Year Planning Seminar 2003
January 18 - 19, 2003
Edgewater, Subic Bay

Between the sun-kissed waters and the sunny, breezy beach of Subic Bay, it was tempting to settle for a weekend of rest and relaxation. The bright January sunshine made it difficult to remember that this wasn't a summer holiday. It was going to be two days of intense planning for the year ahead for Bukas Sarili's eager officers.

The first group to arrive at the cozy getaway of Edgewater on Saturday afternoon was composed of Ray and Mike Alimurung, Jay Estoya, Mike Julian, Anne Castro, Timi Gomez and John Quinto. We were met by foundation member Joel Abano, who generously provided the setting for the weekend's activities. Before settling in, we made time to do some grocery shopping at Royal Subic. By late afternoon, we were ready to begin the sessions.

The sessions were designed to engage everyone in discussion as the group was encouraged to express their opinions all throughout. With Mike A serving as the facilitator and Manila paper taped to the walls, we began by setting our objectives and expectations for the weekend. This outlined the topics to be discussed in the hours to follow. On the top of the list was refocusing of the foundation's mission and vision. After nearly four years of existence, it was interesting to collate everyone's take on the foundation's purpose. From a very broad and vague perspective, we were able to more clearly define the vision and mission-to fund and manage programs for the benefit of charity patients. The agenda also included a review of the past year wherein the foundation carried out approximately 15 projects, increased its funds and its number of beneficiaries, strengthened its core membership, and launched its first newsletter. This was followed by a thorough analysis of the foundations' strengths-key being the members' passion and strong spirit of volunteerism, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (S.W.O.T.).

On Sunday morning, Criselle Panlilio, Jay Gatmaitan, Ana Narciso, and Kendrick Yu joined the group. At this point in the session, the discussion went from retrospect to forward facing. The next leg tackled the foundation's goals and projects for the coming year(s). Looking at where we had come from and where we were, we established both a one-year and five-year target of where we wanted to be. The main goals were to increase the foundation's PGH donation to P100,000 per month via establishing a more robust fund-raising program, increase the membership base and build awareness. Furthermore, each committee established its specific roles and responsibilities, goals and projects for the coming year. It was reassuring to see the committee heads take initiative and ownership in securing the growth of the foundation.

With an eye towards starting the year right and taking the foundation to the next level, the officers of the Bukas Sarili foundation emerged from the 2-day year planning seminar with renewed vigor. Having spent the time bonding and building amidst the most spectacular of backdrops, the team is confident that the foundation will have an even better year!