Last July, iVolunteer received an e-mail request from Ronnie Marquez for a meeting regarding his new organization. Not knowing what to expect, I went ahead to meet Ronnie in a coffee shop and the first thing he said to me was, “matagal ko na kayong gustong makausap pagkatapos ko marinig yung radio interview niyo.” (I have been wanting to meet you after I heard your radio interview).
Ronnie, a professional and father of 3 boys, heard our iVolunteer story while driving to the office and he had wanted to reach out to iVolunteer ever since. He and his kids are into music and they are now thinking of maximizing their passion for music by setting up Awit ni David, a non-profit organization that will bring together musicians and regularly raise funds for cancer patients as well as other causes.
iVolunteer has been invited to numerous AM radio interviews but I never thought it would make a big impact. Flashback: It was an early morning interview at DZAM. I risked my car getting towed in front of Ministop (it didn’t, phew) and then I rushed to a DSWD meeting right after. All of these ran through my mind while Ronnie was telling me that he got inspired to setup a new NGO when he heard the story of iVolunteer that day. He felt uneasy and needed to do something bigger than himself. It was all worth it! Inspiring even at least one individual at a time reaffirms us in iVolunteer that there is hope for the country as long as there are good people who would dedicate their lives to help.
By JB Tan, Volunteer & Executive Director of iVolunteer Philippines
iVolunteer Philippines 