Adopt-a-School Program

Recognizing the importance of education, Smart, as part of the PLDT group of companies, has been actively supporting the various projects of the Department of Education’s Adopt-A-School Program.

Read-to-be-Smart

Under the company’s Adopt-A-School program is the Read-to-be-Smart Project, an initiative of Smart employee-volunteers, which was first implemented in April 2004 at the Palanan Elementary School in Makati City.

Read-to-be-Smart includes summer  tutorial and feeding program which seek to address the lack of appreciation and understanding of reading, writing and arithmetic among public school children by instilling a love for and habit of reading among selected  public school graders.

Initially launched in 2003 with the PasaBook nationwide campaign (old school books/ encyclopedia donation drive), the campaign benefited schools such as:

• Salih Yusah Elementary School in Jolo, Sulu,
• Ipil NHS and Pangui NHS in Zamboanga City
• Calangitan High School and Mayantoc Elem. School in Northern Luzon
• Maligaya Elementary School and High School in South Luzon
• Gilutongan Elementary School and Buagsong Elementary School in Cebu

In 2005, Read-to-be-Smart was extended to Marcela Marcelo Elementary School in Pasay City and to Buagsong Elementary School in Cebu.

In 2006, the initiative was extended by Mindanao-based employees at G.L. Reyes-Anhawon Elementary School in Cagayan De Oro City and at Ceriaco Mariano Elementary School in Davao City.

For 2007, employee volunteers are currently getting ready for the summer tutorials.

Brigada Eskwela

Through Smart’s participation in the DepEd’s Brigada Eskwela, Smart employee-volunteers together with participants of the PLDT group’s student camp, helped in the cleanup at Diosdado Macapagal Elementary School in June 2006. The delegation formed the biggest group of volunteers. A similar initiative is in the works for this year.

SAGIP – campaigning for reading advocacy

In 2006, SAGIP or the Smart Advocacy Geared toward Improving Public Education was initiated by Smart employee-volunteers from Smart Wireless Centers nationwide to promote reading among young children through storytelling sessions. Adarna House was enlisted to provide the storybooks and to train volunteers from the WCs.

SAGIP was adopted by more than 500 employees from 70 WCs in seven different regions nationwide (North Luzon, Central Luzon, South Luzon, North Metro, South Metro, Visayas, Mindanao)

The WCs then adopted 54 Gawad Kalinga (GK) Village day-care centers all over the country for the storytelling sessions.

Last April 23, 2006, the Ozamis Wireless Center volunteers were the first to conduct a SAGIP storytelling session in their adopted GK site in Bongbong.