latest discount codes, vouchers and coupons from their favorite online shopping websites. You can buy almost everything, from clothes, beauty products, electronics, novelty items, hotel bookings, among others.

There’s more! ShopBack has 42 partner-websites! Cashback rewards that you can receive when you shop from their partner-websites is up to 30% depending on the partner-shop and current promo. One reminder though, when you click on the partner-website to shop, you should stay within the redirected tab until the purchase has been confirmed.

Here's the list of ShopBack's partner-websites

Next question is: How does ShopBack works? Below is the illustration on how to use ShopBack.ph:

It's seamless, right?!

Very easy, right?!

Once the cashback rewards has been credited to your ShopBack.ph account, you can cash it out and credit it either to your PayPal or bank account once the redeemable cashback of Php300 has been reached.

Halloween is coming soon and there’s lots to prepare! Do you already have a costume for your kids? Do you need to put Halloween decors in your home or office? This is your chance to get the best Halloween costumes and decors for a great price at ShopBack.ph. Check which online stores have the current promos for the Halloween here.

Don’t forget to use the coupon codes and/or shop at the redirected site to get the cashback rewards!

Do you want to earn instant rewards? Refer a friend at ShopBack.ph! You will get Php100 for every referral who signed up and shopped through ShopBack.ph. To monitor your referrals, you can check this link.

Don’t forget to take this opportunity to earn rewards from your favorite online stores when you shop via ShopBack.ph! Let me know your experience in shopping at ShopBack okay?!

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31 Smiles Project

Baskin Robbins' Double Celebration

By Mommy Donna and Kib - October 14, 2015

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Impact Hub Manila

Innovators Wanted! Applications Open for Impact Hub Manila and LBC's First Fellowship Program

By Mommy Donna and Kib - October 12, 2015

Innovation is what others--and even companies do--to keep alive in the industry. One must reinvent or improve themselves so that they will last long in the industry. Take the case of Madonna, she has reinvented herself for several times, so even at the age of 50+, she's still one of the sought-after pop singers in the whole world.

With the increasing needs of people, companies need to also innovate to make our lives easier. Like Waze and Uber, they offered something new in the transportation industry. Waze is an interactive GPS where you can get real-time traffic updates from other Wazers near your area, and Uber, a cashless premium car rental service.

It's good to hear that there are big companies all across the globe who are willing to support innovative projects that will create a better world. They are willing to fund these projects to become a reality.

LBC Express and Impact Hub Manila partnered in a project to address the issue on mobility. This partnership aims to provide a solid foundation that will grow these ideas into scalable, innovative, impactful ventures. The 'Impact Hub Manila Fellowship in Innovation in Mobility with LBC' aims to discover and cultivate the most innovative business ideas that provide sustainable development in order to promote, support, and implement adaptive solutions to issues of logistics and mobility. Furthermore, the program provides opportunities for networking through thought-provoking events, and community-driven programs anchored on a global member platform that allows participants to work, meet, learn, and connect.

The Fellowship aims to initiate collaboration among established corporations and emerging start-ups. Impact Hub Manila and LBC realized that collaboration is key to the advancement of mobility innovation and its continued development in the future. Because worsening traffic conditions in Metro Manila contribute to several major problems encountered by Filipinos in their day to day lives, the Fellowship program has decided to focus on finding opportunities and creating innovative solutions to such logistical challenges. These solutions could address the following areas, not limited to the constant dilemma of commuting: energy and resources efficiency in general transport, methods to optimize traffic flow, smarter transportation management, value chain innovation, and improvements to supply and distribution channels.

"We recognize that there is a great need for a global-minded incubator, which focuses on social enterprises, to support and reinforce the growing and hugely talented sector," explains LizAn Kuster, one of the co-founders of Impact Hub Manila.

On the other hand, Dino G. Araneta, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer of LBC said, "As a company that prides itself in continuously seeking ways to transform the industry and pioneer new ways to improve our service, we wanted to become part of an initiative that will cultivate ingenuity and help participants focus it into something tangible."

Impact Hub Manila, LBC Express team and some start-up entrepreneurs present during the press conference

Application Procedure

Applications are now open for the 'Impact Hub Fellowship on Innovation in Mobility with LBC." To pioneer Impact Hub Manila's Fellowship programs, they are looking for entrepreneurial ideas on mobility, offering participants a chance to win more than Php1 million worth of fellowship prizes and earn guidance from a community of professionals and supporting corporations. The grand prize includes a 12-month stimulating workspace at Impact Hub Manila, living stipend, and access to seed funding, focused skill development and valuable networks.

