Finally, our Conversation with Aun, our second AYAD volunteer who got away with many things just by putting on his jacket, presumably because it made him look like a "businessman from Cebu!" Here is his interview

At Aun's farewell lunch.
With the G&G team Nanding, Greg, Jo, Marge

Name: Aun Ngo
Age: 28
Nationality: Australian

What made you decide to volunteer?
I have been an avid supporter of volunteering for some time now and was involved in a soup kitchen back in Melbourne for over 8 years. So when the opportunity to volunteer internationally came up, I jumped at the chance. The role, which lasted 10 months, also gave me ample time to explore parts of the country and it's culture.



What are two interesting things about the Philippines that the average person doesn't know?

Prior to going to the Philippines, I didn't actually know all that much about the place. The most interesting thing that I will take away is just how beautiful and diverse the country is. Still relatively off the radars of many travelers it is only a matter of time before the world finds out about the amazing beaches, islands, waterfalls, volcanoes and sights of the Philippines.

Another thing that might not be well known is how unique the culture is; The Philippines is unlike any other Asian country. There are Spanish elements, American influences, ancient Malay influences, religious and socio-political forces that combine to create a wonderfully eclectic mix.

How did you use your skills and experience?

I had the opportunity to utilise some of my experience with marketing, social networking and photography to take a look at G&G's operations and assist with planning for the future. (G&G comment: Aun is very friendly and very social. Aside from his official work to help G&G with marketing, particularly social marketing, he helped put us in touch with some others who have gone on to become G&G supporters as well)

Did anything go wrong that seems funny now?

There was that time at a function where another volunteer and I were speaking to a Filipina for a fair while before realizing she was one of the country's most famous artistas.

What was the best moment of the entire experience?

Getting the opportunity to attend the Asian Development Bank's Annual Meeting was definitely up there. Being able to listen to a wide range of people passionate about development regaling stories from around the region.

At the ADB Annual Meeting 2012.
With Greg, Marge, and Ponce Ernest Samaniego

What did you learn about yourself?

I learnt that it is possible to eat too much pork. (G&G says: LOL! and Marty's Aun?)


Why should other people do volunteer work? What did you gain from it?

I find that people who volunteer actually come away receiving far more from the experience than the people they seek out to help. Volunteering enriches your life, introduces you to people you may not have the opportunity to meet otherwise (both other volunteers and clients), and you definitely know that when you are volunteering, you're not doing it for the money!

I gained a whole new circle of friends, appreciation for an amazing country and some passable conversational Tagalog!

Visiting partner community FCED Foundation and chatting with its Executive Director Ms. Teresita L. Silva.
Also in the photo: Raymund Acedera, Greg Perez, Atty. Rudyard Arbolado

At the Amazing Women Exhibit at SM North Edsa with the extended G&G family.
From L to R: Cielo Bueno, Mrs. Melot Moral, Loida, Carla, Raquel, Marge, Jo, Greg, Aun,
Nanding, Ponce, and Ms. Jen Colayco, head of SM Supermalls' Women's Committee

Ex Libris: From the G&G team's bookshelves

This month in our special feature Ex Libris, Latin for from the books, we once again peek into the bookshelves of the G&G team. This month, Greg and Aun share their recommendations:






On Strategy

What Every CEO Needs to Know About Nonmarket Strategy by David Bach & David Bruce Allen.  

I enjoyed reading this paper because the concept of nonmarket strategy extends the concept of Porter's Five Forces and says that leaders should take into consideration the political, social, and policy environments and create opportunities in them.  One of my favorite examples of non market

strategy is Toyota's steps to influence policy around the use of hybrid cars. They successfully lobbied for the passing of a law in California to allow hybrid cars to use the carpool lane even with only the driver in it. By looking at and shaping their nonmarket, Toyota was able to create an environment that boosted sales of the Prius. What nonmarket forces impact the competitive advantage of your enterprise? 

