We were fortunate to have taken part in an event that brought Christmas early to the ones who need it the most. Cosplayers and volunteers alike got to join hands and bring smiles to children with cancer at the Philippine General Hospital last week. arkadymac.com is glad to have been entrusted with the coverage so we can share with everyone. The hospital has a policy of keeping the faces and identities of the children discreet, especially from the media, so we hope everyone understands the limitations of our coverage.
Organized by our Cosplay Model Keileen with the help of her friends and some cosplay groups and school organizations, Cosplay For a Cause: Sharing Happiness to PGH’s Cancer Patients had cosplayers and volunteers join hands and share whatever they can share with young cancer patients: toys, books, school supplies, clothes, trinkets, accessories, among many others.
Aside from gifts, others got to share their talents too in front of the children. The program included performances from student volunteers from UP and UST who sang mostly Christmas songs for the kids, who got into the spirit and sang along as well.
Also there to share their talents were special volunteers. Ricky Quinsay as “Jestler the Magician” wowed the crowd with his unbelievable magic act. Mark Cagas, a clown, magician and balloon shaper, amused the children with his diverse talents in making people smile. Cornel Bongco, also known as the Gospel Yoyo Man, shared his great skills with a yoyo while sharing stories of Christ with the audience.
Cosplayers got to showcase their talents too by performing skits with their characters to the amazement of the children. Prizes were given to the kids who could name their characters, and surprisingly, some were indeed familiar with them. After the program, the children were free to have their photos taken with the cosplayers as souvenirs from this day.
By noon, volunteers brought in the food they had prepared for the children and their parents. With appetites worked up from an exhausting but exciting morning. it was nice sharing a simple meal together with everyone.
After lunch, the Christmas gift giving commenced, with the cosplayers handing out the presents they have brought for the children. They were well appreciated, of course, the the children smiling, opening wrappers, and playing immediately with their gifts. It may have not have been much, but hopefully it can give them good memories of Christmas.
Cosplayers Michael and Dee Dulce were part of the cosplayers who went to the event. They dropped by to share their blessings with the children on their 7th Wedding Anniversary. They were thankful to everyone for making their special day a truly memorable and fulfilling one.
The time came for the program to end and for some, it was hard to part ways after sharing and spending time with each other. Hopefully the children would have some smiles and memories to keep as they keep their hopes up despite their condition.
Before parting ways, the cosplayers and volunteers gathered around to listen to Keileen, who thanked everyone for their support of the project and the overwhelming love as the gifts and donations gathered were so many times more than what they had expected. She related her own experience of being a patient at PGH when she was young, as she was sickly and had to stay there often and wished there were people whom could make her smile even just a little bit during her lonesome days there. Now, she said she was happy being the one to make children smile with the help of the cosplay community who has been so supportive of her as well.
With that, the time came for everyone to say goodbye but the time they shared and the opportunity to give what they can would be part of memories they won’t soon forget. We’d like to thank everyone for letting arkadymac.com be part of this event. I apologize if there aren’t a lot of photos as I was a host for the program. We also followed the policy of the hospital regarding taking photos with the children as we aren’t allowed to show the children’s faces on our coverage.
Thank you for dropping by, and do visit us again for more features here at arkadymac.com.
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