Whether it’s through the projects we take on, the art we create, or the causes we advocate for, Varsity Co-op works hard to give back to our community. After a fruitful and inspiring 2023 for the team and our partners, there was no better way for us to celebrate a fantastic year than by remembering why we call Christmas the season of giving.
To help mount what we call our Best Day Ever, Varsity Co-op sought out a team who would not only allow us to reach out to communities we could support and uplift, but one that ultimately shares the same causes we further as a company. Enter: AHA! Learning Center – a nonprofit organization that champions opportunities for education for the Filipino youth through skills development programs and supportive learning environments. AHA! has multiple partner schools where they conduct afterschool programs to empower the youth in their path to obtaining and maintaining quality education. With their experience in empowering and providing learning opportunities for the youth, AHA! was the perfect bridge to connect us to communities we could share our blessings and the joy of Christmas with.
With the help of AHA! Learning Center, Varsity Co-op took the celebration to Pedro Cruz Elementary School, one of AHA’s partner schools, where we hosted a fun afternoon full of exciting games and prizes that the school’s students and their mothers enjoyed.
Our main goal for the event was to make sure the students had a good time, and to give their hardworking moms a moment to kick back and relax while the kids had their fun. Pedro Cruz Elementary School’s roof deck was filled with festive Christmas decorations, and activity stations were spread throughout the room for all our guests to enjoy. The moms enjoyed a moment of R&R during the event with the mani pedi station, while the students made a beeline for our photobooth–a fun little touch that also doubled as their souvenir for the day. To mark the end of the festivities, our special guests received Noche Buena packs, thoughtfully prepared by the Varsiteam for our new friends to bring home and enjoy with their families over the holidays.
It was a day filled with non-stop laughter, Pinoy games, funny dance challenges, and core memories made that everyone is able to relive with the event collaterals that we created for both AHA! and Varsity’s social platforms. We created materials to drum up excitement for the Christmas party, and for everyone involved to have a virtual souvenir we can easily look back on to remember this day. Our materials included a pre-event countdown, an infographic capturing the heart of this Varsity x AHA! initiative, as well an omnibus video with some highlights from the event.
Upon the culmination of the event, seeing the wide-eyed smiles of the kids and the joy evident from the mothers’ faces was reward enough for Varsity Co-op and the volunteers from AHA! Learning Center. The day spent together with the kids and the mothers of Pedro Cruz Elementary School was a testament to our belief that extending our time and resources can help make a difference in the lives of those within our community, even if it comes in the form of dancing to the latest TikTok trend or playing endless rounds of Tumpakners. We believe that this project marks the beginning of a solid partnership with AHA! Learning Center that will enable us to use our creativity to help further their causes and open doors for us to be able to lend our skills, talents, and resources to give back to even more people in our community.