- Greg

On History 

At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson 

A fascinating look, through the lens of history, at the modern house and all the things we seem to fill them with. Bill Bryson books are a must for those who love to find out random facts about everything 

- Aun

Happy Reading!

A Conversation with Colette

This month in Conversations, we talked to Colette Forma one half of the dynamic duo behind Moodies, a marketing company specializing in creating the mood necessary for the audience to be receptive to your message. Colette came to volunteer with G&G through SharePeople. She came to the Philippines for two power weeks and remains in touch with the team. Here we get up close and personal with Colette who gets candid about the best moment of her experience and what she learned about herself.

G&G: Tell us your Name, Age, Nationality, Occupation

CF: My name is Colette Forma. I was born and raised in The Netherlands and this year I reached the age of 40. Together with my business partner, I own and run Moodies: a company specialized in moodmaking. Our work fields are both internal and external communications and brand experiences.

G&G: What made you decide to volunteer?

CF: In April 2011, our company Moodies celebrated its 10th anniversary. A special moment that we wanted to mark in a meaningful way. Around the same time, we met SharePeople, a Dutch organisation that connects social entrepreneurs in developing countries with European professionals in various fields. They suggested we volunteer for Gifts & Graces, who were in need of a retail concept for their fair trade products. The question fitted my experience and after the first contacts with G&G I decided to volunteer at G&G for a period of two weeks. Short but intense!

G&G: As a volunteer how did you use your skills and experiences to help G&G and its advocacy?

CF: The task at hand was helping to develop a G&G fair trade retail concept. We knew very little about the fair trade business in general and had no knowledge of the Filipino market at all, so there was a moment of serious hesitation – were we able to do this? But the organisation and it's purpose were so appealing, we decided to give it a go. Only one of us could actually go to the Philippines, but together, we prepared the case from Holland as well as we could. We read G&G's business plans, talked to fair trade organisations and even worked out a detailed planning and budget format.

a sketch of the G&G store by Marge Obligacion,
based on the brainstorming

Soon after arrival in Manila, it became clear to me that the G&G team had an enormous amount of knowledge and some very good ideas about the future retail store. What I mainly did was facilitating the G&G team to make the right choices, by giving them focus and describing the 'next steps' as clearly as possible. One of the first things we did was a high-pressure, creative energetic brainstorm on the target group with the complete G&G team. It helped the team to imagine their target group as if it was an actual person. This way, they could make clear choices: in which kind of malls should the G&G store be located? What should the store look like? How should the products be presented? And how can we promote the G&G store and everything it stands for? It was the starting point for delivering the description on the personality of our future customer, the design proposal and sketches of the exterior and interior of the shop, and important details like wrapping, music and clothing of staff among many others. In the process, of course I added some of my ideas on retail and communication as well ;-)

Photos from Day 2. Above: Colette with the women of Kapitbahayan Candles.
Below: Colette with the newspaper bag makers of FCED Foundation

G&G: Did anything go wrong that seems funny now?

CF: At the end of each day, I emailed all documents to Holland. Thanks to the time difference, Monique was able to further work on the documents. This way, we could work for G&G around the clock! Towards the end Monique worked on the last changes in the Keynote presentation for the Board of Directors while it was night time in Manila. When checking my email in the early morning, there was no newer version of the Keynote there. Strange, because she knew we needed it in the morning. I couldn't do anything, because in the meantime she was asleep in The Netherlands. Just when I started worrying what happened, an email came in. Fact was that she finished the Keynote late at night, but forgot to mail it to me. She couldn't sleep tough and was wondering why. Until she realized! 

G&G: What are two interesting things about the Philippines that the average person doesn't know?

CF: That 'time' is a very flexible concept and that you can't survive in the Philippines without texting: it's a way of life!

Colette's images around Makati

G&G: What was the best moment of the entire experience?

