Security Bank Corporation donated its 2021 holiday fund allocation to support disaster relief and home rebuilding efforts in the aftermath of Typhoon Odette in line with its advocacy of community-building.

The bank said it partnered with non-government organization (NGO) International Care Ministries (ICM) to rebuild homes for families in Bohol.

Further, the Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm Security Bank Foundation (SBFI) is working with the Department of Education to rebuild classrooms in various municipalities across Visayas and Mindanao.

Apart from partnering with NGOs, the Bank’s Kabankalan Branch in Negros Occidental also donated a portion of the Bank’s calamity fund financed by its employees to be utilized to provide financial assistance for employees of the Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative (NOCECO) who were heavily affected by Typhoon Odette.

“It’s important for us at Security Bank to contribute and uplift the communities where we operate,” said Security Bank President and CEO Sanjiv Vohra.

Headded that, “We have partnered with relevant organizations to drive our mission of enriching lives, empowering businesses, and building communities. We’re humbled to be able to assist our communities recover and rise up from the challenges they experience.”

Further, in support of its education-related initiatives, Security Bank donated 1,400 GI sheets to rehabilitate 15 classrooms located in Western Visayas and Palawan. This will replace damaged roofs that were affected by recent typhoons.

Apart from classroom repairs, the Bank also donated mobile learning kits to 59 beneficiary schools in partnership with the Knowledge Channel Foundation and SBFI, and Makeroscopes to select schools in Bataan.

“In 2020, the Foundation partnered with the Knowledge Channel and the Ateneo de Manila University to produce videos through the program, called Ready, Set, Read! which aims to address the identified weakness of Filipino students in reading based on recent international assessments,” said Melissa Aquino, SBFI Trustee and Corporate Secretary.

She added that, “However, access to the videos was limited due to internet connectivity issues. The portable media libraries hope to answer that problem as students or their parents can now copy educational resources offline and enjoy interactive learning at home.”

Makeroscopes are single-lens keychain microscopes that are attached to a mobile phone’s front camera giving students the ability to experience using microscopes at home.

The mobile learning kits, called “Gift of Knowledge” are pre-loaded with 1,500 educational videos that allows students and teachers to have access to critical learning resources for continued education.