Dear Beloved Members,

I wish you and your families are safe and healthy in the midst of the present crisis. The threat of covid infection and its consequences have brought us great distress in our personal lives. The fight against the virus remains until both the cure and the vaccine are finally delivered. Even as we now gradually transition to a general quarantine situation, it is clear that the world as we know it has drastically changed. The challenges of this “new normal”, or the new ways of conducting our everyday lives are real. Now more than ever, it is important that we support each other as one community.

Your Board of Trustees (BoT) promptly adjusted despite the early restrictions by conducting the Annual General Meeting via a virtual online gathering last Mar 17. This was followed by another BoT meeting online on May 21. It was a welcome sight to see and hear all your fellow Trustees after two months of home confinement! Despite the initial fumbling with technology, our hunger and excitement to connect once again actually paved the way towards productive discussions. We focused on how we can bring alive within this new normal the themes of devolution, volunteerism and benefits that shape our 2020 Plans.

On the outset, your BoT is reallocating the Club’s resources away from activities planned under mass gatherings to events that foster well-being while observing social distancing protocols. The Good Samaritan Fund (GSF) remains available to help members who are in dire need, and is further strengthened to assist potentially covid-afflicted members – hopefully, a provision that will not be utilized. This year’s voluntary flu vaccination for SC15 members will ride onto SCiP’s program this Q3. How to deliver the flu vaccine safely to Club members who may want it is the challenge that we will figure out.

In an era when we are physically apart and less mobile, it does not mean we are isolated or alone. We can continue to connect and share with one another enabled by technology and social media. The Club now encourages its members to organize local area councils (LAC) clustered around the old Shell worksites, such as Pandacan, NCR, Tabangao, Pililla, Cebu and Davao. A Trustee-Advisor within these locations will help you setup and support the nominated Coordinator and the LAC. Trustees Yolly Alcaraz and Brandy Brandares helped organize the Viber chat groups for Tabangao and Pililla LACs, respectively. You may contact your Trustee-Advisors in the other locations: Janot Baretto-Pandacan, Ferdie Vazquez-NCR, Ven Lacustales-Cebu, and Boy Lacno-Davao.

Through the LAC, we foresee more active participation and grassroots empowerment from among the local communities. You can tailor your gatherings and activities that are fit-for-purpose and meaningful, making it more conducive to bonding and rekindling friendships.

And now, there’s a host of various online and social media channels available to enable a vibrant LAC congregation – Viber Group chat, Zoom meeting, FB Messenger room, FaceTime, and the like. The activities you can pursue are limited only by your own imagination. It could range from an “e-Kapihan”, a mundane morning/afternoon online dialogue, or to a Chat discussion on how to deliver the flu vaccine safely and efficiently within your area.

Let us stay informed and engaged with each other in these trying times. The prevailing threat of the virus still out there cannot discourage us to retreat into isolation and loneliness. We will overcome this trial together by reaching out and touching someone.

Stay Safe. Be Healthy. Stay Connected.

Sam De Guzman
President