Whatever lies ahead, it is important to enter each day with divine peace and strength because even when faced with challenges, we have so much to be grateful for.

This pandemic has undoubtedly disrupted our busy and bustling lives and left us to reevaluate how we will continue to celebrate life in its new form.

Unfortunately, the global spread of COVID has also caused a disruption of momentous celebrations, family and social reunions, and even gala events that promote charity and goodwill.

How do we manage to mount an event that has all the elements restricted by this pandemic? How do we regain the confidence and trust of patrons and donors who support our charitable efforts?

After a year of Zoom meetings, virtual launches and online shopping, we anxiously move forward slowly and carefully. Unable to continue our annual Red Charity Gala (RCG) due to obvious reasons, cochair Kaye Tiñga and I decided to pivot our efforts to support Philippine fashion and our charities through a different avenue. We will announce our project in the very near future.

Coffee-table book

One of our featured designers of RCG, Chito Vijandre, recently launched a coffee-table book with his longtime partner Ricky Toledo. In celebration of National Arts Month, Vibal Foundation released the latest addition to its growing “Fifty Shades of Philippine Art” series: “The Art of Window, Display and Design,” written by Chito and Ricky. This creative duo is the one behind lifestyle and furnishing stores Firma and AC+632.

Richly complemented with over 500 beautiful images of window displays, objets d’art, travel sights and artistic landmarks from around the world, the book showcases the creative display of merchandise that can also quickly segue into its own art form, transcending the banality of everyday objects to achieve an artistic visual narrative that is transcendent and durable.

The book features 10 essays featuring a myriad of art styles and design elements from across the globe, and provides tips and principles of visual merchandising, interior design and fashion. It was officially launched at Vibal Foundation’s virtual Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year Memorial Concert and Tertulia, which was held to honor its benefactor, the philanthropist Esther A. Vibal. In an invitation-only Zoom conference, the book launch was organized around the theme “Appreciation and Love for World Cultures.”

Other artists included renowned opera singers Rachelle Gerodias and Byeong-in Park and jazz singer Sandra Viray. This virtual event also included the video presentation of the RCG fashion show of Chito last October 2016. The wildly successful benefit fashion show for the Philippine National Red Cross and Assumption HS ‘81 Foundation truly showcased the visual and fashionably artistic genius of maximalist designer Chito.

Founded in 2007, Vibal Foundation is Vibal Group’s philanthropic arm. Its vision is to engage Filipinos in intellectual discussion of Philippine history, culture and arts by providing beautiful and insightful print and digital materials.

Assumption Havaianas

Apart from missing out on our annual charity gala, our Assumption HS 1981 batch will also miss performing live at the annual Assumption Velada where we will be celebrating our Ruby jubilee after 40 years out of high school.

Together with Assumption HS batch 1996 and the rest of the celebrating gems, we recently started initial meetings to mount a virtual show that has been a school tradition for many years now.

As the Silver Batch of this year’s Velada, Assumption HS 1996 started a fundraising project with Havaianas, the iconic Brazilian flip-flop brand, and introduced the Assumption College Collection, the newest addition to its flip-flop styles. The batch hopes to help various mission schools by donating a percentage of proceeds from every pair sold to the sister communities of their alma mater.

Designed exclusively for Assumption College, this special line features a textured sole and classic or slim straps. Each pair comes in an AC canvas drawstring bag with cutout letters reused from previously worn school uniforms.

“As a proud graduate of Assumption High School celebrating her 25th year homecoming (or Velada), I am thrilled to introduce, for the first time ever, a special Havaianas Assumption ­Collection,” said Anne Arcenas-Gonzalez, president and CEO of Terry S.A. Inc.

The Assumption Collection is priced at P1,299 each, and is available online (havaianas.ph/collections/havaianas-assumption-collection) and at selected Havaianas stores in Metro Manila. Supporting our charities for many years, Globe continues to extend assistance and donations to typhoon victims and underprivileged communities. Globe has also reinvented itself to keep its subscribers happy.

Globe surprised Filipino fans of worldwide K-pop sensation Blackpink with the release of “Reinvent Your World,” its latest advertisement during #GlobeBlackpink: The Pre-Show livestream last year.

The queens of K-pop, Jennie, Jisoo, Rosé and Lisa, took center stage and delighted everyone with the video’s phenomenal visuals and eye-popping colors. As part of Globe’s promotion of its unli-fiber, LTE-advanced and 5G services that would bring “world-class connectivity’’ to Filipinos, Globe collaborated with a world-class ambassador like Blackpink, known for their hit songs that have trended across the world. INQ