MaAga ang Pasko gets even better as Jollibee has promised to match all the toy and book donations
FIFTEEN YEARS AGO, AGA MUHLACH had a vision: To give gifts to poor kids during Christmas. So he went around the city with his driver, giving away toys, clothes and books that he had gathered from friends.

Since then, he has institutionalized his gift-giving through Jollibee?s annual MaAga ang Pasko, which gives out toys to thousands of kids around the country during the holidays.

?I am overwhelmed that [MaAga ang Pasko] has gotten this big, when it started really small,? Muhlach said. ?Especially after the calamities, it?s time to remind the children that it?s Christmas, that there is still Christmas.?

He says his seven-year-old twins Andres and Atasha have gotten into the act.

?I am not the spoiler type, not at all,? he said. ?Part of our bonding is going out and giving school supplies and toys to less fortunate children. My wife Charlene [Gonzales] is very supportive of my causes as well. As a dad, I believe you have to set a good example for your children; they copy what they see.?

Over the years, MaAga ang Pasko has evolved from a simple charity program to a means for schools and other firms to become a social responsibility partner of Jollibee.

In Jolly Toy Scouts launched last year, some 5,000 grade and high-schoolers collected over 1.5 million toys and books to be given out to public schools. A toy clean-up activity assured used items to be given away are in good condition.

This year, MaAga ang Pasko gets better as Jollibee has promised to match all the donations gathered from the Jollibee stores and by the Toy Scouts. This means the number of toys and books for charity would be doubled.

New school program

The Adopt-A-School program, which encourages schools and corporations, to support a beneficiary school has also been launched, in cooperation with the Department of Education.

Thirty schools as far as Ateneo de Zamboanga, University of San Carlos Cebu and Araullo University in Nueva Ecija, have banded together with 20 corporate partners this year, Muhlach said.

?It?s been my lifelong dream to build schools,? the actor said during the 15th anniversary launch of MaAga at the SMEx of the SM Mall of Asia. ?Now I am committing myself to build one to two classrooms every year, and Jollibee is with me all the way. We?ve been talking, and if everything turns out well, Jollibee will match the number of classrooms I put up.?

Albert Cuadrante, Jollibee Foods Corp. VP for marketing, said MaAga ang Pasko could only get better every year.

?Jollibee and Aga, together with the Jollibee Foundation and Jollibee Franchisees Association, have committed to help renovate and construct several classrooms this year, particularly in selected schools in Metro Manila and Northern Luzon that were severely damaged by the recent calamities,? Cuadrante said.

?Donations for school supplies for kids who were affected by the typhoons are welcome. We also have a volunteer clean-up campaign where you could help out clean, sort and pack toys, and distribution drives in partner schools where parents and kids can help.?

It is giving that makes Christmas happen, says Muhlach, who encourages parents to get their kids involved in volunteer work not just during the holidays.

?We are instruments to help,? the actor said. ?I myself would like to go around every week and hand out books, bags, toys. I have a close-to-perfect family; it?s time to give back. Let?s focus on the children.?

You can submit donations at Jollibee branches nationwide (www.jollibee.com.ph ) and in partner schools and offices.