Provide Protection Through an Education Program

Childhope Philippines welcomes Binibining Pilipinas International 2021 Ms. Arnold as an Ambassador of Hope, promoting the rights and welfare of children in street situations. She joins Ms. Poe, Childhope PH’s first Ambassador of Hope, in campaigning for support for street children’s welfare, health, and education.

“I first remember seeing Childhope Philippines on my social media early 2019 and I followed and helped promote some of their educational toolkit fundraisers,” Ms. Arnold said. “Then I received a lovely message from one of their staff running the page asking if I would like to volunteer and it was the perfect timing because I was really looking for somewhere to go lend my time and wanted to do something independently without family or friends so I could really grow from the experience.”

The 26-year-old beauty queen started out as a volunteer for the foundation’s MusiKalye, a project celebrating children’s rights through music, way back in 2019. Since then, Ms. Arnold has been actively involved in various activities and campaigns, devoting much of her time to support the beneficiaries’ activities for learning.

“Musikalye 2019 was my first volunteer experience with Childhope and I am so glad it was my introduction into the beautiful community of Hope they have. I met and saw so many talented children, met dedicated and caring staff, and met many other young volunteers.

“These children are so smart, talented, and also have big dreams that truly can be achieved. From singing to dancing and playing of musical instruments, I realized they have so much dedication and put in so much time and effort with the correct support and tools they were given. It made me see that if more people believe in them, they can really achieve anything and so much more.”

Arnold’s Personal Campaign for Children’s Literacy

In 2020, Ms. Arnold started her own campaign to encourage the public to donate books to encourage children to read.

“Ever since a young age, my family and I have donated school supplies and other items to our barangay in Masbate, so my advocacy for quality education began there. Furthermore, it was my 18th birthday here in Manila that my parents took me to an orphanage to donate my blessings, share my time with the children, and learn their stories. It was that day that changed everything for me and every year after I tried my best to return and bring joy to the children,” she said.

On Her Advocacies as Ambassador of Hope

Ms. Arnold is excited to officially be part of Childhope Philippines. Among her plans are promoting readings in school-aged children; bridging partnership with other NGOs to Childhope Philippines to raise awareness about HIV/STI to children and youth; and organizing continuous fundraising initiatives for Childhope Philippines’ Street Education and Protection Program.

“As an advocate for quality education, promoter of science, ambassador of HIV awareness, and Miss International delegate promoting sustainable development goals; I have so much in my mind that I want to bring to the street children,” Ms. Arnold said. “I want to help bring more hope and positivity to their lives.”

Regarding Childhope’s programs in place, she said, “Childhope already has so many ongoing programs that have helped so many children become better citizens and find their place in society, but I want to help bring awareness to other areas such as science and HIV awareness with bigger sponsors and organizations. At the moment, it is most important we promote the tools that students need as they go back to school and from there a lot more can be achieved.”

Ms. Arnold concluded, “All it takes is a simple smile to change the day of a stranger, so imagine the positive change that can be done in their lives if we lend our helping hands, care, and kind words. We can truly change how the future of our community will look, if we work together, listen to each other, uplift one another, and give the gift of hope.”

Ms. Arnold will be competing at the Miss International pageant this December.

“We [at Childhope Philippines] wish her all the luck and blessings for her upcoming competition. Her innate kindness radiates, and that is what inspires our children beneficiaries. With her being part of the Childhope family, we know that the issues of street children will be put at the forefront,” says Dr. Carpio, Childhope PH Executive Director.

Support Childhope Philippines’ Programs Today

Like Ms. Arnold, you can make a world of difference in children’s lives to ensure they can live a brighter future. Join Childhope Philippines’ advocacy efforts for the betterment of street children. Join our team or make a donation to become the agent of change they need today.

MAKATI, Philippines – Last September 17, 2022, Century City Mall hosted the Read It Forward: Community Book Drive, a campaign that aims to foster learning while opening a door to endless possibilities and spreading the joy of reading to everyone.

The event commemorated the United Nations’ International Literacy Month this September, which is celebrated annually around the world to remind the public of the importance of literacy as a matter of dignity and human rights, as well as to advance the literacy agenda toward a more literate and sustainable society.

Ms. Pangilinan, Marketing Specialist of Century City Mall, explained why they came up with the idea and launched the event. “This pandemic created a great wall between children and learning materials. They stopped going to school because of the virus and some of them do not have direct access. And these things affect them so much—like what we hear from the news, they get left behind. Now, we aim to avoid them getting left behind. We believe that nobody should get left behind especially these times. We wanted to contribute to the community by helping children have access to learning materials.”

Explaining Century City Mall’s decision to create and launch the community book drive, Pangilinan continued, “We formed this event to make an action to step closer to lift our literacy gap, one book at a time.”

Childhope Philippines’ Participation in the Community Book Drive

To further the advocacy of promoting literacy among children, Century City Mall also invited Ms. Arnold, crowned as Binibing Pilipinas International 2021, and the newest Childhope Philippines’ Ambassador of Hope, to participate in a storytelling activity with 10 street children beneficiaries of Childhope Philippines.

Ms. Arnold stated on social media that she was thrilled to be a part of this type of advocacy because she was able to inspire children to read books. “Celebrating International Literacy month with my Childhope PH family as an advocate for quality education and a bookworm myself I really want to encourage everyone to read it forward—spread awareness that literacy can transform and bring our community forward,” Arnold said.

This community book drive will be open to the public throughout September and will encourage people to donate by bringing pre-loved or brand new books at Level 4, Al Fresco Hall, Century City Mall. All donated books will be donated to Childhope Philippines’ street children beneficiaries.

Be an Agent of Change Today

Literacy is an integral component in everyone’s lives, especially in children. Given the paucity of resources within their reach, indigent communities struggle to enjoy this right. Street children deserve to receive a high-quality education, and the community book drive is but one of the many things we can do to help them forge a better future.

Join Childhope Philippines’ advocacy efforts and contribute to efforts for the street children. Join our team or make a donation to become the agent of change they need today. To help us inform and engage more people about our cause and keep them informed about our organization, kindly like, follow, and share our official Facebook page. Let’s work together to give the street kids and their families a better tomorrow.