The application is open for individuals or teams anywhere in the world. However, they should be able to work in Manila, where fellowship will take place. Interested innovators may apply at: http://www.impacthub.ph/program-fellowship.

The Fellowship will be executed in three phases:

PHASE 1: CAMPAIGN AND APPLICATION

Application starts from October 1 until November 15, 2015. During this phase, we invite everyone interested to benefit from an ideation workshop, where participants will learn how to conceptualize their ideas with a clear business approach. From all applications received, up to 12 candidates will be invited to a pitching workshop, to prepare them for a presentation in front of a professional jury partner where three (3) finalists will be selected. These finalists will then enter the cohort phase.

Meanwhile, on October 15, 2015, an Idea Development Workshop will be conducted at Impact Hub Manila from 6PM-8PM. Details of the event can be found at

https://www.facebook.com/events/1650825348498860/.

PHASE 2: COHORT

The cohort phase is an intensive 3-month acceleration phase, targeting the development of a full-fledged business model and/or prototype, as well as other key competencies and start-up skills. Furthermore, finalists gain access to a personal coach, valuable networks, and a stimulating workspace at Impact Hub Manila. At the end of this phase, Impact Hub Fellow will be selected, who will then enter the Incubation phase.

PHASE 3: INCUBATION

The goal for the Fellow during the 9-month Incubation phase is to build a management team, found a legal entity, develop/test a prototype and/or enter the market, and secure additional funding as well as customer contacts. During this phase, the Fellow receives a significant seed funding as well as connections to peer entrepreneurs, mentos and other beneficial contacts. These relationships, combined with focused skill development and access to a vibrant community of change-makers in an aspiring work atmosphere, will help facilitate the start-up of a thriving social business.

For more details about the Fellowship, please check Impact Hub Manila's website at http://www.impacthub.ph/program-fellowship.

About Impact Hub Manila

Impact Hub Manila is an incubator, coworking and events space for a membership community of entrepreneurs, activists, creatives, and professionals taking action to drive positive social and environmental change. Since their opening on June 1, 2015 they welcomed more than 2000 innovators, held over 40 events and count 100+ Hubbers. With 11,000+ members in 73+ Impact Hubs across the world and 30 in the making, the Impact Hub Network has become the center of gravity for people innovating a new kind of economy. Locally rooted and globally connected. Now, the are taking the next step to foster sustainable innovation and empower entrepreneurs. The Fellowship in Innovation in Mobility with LBC will be the first in a series of annual innovation and incubation programs.

Visit www.impacthub.ph and follow Impact Hub Manila on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Location: Impact Hub Manila, 5F Green Sun, 2285 Chino Roces Avenue Extension, Makati City

For more information on the Fellowship and Impact Hub, please contact LizAn Kuster, lizan.kuster@impacthub.net, +63915-4310454.

About LBC Express

LBC Express Inc. is the Philippines' market leader in payments, remittance, courier products, mail, parcels, and cargo logistics. Through a global presence in over 30 countries in Asia-Pacific, North America, the Middle East and Europe, LBC Express' network of 4,400 locations, partners, and agents is growing steadily, and commits to moving lives, businesses, and communities in the Philippines and across the globe. Founded in 1945 as a brokerage and air cargo agent, LBC Express pioneered time-sensitive cargo delivery and 24-hour door-to-door delivery in the Philippines. Today, it is the most admired and trusted courier, car, and remittance service of millions of Filipinos, an iconic and global Filipino brand, LBC can move it. Visit www.lbcexpress.com or call +632-8585-999 (Metro Manila), 1-800-10-8585-999 (provincial), and follow LBC Express on Facebook and Twitter.

For more information on LBC, please get in touch with Rea L. Gomez, rlgomez@lbcexpress.com.

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homeschool

Ready for the World: Philippine Homeschool Conference 2015

By Mommy Donna and Kib - October 07, 2015

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homeschooling

Snow White and Seven Dwarfs the Musical: Sophie as Fred

By Mommy Donna and Kib - October 05, 2015

I am a frustrated artist. Yes, and I've been always telling that on my previous blog posts. I joined acting clubs when I was still young, but I think I really don't have a talent for that. My son is an aspiring artist. Just tell him to cry and in few seconds you will see a tear rolling down from his eye.

