Kids Who Farm, a Zamboanga City-based nongovernment organization (NGO) encouraging young people to go into agriculture, is among the beneficiaries of an NGO that will receive donations from Google employees.
Google employees have set up an internal giving campaign where Googlers from the Philippines and other offices can donate and these donations will be matched by the company. Once final, the funds will go to iVolunteer, an NGO that distributes donations to other nonprofits and matches volunteering opportunities between individuals and organizations.
Unless specified by the donor, iVolunteer will split the donations equally across the following organizations: Citizens Disaster Response Center, Silid Aralan, Solar Hope, and Kids Who Farm to address challenges in disaster preparedness, education, and food security which have been aggravated by the pandemic.
“Giving has always been part of Google. Knowing that the pandemic is far from over with the continuous rise in cases locally and the threat of a new Covid-19 variant, we continue to extend help where possible, especially for our local communities,” said Bernadette Nacario, Country Director of Google Philippines. “With this employee-led effort, we remain committed to helping the Philippines get through the pandemic together.”
Google has previously enabled similar employee-led donations campaigns for the Philippines, among which was a matching initiative launched in November 2020 for households from vulnerable barangays and municipalities affected by severe flooding caused by Typhoons Rolly and Ulysses.
The campaign was able to raise a total of $100,000 used for cash transfer programming, livelihood interventions prioritizing farming and fishery activities, enhanced health and hygiene support and awareness for Covid-19 protection.
In July, Google announced that it will provide a $7.5-million grant to Asian countries including the Philippines.