CF: There where actually lots of good moments, working with the G&G team. The best? Probably presenting to the Board of Directors and realise they were not discussing whether the retail store should be opened, but what location would be best! That was a big compliment for a great team effort.

G&G: What did you learn about yourself?

CF: I guess I learned that with my drive and perseverance I can inspire others to really make things happen. I also learned that I find it hard to speak out my feelings and needs, certainly if this means that I have to confront others. Something to work on!

G&G: Why should other people do volunteer work? What did you gain from it?

CF: Volunteering at G&G gave me the opportunity of working in a different culture (with all the challenges and uncertainties that come with it). Getting to know the team in a very short time, finding out about their roles and personal challenges, facilitating brainstorms in a completely new setting, working together and motivating everyone to deliver their part of the process, seeing the enthusiasm grow. It gave me excitement and satisfaction to be able to do so, far away from my common workspace.  

Colette and Greg at the Legaspi Market
on Colette's first day in Manila

Within just two weeks, the G&G team and Moodies created a store design, a plan of attack, planning, budget and promotional plan. It has been very rewarding for us to add a little to G&G's final goal: giving power to social entrepreneurship and help marginalized individuals to become self-reliant and dignified members of society. We hope the first retail store will open its doors soon! 

Being 'out of your comfort zone' certainly makes you grow as a person! Just do it…

Colette Forma and Monique are the managing directors of Moodies, a Dutch agency that works for large corporate clients. We make sure our client's target groups are receptive to their message. Our moodmaking activities concentrate on internal and external communications, as wel as brand experience and interior design.

To learn more about Colette & Monique's time with G&G, click here. 

A Conversation with Jessica Chittaphong

This month in Conversations we have Jessica Chittaphong who was with G&G from June to August 2010 through the Ambassador Corps program of the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. When Jessica volunteered she had just completed a double degree B.A. International Relations and Global Studies and B.A. Asian Studies: Japanese Concentration. Today she has completed her Masters of Science (MSc) course at the London School of Economics in Global History with a focus was on globalization and Asia, as well as comparative world history. Whew! 

Here Jessica tells us what surprised her about the Philippines and what her trip to the Philippines and her volunteer experience taught her about herself.

G&G: Tell us your Name, Age, Nationality, Occupation

JC: Jessica Chittaphong, 28, American, Student

G&G: What made you decide to volunteer?

JC: I decided to volunteer at Gifts & Graces because I wanted to see social entrepreneurship in action and get some real experience. I firmly believe in helping people break free from the poverty trap by using their own ingenuity and keeping their dignity, instead of just inefficiently giving out hand-outs. The latter has proven to be unsustainable and does not provide people with new skills or instill them with a will to work.

G&G: What are two interesting things about the Philippines that the average person doesn't know?

JC: One, the Philippines has an almost disturbing amount of gigantic shopping malls! Two, One has to be a world class driver to drive on the streets of Manila!

G&G: As a volunteer how did you use your skills and experiences to help G&G and its advocacy?

Jessica at the G&G booth
at the Franchise Expo 2010

JC: As a volunteer, I used my research skills to estimate G&G's Social Returns on Investment. It was not all that acurate and I still had a lot to learn, but it provided the organization with a place to start. I also used my social skills when presenting and selling items at various expo's and fair trade shows. That was really fun because I got to meet a lot of people and everyone was curious to know what an American was doing selling painted newspaper bags.


G&G: What did you learn about yourself?

JC: During my time with Gifts and Graces I learned a lot about myself. I have a clearer understanding of what my strengths are, but more importantly I recognized what my weaknesses are. Challenging yourself is important, however; it is also advantageous to know one's limits. In the Philippines I also found out how much a person could adapt to any environment. I was in a foreign land, at night I could not get to sleep because it was so hot, and I almost got washed away during a flash flood. But because of the connections I made with the wonderful people I came in contact with and a positive attitude, even after only 3 short months, I thought of this foreign country as home.

G&G: Why should other people do volunteer work? What did you gain from it?

