Br. Gus @ 65 was a no ordinary and usual birthday celebration.
The De La Salle Health Sciences Institute (DLSHSI) and the De La Salle University-Dasmariñas (DLSU-D) observed the birthday of their President by launching the “Culture of Giving: Our Legacy for Tomorrow” campaign.
And far from celebrating the man, the focus was on the causes that make the man. Thus, the community learned more about the One La Salle Scholarship Fund, the Bahay Pag-asa, and the DLSUMC Charity Services – causes that the birthday celebrator holds dear to his Lasallian heart.
And for the Brother whose greatest strength is his ability to build relationships based on common grounds of staying true to the Lasallian mission, the message was clear: The Culture of Giving is our legacy for tomorrow.
The launch was made in two fronts. The first was before the internal communities of the two institutions where an Audio-Visual Presentation featuring beneficiaries of the three focal causes giving testimonies on how these programs have changed their lives was shown. “This is a community of noble people of noble professions. So I am very hopeful, and believe that these dreams would become realities. In our desire to make these institutions a place where truly, the experience of God is lived and shared, each of us has a role. I, as your animator, am immensely proud of what you are doing to contribute to this dream. I am sure that we will truly make this a legacy not only for the poor and the youth-at-risk, but for the future generations who will be part of these institutions,” said Br. Gus during the launch ceremonies held November 11 at the Villarosa Hall, where members of the community were asked to pledge their support to any of the three causes the campaign is highlighting. And the community responded very positively to the call for giving. As units, departments, and individuals, Lasallians at DLSHSI showed they care by pledging daily, monthly, and yearly contributions to the three causes highlighted. The staff of the Information Technology Center, for example, has pledged a 1,000-peso monthly contribution from November 2008 to 2011, while the administrators from the Lasallian Mission and Linkages Division have each pledged to contribute 5.00 pesos a day or 100.00 pesos a month up to 2011. Others pledged a percentage of their administrative honoraria, salary adjustments, Coop dividends, and proceeds of projects such as that of the “Diwang Pilipino, Pusong Lasalyano” daily prayer guide. The second front of the campaign was launched November 13 at La Salle Green Hills in a surprise birthday dinner that gathered Br. Gus’ friends, partners, benefactors and long-time supporters of his causes.
Though held in two separate events, there was one bottom line for both events: that Lasallians, their friends, partners, and benefactors do care.
The Culture of Giving campaign, says DLSHSI Vice Chancellor for Lasallian Mission and Linkages Dr. Charles Yu, is a natural progression for the DLSHSI community, given the community spirit that has been generated by the changes and developments that have been apparent in campus since last year. “Many of us here at DLSHSI are starting to feel that need to give back, thanks to our very dynamic animator. We hope that this would be a good start, that these people who have pledged their support will become good examples of what it means to be truly Lasallian. No pledge is small enough to be insignificant, we value is according to the sincerity to help that motivates the hand that extends the help. It’s time we walk the talk, it’s time we show we truly care.” |
