A Virlanie volunteer teaches street children how to write.

These days, one peso can no longer buy your child a decent snack, much less a full meal but when pooled together with other people's contribution, that one-peso can buy a street child a decent future.

A text drive launched late last year, Enervon’s “Share the Happy” managed to pool together 1 million pesos, a total that resulted from the the participation of the Filipino public in the campaign and the corporate donation of Unilab. The amount was donated to the Virlanie Foundation to purchase a mobile unit for its street programs, which provide literacy and healthcare services to street children.

“We’d like to thank everyone who participated in the “Share the Happy” campaign.  It’s heartwarming to know that people are willing to help and support Virlanie’s street children.  Trust that your contributions has gone a long way in bringing back the smiles of Filipino street children. We thought long and hard about what to give. We didn’t want to give something temporary. We want to make sure that what we contribute will help them on the long term. A van for its Mobile Unit Programs fulfills that,” added Jals Tiu, product manager of Enervon.

According to Dominique Lemay, Founder and President of Virlanie, the donation will help enhance their operations. The contribution they are making will allow them to reach out to more children. For its health care services alone, 87 percent of beneficiaries in Divisoria and 81% of beneficiaries in Paco have improved their health conditions from January to June last year.

“It can be difficult to deal with these children. Each case is unique and you have to treat them according to their specific needs. It can take a while for them to open up, to trust you. We’ve had cases where it doesn’t happen at all,” Lemay shared.

“Share the Happy” enjoined the public to contribute to the cause via a text drive last December. The progress of the text drive was represented by an interactive billboard along EDSA. Each donation made was symbolized by a light bulb on the billboard. When the whole billboard has been lit, Enervon pledged to turn over the proceeds to the Virlanie Foundation on behalf of everyone who supported the campaign.