JC: Other people should volunteer because it definitely adds perspective to your life. Seeing all those people, who didn't really have a lot, working so hard, motivated me to try my best as well. When you are working for something bigger than yourself, you get a sense of satisfaction that you can't get elsewhere...and sometimes you get addicted to it.

Volunteer Spotlight: Michael Golsworthy

Conversations

Reposting this blog entry as a Conversation with Michael Golsworthy. Michael was with Gifts and Graces from September 2010 to April 2011. His many and varied contributions to the company are still being felt and used today. Get to know this former G&G Volunteer and be inspired to lend your time and talent to non-profits like G&G!

Michael Golsworthy (third from left) with Gifts & Graces staff. (L-R) Loida Balubayan, Fernando Regalado, Christina Pineda, Jonalyn Dupa, Marge Obligacion & Greg Perez at the Women's Empowerment event

G&G: Tell us your Name, Age, Nationality, Occupation

Michael Golsworthy, 28, Australian, Management consultant

G&G: What made you decide to volunteer?
MG: I volunteered because I wanted to utilise my consulting and project management skills to support a great cause: using entrepreneurship as a means to alleviate poverty.

G&G: As a volunteer how did you use your skills and experiences to help G&G and its advocacy?
MG: I worked together with Gifts and Graces to facilitate the development of its five year strategic plan and to assess and improve its organisational processes. During the course of the assignment, I also worked with G&G staff to build greater skills in strategic planning, project management and performance improvement methodologies to continue this work following my departure.

G&G: Why should other people do volunteer work? What did you gain from it?
MG: Volunteering can be both a professionally challenging and a personally rewarding experience. Many of the skills developed in the business sector can be applied to the non-profit sector, but often the challenges are greater due to the limited resources and multiple social and financial objectives. Experience in the non-profit sector can be invaluable in other sectors, for example solving problems in a resource-constrained environment. Personally, volunteering in the non-profit sector is both enjoyable and highly rewarding. The work is interesting, the sector is full of energetic and passionate individuals and the human impact of the work is not only very real, but creates a feeling that is impossible to match. 

Click here to read the second part of this conversation. Below is Michael's profile in the Australian Youth Ambassador (AYAD) Website:

Michael will be based in Manila on an eight month project assisting Gifts and Graces Fair Trade Foundation to improve its organisational performance. Gifts and Graces support marginalised groups in their quest to become self-sufficient through livelihood. The organisation helps its partners with product design and development, and builds capability in production, enterprise management and marketing.

Michael is passionate about improving the operations of organisations in the not-for-profit sector to achieve the best possible social outcomes with the limited resources available. He is very excited to have the opportunity to work together with Gifts and Graces to facilitate the development of its five year strategic plan and to assess its current organisational processes to identify and implement improvement opportunities. During the course of the assignment, Michael will coach Gifts and Graces staff in project management and performance improvement methodologies to ensure the organisation gains the capacity to continually improve its performance following his departure.

Michael has a Bachelor degree in Economics from Monash University and a Master of Commerce (International Business/Finance) from the University of Sydney. He has worked in international trade policy with the Australian Government and as a management consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he specialised in improving performance for government and not-for-profit sector clients.

Michael hopes to utilise his consulting and policy skills and experience to deliver sustainable and replicable organisational improvements at Gifts and Graces. 

Michael Golsworthy (corner right) in discussion with G&G's partner producers

 at this year's Partner Conference

Gifts and Graces is always in need of volunteers to help us with our fair trade and livelihood support advocacy. If you have some time to spare, why not use it to make a difference in the lives of our partner marginalized communities? Help us with product design, writing, marketing, promotion, selling, capacity building or just come help us brainstorm ideas on how to make fair trade and social enterprises top-of-mind for shoppers.

