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Giving is good for the heart

By Dinah S. Ventura

09/29/2008

“We are so blessed, and now we just want to give back” says Imelda Cojuangco, society figure, philanthropist and dedicated charity fund-raiser. This is why she has devoted her time to another worthy cause, Beloved Encore!, to benefit children who need heart surgery or liver transplant.

“We are hoping to raise as much as we can,” she continues, adding that thousands of kids are in need of these expensive procedures. To date, the charity has helped over 8,000 indigents, she reveals.

The first Beloved fund-raiser took place three years ago, which featured the music of New York Opera singers and the fashion of noted Filipino designer Inno Sotto. This time, the New York Opera shares the stage with singer Martin Nievera and composer Louie Ocampo for a night of pop and opera music and heartfelt benevolence.

“Music soothes the soul,” says Cojuangco, who shares that she listens to classical music everyday, which helps strengthen her mind, body and soul. This is why Beloved once again features internationally acclaimed performers, soprano Lea Woods Friedman, mezzo soprano Fenlon Lamb, baritone Ryan Taylor, tenor Victor Robertson, and pianist Tyson Deaton from the New York Opera.

The fund-raising dinner and show will be held on Oct. 17 at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel. There will be seats for 500 people, in tables worth P100,000 or P200,000.

More than the upscale entertainment in store for all those who will support this cause, Beloved Encore! underscores the plight of indigent children whose hearts long for kindness and generosity.

The people behind the project — Cojuangco as chairperson, PLDT chairman Manny Pangilinan as co-chair, and Project Management Committee members Marietta Santos, Josine Elizalde and Deeda Garcia Versoza — have chosen to channel the funds to two of their “beloved” organizations. These are the Gift of Life Foundation, in partnership with the Heart Center of the Philippines (HCP), and the liver transplant program.

The Gift of Life, a Rotary-based non-profit organization, has been helping hundreds of children with heart ailments. Established in 1974 by the Manhasset, NY Rotary Club, the Gift of Life Foundation reached Philippine shores only eight years ago. In the beginning, children in need of open-heart surgery were duly brought to the United States for treatment, but due to high costs and fulfilling visa requirements, Santos, with the help of Dr. Rudy Soto of San Francisco, convinced Dr. Ludgerio Torres, director of the Heart Center of the Philippines, to open the program that will make the process more convenient and accessible to patients who are in dire need of medical assistance.

With the help of the Rotary Club of Manila, of which Dr. Ludgerio Torres is a member, heart surgeries were then conducted at the Heart Center. Hundreds of life-saving procedures have been performed in Metro Manila and the provinces — at the Heart Center, the Makati Medical Center through the help of Makati Rotary Club West of which the late Adrian Ocampo was then president, and the Philippine General Hospital through the help of the Rotary Club of Intramuros.

According to Dr. Francisco Dizon, president of the HCP, surgery for congenital heart disease could cost from P100,000 to P200,000 per patient, even with waived doctors’ fees. “Now congenital heart diseases, the most common of which is the ‘blue baby,’ can be corrected almost completely. Unfortunately many families really cannot afford the procedure, which is a pity because with this procedure patients are practically normal when you let go of them,” he said.

Dr. Dizon says around 20 medical practitioners volunteer their services to the treatment of needy kids with heart disease. “This mission has been going on for many years,” he shares. The Heart Center is fortunate to be the recipient of donations for this cause, which has helped many children get a new lease on life.

Meanwhile, the liver transplant program, which is admittedly “very close to the heart” of Josine Elizalde “because her step-daughter underwent liver transplant surgery,” provides medical assistance to indigent children in need of liver transplant.

Helping poor children has alwayss been the aim of the Beloved team. Cojuangco, a patroness of the arts, has supported numerous non-profit organizations and programs here and aborad. Through the years she has enriched the youth’s education by awarding scholarship grants to worthy students geared towards the fine arts. Santos, for her part, is a recipent of the Golden Heart Award from the Home Reach Foundation of New York and consequently was appointed as the Gift of Life Coordinator in the Philippines.

Pangilinan is committed to uplifting the lives of the Filipino youth by providing quality education through Smart Schools Programs and the Smart Wireless Engineering Education Programs, to name a few of the organizations and projects he has been supporting through the years.

For more information, contact Chevy Salvador at 0908-3268408, Angel Uson at 0917-7955909 or 817-5926 or belovedencore@gmail.com with secretariat at 8th floor, Chemphil 1 building, 851 Pasay Road, Makati City.