One of the things that a homeschooler--or actually everybody in that sense--must put in their bucket list is to watch theater play at least once in their lifetime. This is a form of entertainment which I can say, a no place for error. A caliber theater actor and actress must rehearse his or her lines very well and if he or she made a mistake on the actual play, he or she must be able to get out of that awkward situation seamlessly.

This year, Repertory Philippines marks the 78th season of this country’s most formidable and premiere English speaking theatre company. Forty-eight years ago, two women, armed only with a passionate desire to give Filipinos the chance to see world-standard plays, staged “Miss Julie” in front of seven people. The legacy that Zeneida Amador and Baby Barredo began, continues to live in the dedicated men and women who’ve trained under them to keep the REP vision alive. Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs Musical is one of their shows worthy of inclusion in this hallmark year.

The official poster of the October 10th blocked show

The enchanting tale of a beautiful girl named Snow White who takes refuge in the forest in the house of seven dwarfs to hide from her stepmother, the wicked Queen, is staging on October 10, 2015, Saturday, 4:30pm at Onstage Philippines. Actually, this is a blocked show by Grace Atienza and her family as her daughter Sophie Tephilia is part of this production as Fred, one of the dwarfs.

Look at Sophie's description! For sure her parents are proud of her as this is her first professional acting stint

Sophie (right) together with the other dwarfs right after the play

Sophie with Ms. Becca Coates (Snow White)

Sophie with her mom, dad, brother (left), and cousin

Did I forget to tell you? Most of the children in this production are homeschoolers! Hooray for homeschoolers who are rocking the world of stage acting!

Since this is a blocked show, you can get the tickets at a discounted price when you contact Mommy Grace. Some of the tickets for this blocked show are in TicketWorld but you will purchase it on a regular price. You may contact Mommy Grace Atienza to inquire about the discounted tickets at 0932-7129629. You can also know more about the blocked show from the event link on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/events/924226674311683/).

Hope to see you there!

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Filipino migrant workers

Heroes for Better: Western Union's Way of Honoring Filipino Migrants

By Mommy Donna and Kib - September 04, 2015

I know how hard it is for a family member to be away from their respective families just to give them a decent living here in the Philippines. I have a lot of relatives who are working abroad just to provide the basic needs of their own families. Being away from the family also poses some risks; some may be unlucky to be working with a cruel employer, getting an inhumane treatment and sometimes ending up in a coffin.

What I like about Filipinos working abroad is that they take care of each other. They form support groups and communities. When someone is in need, they come to the rescue.

After months of searching for Filipino migrants who had made an outstanding difference in making a positive impact in the community, The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU), a leader in global payment services, announced last August 24, 2015 the top 25 Filipino migrants who are living proof that Filipino migrants are indeed our modern day heroes. The search is called "Heroes for Better".

Western Union had deemed it important to recognize heroic efforts of Filipino migrants, especially during Filipino Heroes Day, to affirm their invaluable contribution to their families, communities, and the country. The migrants did not just send the money back home; they had also given pride to the Filipino community with their successful missions.

Patricia Riingen, Senior Vice President of Western Union South East Asia and Oceania, said, "Heroes for Better campaign celebrates lives of migrant Filipinos, their work and their personal advocacies because they were the ones who were courageous enough to run after their dreams and in fact, they even took it further by fulfilling other people's dreams. The campaign does not just recognize and tell their stories, it also provides them a platform to inspire others to pay it forward."

Patricia Riingen, Senior Vice President of Western Union South East Asia and Oceania

The 25 Filipino migrants who were given Heroes for Better recognition are the following:

