iVolunteer Philippines has, in the past, recognized its bravest and wisest of members through its yearly Champion Awards or at its many events. This year, we want to begin by telling the stories of some of iVolunteer’s most prolific leaders; sharing the highs and lows, the pain and the glory that have built these captains into who they are today.

John Rex “Jrex” Jardinero grew up in Palawan; in his words, the most beautiful province in the Philippines. He was born in a small island town, where the main source of livelihood was fishing. While the island was paradise to him, many of its residents lived in deep poverty, including Jrex’s family. But even when they had nothing, his parents still found ways to give back to the community and to their extended family.

His father and mother, a security guard and a homemaker, were always generous with all who walked through their doors. Their example, despite the circumstances, proved inspiring to Jrex for the rest of his life. He got his start volunteering at the local church, where his time and talents proved invaluable, and he quickly fell in love with contributing to his parish and community. He even joined the choir when they needed more members, though he admits he can’t sing for his life.

After graduating college, Jrex moved to Manila and pursued a corporate career in banking. But he had a hard time adjusting to city life, which is so radically different from his hometown in Palawan. He missed his family, the island, the comfort of home. Even the coffee wasn’t the same as back home. But he quickly found that he also missed volunteering, and the connection to community that it builds. Repairing that missing connection helped ground him in his new environment, and it helped touch the lives of many locals in need. Not only that, getting back into volunteering also helped him travel to new places & try new kinds of coffee along the way!

Volunteering wasn’t just about the positive impact on the community for Jrex. His network began to expand, as he met more professionals within & outside of his industry, which helped both his career and his confidence to lead. His perspective broadened outside of what normally would have been possible for him, and that led to more valuable outcomes in his professional and personal life.

When asked about the other ways volunteering impacted him personally, he said, “I believe the world is run by relationships. The quality of your life is the quality of your relationships. Most of my life friends are people I’ve met through volunteering. I’ve also been happy to bring many of my corporate friends into it; some of them had never volunteered before, and I opened up doors for them. At iVolunteer specifically, some of my closest friends in life are people I met there. It’s part of why I stay involved. When I’m working on an organization-wide project with friends, we’re not just doing iVolunteer work, we’re bonding, we’re hanging out. And even when people leave the organization, the friendship stays.”

Dedicating so much of his life to various causes in volunteering has not come without cost, however. When speaking about a religious organization that Jrex leads, he said, “One challenge is that people join for different reasons, and sometimes, because someone is deeply religious, they believe their way of doing things is the only right way. That’s a real challenge in running any organization.”

He continued, “There was also a leadership transition. I wasn’t supposed to be the head, I was Vice President, but circumstances changed and I had to step up by succession. This was just last year, around February. The organization is young, so we’re still setting standards, working on regulatory compliance, growing membership. And right in the middle of all that, we launched a major project. So I was navigating a leadership transition, an early-stage organization, and a landmark launch simultaneously. Last year was the most challenging but also the most spiritually rewarding year of my life. We’ve since more than doubled our active membership, so it worked out.”

The challenges don’t stop with Jrex’s, or with any of our work volunteering our time. Many of the biggest problems we face today are systemic in nature. Some of them seem so insurmountable, it can be hard to imagine scaling them at all.

Expressing some of these frustrations, Jrex has said, “Here, literacy rates are declining, and many students in junior and senior high can’t speak to the history of their own country or current events. If you don’t know, you can’t care. Honestly, I personally believe some political leaders have been deliberate about keeping the population undereducated. It makes it easier to hold onto power and manipulate people who aren’t equipped to choose better leaders.”

It can be very easy to give into sadness, despair or even descend into nihilism over these deep, systemic problems we face. But those feelings haven’t stopped Jrex, and countless other volunteers from making a serious and real impact today. Though the final solution may have to come from government one day, Jrex still maintains optimism and the strength to take real, good, concrete action.

When asked about the best example of this in his life, Jrex replied, “I think it was one of the mountain visits for Trails to Empower Kids, in Kalinga, this was around 2017. Some of the communities we visit don’t even have a pair of slippers. I have shoes for running, shoes for work, shoes for other things, but apparently that’s not the case for everyone. We brought school supplies, and we also brought pairs of tsinelas for the kids. Seeing the joy on their faces after a 10-hour trip to get there, it was so meaningful. The slippers would be gone after a few months, I know that. But they’d make those kids excited to go to school. And for me it was symbolic: we were helping them take a concrete next step. That’s what keeps volunteers going, helping communities step forward, cross another dream, move into another day.”

JRex joined iVolunteer PH at the height of the pandemic in 2020. He currently helps lead the organization as a Trustee and Director for Internals & Organization Development.

It’s been a long road for Jrex – From his childhood in the paradise of Palawan, to an adult life full of joy, fulfillment, and amazing coffee. His story is one of passion, excellence and commitment. That’s commitment to his values, his friends, and his community that he’s nourished ever since he discovered this path. Any of us can choose such a path that enriches both ourselves and our community. No one can know what wonderful things each path has in store for us, but they all have one thing in common: every path begins with a first step. You can take yours when you visit www.ivolunteer.com.ph, and we’ll see you along the journey!