----

If you'd like to volunteer with Gifts & Graces you can write to us at:

info@giftsandgraces.com or call us at 759 - 2525

or visit us at: Unit 131 G/F Mile Long Building, Amorsolo St. Makati City

Colette & Monique share their volunteer experience

Colette Forma (leftmost) on a meeting with the G&G team: (L-R) Greg Perez,
Executive Director; Michael Golsworthy, AYAD Volunteer; Marge Obligacion,
 In-House Designer  at the Gifts & Graces office

In April 2011, our company Moodies celebrated its 10th anniversary. A special moment that we wanted to mark in a meaningful way. Around the same time, we met SharePeople, an organisation that connects social entrepreneurs in developing countries with European professionals in various fields. They suggested we volunteer for Gifts & Graces, who were in need of a retail concept for their fair trade products.

As our own business had to continue as well, only one of us could go and work at G&G. Colette was the lucky one, but of course she was also the one who had to leave behind her family and get all the vaccinations J. At G&G, Colette met a professional and very dedicated team with a clear look on their business. They introduced her to some of the community workers. A quote from her diary:

"I was very impressed by all the communities I visited. For example, Boy Buenafe, the artist that decorates the woven paper bags. He lives in a very poor neighbourhood. The streets are full of dogs, chicken, laundry, waste and junk. This is where the children play… We entered the artist's house by a very small staircase. His 'studio' consisted of a table full of working materials, next to the kitchen. It was really impressive that in this small workspace he creates the pictures on the G&G bags, one by one and all by hand. The result is unique and of high quality – something to be proud of!"

What inspired us most, is that G&G does not give such communities one big order once, but aims to give them continues orders. Also, they help to improve the quality of their products and in general, to build their business. This way, people get a real chance to build a live for themselves, their familiy and their kids.

It has been a very rewarding experience, to add a little of our knowledge and experience to G&G. And we learned a lot ourselves as well! We will tell you more about the job we did next time.

Colette Forma and Monique are the managing directors of Moodies, a Dutch agency that works for large corporate clients. We make sure our client's target groups are receptive to their message. Our moodmaking activities concentrate on internal and external communications, as wel as brand experience and interior design.

G&G Annual Partner's Conference

Creating a Win-win Partnership

Last April 18, 2011 Gifts and Graces held its annual partner's conference at the Philippine Daily Inquirer. The Partner's Conference is a whole day event that is a venue for G&G to dialogue with its partners, give updates, and share new learnings, all towards the objective of creating a win-win partnership. The Partner's Conference is a key component of G&G's capability building program.

Participants enjoy the Airplane game icebreaker

This year, the Partner's Conference was about creating and capturing value along the value chain. To kick off the conference, Executive Director Greg Perez shared G&G's updated mission, vision, strategic direction, and values. Greg announced that G&G would partner with organizations with expertise in capability building, just like its recent partnership with the UP College of Engineering Department of Industrial Engineering; pursue its application for certification with the World Fair Trade Organization, and enter the retail market. 

As part of its commitment to advocate fair trade and fair trade practices, G&G invited Ronald Lagazo, Country Manager of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) Philippines to make a presentation about fair trade in the Philippines. Ronald shared the principles of fair trade and the value of being fair trade certified.

Another guest speaker was Ms. Ma. Rocelyn Bernabe of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) who presented PBSP's Business Advisory Program (BAP) that G&G partners can avail of. This is in line with G&G's strategy to link its partners with capability building experts to help them improve their enterprise management skills.

 

On the learning part of the program, Darlyn Ty made a presentation on the value chain based on GTZ's value chain framework. Darlyn is the successful entrepreneur behind the Belle de Jour planners and is a long-time G&G volunteer. We at G&G believe it is important to understand the value chain to better appreciate the cooperation necessary along the chain. 

To supplement and reinforce Darlyn's presentation, AYAD Strategic and Performance Improvement Adviser Michael Golsworthy led the group in a pre-game warm-up, then the group played a value chain game designed by AIM student Anurag Goel. Anurag helped out with the partners conference as part of his walkabout project in AIM. Greg, Mike, Dar, and Anurag facilitated the game. 