Eddie Vega -- ambassador for Soles4Souls, a charity organization collecting new and gently worn shoes from shoe companies and individuals for donation to the world's underprivileged children.
Nestor Puno -- a missionary who teaches in a small school for Filipino and Filipino-Japanese children who cannot enter regular schools due to their status of stay.
Nilo Beltran -- founder of Skills Caravan, a non-profit organization which provides free technical skills workshops to jail inmates, out of school youth and unemployed members of underprivileged communities in the Philippines.
Adelaida Saito -- established the "Ishinomaki Haway-Kamay", an organization that organizes fund-raising events to help people in Japan and in other parts of the world who are experiencing emotional/social/economic devastation made by natural calamities.
Edmond Corpuz -- founded the "Black Pencil" project, which helped bring school supplies to 1,200 school children in rural areas.
Nanette Carillo -- initiated setting up the Pinoy Street Children and Orphan's Trust (SCOT), a charitable nonprofit organization based in Auckland, New Zealand. Several projects of SCOT are to provide scholarship and conduct feeding programs to street children in various places in Bulacan, Batangas, Caloocan City, and Antipolo City.
RJ Garcia -- founder of The Appledrive Project, a campaign to educate indigent kids in both rural and urban areas in the Philippines to advocate a healthier lifestyle by eating apples, instead of candies or chocolates.
Agnes Granada -- co-founded Migrant Action Trust which provides services for migrants in New Zealand. They provide support for funding applications and acquittals, accounts and day-to-day issues.
Mauro Oreta -- created an online group called "AKInzPINOYS", a vehicle for New Zealand migrants to share their experiences on job seeking, house hunting, settlement and visa processing.
Vangie Jorquia -- founder of Addicon Organization which is helping schools in the Philippines. She mounts her own fund raising events to support her school medical missions.
Consorcia de Leon-Scholtz -- founder and president of World Mission for Peace and Development (WMPD), a non-profit organization established in 2000.
Jay Jaboneta -- his advocacy "Zamboanga Funds for Little Kids" has raised money to buy bright new yellow boats for kids in Layag-Layag, Zamboanga, who had to swim to get to school everyday.
Vincent Benares -- radio broadcaster who started Pinoy Tayo, Sanman. Its goal is to inform and entertain the hundreds of thousand of Filipinos in Hong Kong.
Edna Dorado -- factory worker who established her own agency to service the same factory. She helped and hired so many Filipinos primarily the jobless and those who need an employer to regularize their stay in Italy.
Mary Jane Al-Mahdi -- she the CEO of Geoscience, a leading testing laboratory in the United Arab Emirates. She is also one of the founders of the UAE-based Filipino Digerati Association (FDA). FDA hopes to give better job opportunities to Filipinos living in the UAE.
Hengie Taton -- he does different charitable activities that cater to the needs of Filipinos in the Middle East. Through his active involvement in several organizations such as Pinoy Ambulance Nurses in Kuwait (PANIK) and the Pinoy Nurses Association-Kuwait (PNA-K), he has helped many distressed Filipino workers recover from their grim experiences.
Mario Balboa -- organized Philippine Council of Engineers and Architects -- Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (PCEA-KSA). Its main objective is to promote and showcase to the highest standard--the skills, talents, credentials and qualifications of Filipino engineers and architects for global recognition and competitiveness.
Alexis Belonio -- created a low-cost cooking stove (rice husk stove) designed to help poor people have access to hot meals.
Benette Cueto -- one of the founding members of the Oriental Mindoro Association Qatar (OMAQ), an organization created primarily to assist distressed Filipinos in Qatar. She also started granting scholarships to few deserving student from her hometown in Oriental Mindoro.
Ma. Theresa Bautista -- helped a lot of Filipina harrassment victims out of the goodness of her heart.
Armand and Bing Serrano -- a talented Filipino animator who has worked for some of the biggest companies in the world of animation, for more than two decades. Together with his wife, they set up a foundation called ICON to provide humanitarian aid and conduct international conferences to upgrade the skills and knowledge of future animators and artists.
Judith Gonzales -- former caregiver who assisted not only the caregivers but also the new Filipino migrants who are not that fortunate.
Nilda Cochrane -- opened an orphanage in Sorsogon called Oasis Christian Children's Home, caring for 23 orphans for their education and well-being.
Cecilia Orola Czech -- president of Babaylan-Austria, which conducts project for the benefit of Filipino women. She also helps streetchildren, impoverished families and students in the Philippines
Asma Vilmonte -- founded the OFW Council of Leaders in collaboration with the Filipino Community Leaders in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Its purpose is to help distressed Filipino workers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in terms of their health, security, safety, finances, and moral upliftment.

During the press conference last Monday, August 24, 2015, three (3) Heroes for Better awardees were present--Nilo Beltran, Edmond Corpuz, and Nestor Puno. They all shared their experiences on their respective causes, their future plans, and their thoughts about the current Philippine economy.

Nilo Beltran, Edmond Corpuz, and Nestor Puno

I feel honored to be part of the launch of Heroes for Better campaign of Western Union. Meeting these people who are making a change in our society is indeed a humbling experience.