How KFD spurs compassion among young Ateneans
The Katipunan Fund Drive (KFD) 2018, which kicked off September 10, is an opportunity for Ateneo Junior High School (AJHS) students to brush up on their entrepreneurial skills.
The yearly event allows students to experience the entrepreneurship process, from developing business plans to resource finding and operating/selling the products. More than giving these AJHS students a hands-on experience on the basics of entrepreneurship, KFD is an opportunity to engage them to learn service in a meaningful and impactful way.
“KFD serves as both a class activity and a way for Ateneans to be men for others. It teaches us to help others through our own efforts rather than letting someone else do it for us,” says Jerry Gwen Conde (10 Berthieu). “You could say it is easier to just donate money and we will earn the same amount of profit, however, it wasn’t necessarily us who donated, it was our parents money. We do KFD because we want to help others through our own efforts.”
Case in point: in 2017, KFD’s profit reached P1M and all proceeds were given to calamity victims and partner institutions and communities from the school’s Christian Service and Involvement Program (CSIP). This year, Conde says they are aiming to raise the same amount: “This year, Conde says they are aiming for the same amount: “The proceeds will go to CSIP partner institutions. It will also go to students of Commonwealth Elementary School and other schools we taught in Dama Christian Service Program and the families of the communities in the DAMAY Immersion Program where Grade 10 students went: Sapang Palay (Bulacan), Boso-Boso (Antipolo) and Cabangan (Zambales).” Victims of typhoon Ompong (international name Mangkhut) will also benefit from this year’s KFD.
As a ‘class head’ for Finance, Conde is responsible for all fiscal concerns-budget, profits and other related issues. Cultivating compassion and reaching out to those in the margins of society are some of the most valuable elements of KFD, which Conde concurs.
“We want to help people through our own efforts. KFD teaches us that if we want to help other people, we also have to sacrifice.” There is a raw value in rolling up one’s sleeves and making something happen and KFD perfectly illustrates this.
KFD: offshoot of the Pinatubo eruption
KFD’s story began in 1995 when students provided relief goods to resettlement areas in Pampanga in the aftermath of the lahar breakout. In succeeding years, the program has shaped up, extending help to partner institutions and communities in areas as far as Mindanao.
For 2018, KFD’s “Padayon: Pinting ng Pagtulong.” It is based on the AJHS theme for the school year: “Driven by a higher purpose.” It draws inspiration from the mission of the Society of Jesus to be “instruments of social change by making a positive impact on others, especially to the victims of calamities and to the marginalized sector of our society, the poor, the orphaned and the sick.”
“Through our efforts in advertising, selling, soliciting sponsorships, we are able to help other people. This is why we do KFD—we want to help. As someone who has went through 3 years of KFD, I can say that I have become closer to my classmates because of it. I can also say that I learned more about budgeting and the business side but more than that, KFD has helped me become a man for others,” shares Conde.
Drop by AJHS from now until October 19, 2018 and help these young men raise funds for Filipinos in need.
