As part of the 10th annual Ramon V. Del Rosario (RVR) Award for Nation Building and in commemoration of the 100th birth anniversary of RVR, PHINMA Corporation and Junior Chamber International (JCI) Manila handed out the first Ramon V. Del Rosario Siklab Awards to some of the outstanding young leaders and social innovators in the country.
Among the recipients of the first ever Siklab Awards was JB Tan, co-founder of iVolunteer Philippines and The Good Store Philippines. The ceremony was held last July 25 at the Manila Polo Club and was also streamed live on Facebook.
Empowering Filipino volunteers
During his speech, JB took little time to share the honor with Bel Padlan, who co-created iVolunteer and The Good Store. He proudly looked back at their journey that began in 2009, when they challenged themselves to create an accessible platform that will serve as an information hub and bridge for volunteers and non-profit organizations to connect and grow.
“We didn’t imagine it would be this big. Eventually we validated more and more people really wanted to volunteer, but they didn’t know how and where to start. And so iVolunteer was born. And because we see more and more people volunteering, we found hope for the Philippines. And today, we believe that we can achieve an even better Philippines if every Filipino will just do good to each other and choose to have a socially involved lifestyle.”
JB also acknowledged his family and everyone who has worked behind the scenes to make iVolunteer Philippines what it is today.
Everyone can make an impact
In the middle of his speech, he encouraged everyone to start with simple things such as supporting local products, becoming environmentally and socially conscious, and spending an hour of our week to do simple acts of kindness such as volunteering.
“We owe it to this country to help it become better because it has given us so much in the past.”
JB Tan
“Philippines is where most of us grew up. Philippines is where most of us will raise our children and grandchildren. Philippines is will most of us will retire. Philippines is home. It is up to us, every single one of us to prepare it’s people and environment for us and for future generations to come.”
Leading the way for a better Philippines
The Siklab Awards, as Juancho Del Rosario would put it, honors the trailblazers that despite their young age, have took the initiative to light the path for other young leaders to follow suit. They are established leaders that displays entrepreneurial spirit with a passion to make lives better, and most importantly, a commitment to nation-building.
We hear about younger and younger leaders committed to social change. We have an information generation who are woke about social issues and desire to make a difference.
Juancho Del Rosario
Along with JB, the other Siklab awardees were: Clarissa Delgado, Edgar Elago, Gary Ayuste, and Melissa Yap.
Dr. Aristotle “Aris” Alip, meanwhile, was this year’s RVR Nation-Building Awardee, joining the illustrious list of previous winners like Jesus Tambunting, Senen Bacani, Washington SyCip, Vicente Paterno, Henry Sy, Sr., George Ty, Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Oscar Lopez, Manuel Pangilinan and Diosdado Banatao, all of whom have influenced the lives of many Filipinos in the past, today, and well into the future.
iVolunteer Philippines 