The partners present had a lot of fun negotiating along the value chain. At the end of the game the participants said they better understood the concept of the value chain and they appreciated the importance of cooperating along the chain.

After the value chain game, the last part of the conference was a mini case conference where participants were asked to come up with common problems related to different parts of the value chain. Different teams were then assigned to come up with solutions for the identified problems and these were discussed with the group. The solutions the group came up with were creative and innovative and showed that even with limited resources we can find solutions to our pressing problems. 

All in all the partners conference was a success. It created a venue for greater understanding and cooperation between G&G and its partners. 

Thanks to those who attended from Alay Kapwa Tindahan, DAWN, FCED Foundation, Kaakbay, Kaibhan, Kapitbahayan Candles, Pangarap Foundation, Tahanang Walang Hagdanan, The Learning Center. Welcome to new G&G partners Caritas, Heidi's Crafts, I4SEE for Pamana Pag-asa, Nuvali, QC livelihood under the office of Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte, and Virlanie Foundation. Many thanks again to our volunteers Dar, Mike, Anurag, without whom the partner conference would not be the success that it was.

Jessica Chittaphong's Summer Internship

When I first got the news that I was to be working with Gifts and Graces, I was a senior finishing up college. It was such an exciting opportunity and I was honored to be chosen from a large pool of candidates. I was extremely nervous because I felt inexperienced, but because of the tremendous support from my school and from Greg I decided to just jump in and do the best I can. There were two main activities that I was charged with. The first was focused on the incorporation and advocacy of fair trade within the organization and in the Philippines. It was exciting because I learned so much and I met so many people who are doing wonderful things for their communities. The second part of my assignment was to try and calculate something called the Social Returns on Investments for Gifts and Graces. Like many people this was my first time hearing of the term. It is a ratio that tries to estimate per peso invested how much social good was generated. Before I left for the Philippines I tried to read everything I could find about it. I hit so many walls and was discouraged many times, but I pushed through and came up with an acceptable estimate in the end. I knew it would not be 100 percent accurate, but I was ecstatic none the less because I had created a useful tool that would help Gifts and Graces in the future.

I feel that my time in the Philippines was the perfect way to finish this chapter in my life. I had graduated from university with good overall book knowledge, but I was still lacking in real life experience. I am forever thankful for the staff at Gifts and Graces for showing me a glimpse of Filipino society and making my stay unforgettable with their generosity and quirky personalities. As I begin a new chapter in my life at the London School of Economics, I know I enter it as prepared as possible.

All the best,

Jessica Chittaphong

Visiting Hardin ng Kalikasan with volunteer Jessica Chittaphong

This year, Gifts and Graces and the University of the Pacific partnered for the university’s Global Ambassador Corps Program. Through this partnership, one of Pacific's top students Jessica Chittaphong, was selected to work with Gifts and Graces for over two months as an intern. Jessica worked on developing a fair trade scorecard, developing a template for measuring Gifts and Graces’ Social Return on Investment (SROI), and developing material on fair trade. Jessica also worked to develop a program of activities for a fair trade festival as well as a medium term plan for Gifts and Graces to build a strong community of fair trade advocates. While in the Philippines, Jessica visited Gifts and Graces communities and even helped man the booth at the Philippine Franchise Expo. Here Jessica joins the G&G team on our visit to Hardin ng Kalikasan, a group of women in Kiloloron, Quezon. Jessica is now a student at the London School of Economics taking graduate studeies. Thanks to Jessica for all the hard work and to Spencer Ton, and Jerry Hildebrand of the University of the Pacific for this innovative program that fosters learning on social entrepreneurship across the globe. The Global Amassador Corps Program integrates interdisciplinary education in the social sciences, business, internal relations, education, and many others, to the fields of social entrepreneurship and sustainable development.