Through his Habitat for Humanity advocacy, Alden Rochards hopes to give back and inspire: 'Our number one struggle here in the Philippines is our homeless people. additional than Associate in Nursing obligation, it's what I want to do, especially every January, during my birthday. It's a way of giving back to the people.'
As one of the few celebrities who are using their fame to further good causes, Alden Richards has helped raise funds for typhoon victims, young cancer patients, and other people living in impoverished communities.
In 2014, the 24-year-old actor became an ambassador for Habitat for Humanity Philippines, the non-government organization dedicated to “building easy, decent and affordable housing.”
Last year, Alden celebrated his birthday month of January by building homes alongside other volunteers and families involved with the non-profit organization in Payatas, Quezon City.
During the recent launch of Habitat for Humanity Philippines’ “We Build” advocacy campaign at the Manila Peninsula, Alden once more renewed his commitment to assist build homes for the homeless.
“Our favorite struggle here within the Philippines is our homeless people,” he explained. “It still feels good that in our own small way, we tend to will facilitate our fellow Filipinos in want.”
Alden recalled how he had fulfilled his earlier vow to do “a cause for every birth month” and shared how he spent it this year with the children of the Habitat community in Barangay Payatas in Quezon City through a storytelling activity dubbed as “A Day of Smiles.”
“It’s my first time to do a storytelling after a while. I see the kids listening and I see them smile once in a while. In the midst of all these stress and hardships [they go through] everyday, it’s the smallest amount that we will do. They’re too young to experience stress, in a way I’m giving them a light moment with this Habitat activity,” he noted.
The said Habitat community is home to more than 250 families who were previously living in unsafe informal settlements and doubling up in rental housing.
Alden said that in addition to being personally fulfilled, charity activities like this provide him a much needed respite from his work and his extremely busy schedule.
“It makes me more of a person — the real Alden, a real human being. For me, it’s a break from all the showbiz things, a break from all the busy schedules and everything. At least an hour or two with the kids, and with the people on behalf of Habitat, it feels like I ejected for a few moments. Uy, I will be a volunteer, I can help people, I can bring happiness to people. It’s a break for me.”
In addition to the storytelling proper itself, Alden also treated the children and their parents to meals from McDonald’s, the fastfood chain for which he is a brand ambassador together with the other half of the popular AlDub love team, Maine Mendoza.
“More than just an obligation, it’s what I want to do every time my birthday month comes. It’s a way of giving back to the people. I feel happiness whenever I give out to the needy, especially the kids,” Alden declared.
“Alden’s support to our advocacy is truly admirable. He has dedicated time, energy and resources to helping his fellow Filipino brothers and sisters in need,” Charlie Ayco, managing director and CEO of Habitat Philippines, said.
Founded in the Philippines in 1998, surroundings for Humanity has since helped quite a hundred and forty,000 families achieve their dream of living in a very decent home. With the assistance of ambassadors like Alden Richards and its recently launched “We Build” campaign, the organization hopes to follow its roadmap to serving to bring home the bacon its “vision of a world wherever everybody includes a good place to measure.”
