If you reflect on it, for most of us, volunteerism and the wave of self-fulfillment it can engender, has its roots in our elementary education — and how, as part of the social studies curriculum or some civics course, we were encouraged to participate in some form of social service, helping those more unfortunate than us. Engrained in us was the idea of giving back, and being thankful for what social advantages we may have enjoyed by “paying it forward.”

To listen to Gianna Montinola, co-founder and current president of Hands On Manila, this innate desire to help even has its roots in the very Filipino trait of “bayanihan.” And going beyond tradition, it’s about reaching transformation — utilizing volunteerism as a powerful force for positive change. So for 24 years now, the Hands On Manila foundation has served as a mechanism for companies and their employees to come together in that spirit of volunteerism, and to do so with focus and intent.

It may have started off by recruiting individuals eager to volunteer, but to make the model work, to scale up its operations, secure vital resources, and evolve into a trusted partner; the decision was made to shift focus from individual volunteers to the corporate sector. Companies then were looking for ways to execute their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Hands On Manila (HOM) was adept at creating bespoke volunteer activities, and tailoring it to a company's chosen advocacies. HOM would design and implement activities, and find the recipient partner/beneficiary that aligned with the CSR objectives of the companies signing up with HOM.

As the board of directors of Hands On describe it, the biggest activity on their annual calendar would be the Servathon, where thousands of corporate volunteers, in a single day and in one venue, gather together, and focus on a common theme like disaster relief, or education — or this year, malnutrition. Activities that create products and items that address that common theme became the core of any year’s Servathon. And this year, Servathon 2025 was conducted at Le Pavilion, Pasay City.

On the Saturday morning that I dropped by the Servathon, the volunteers from various companies were hard at work. There were some tables working on gulay grow kits, while other tables were putting together mosquito repellant sets. In a bigger work area, another group of volunteers were assembling to sew blankets. It was like a beehive of activity, with each table/group assigned specific chores, with targets for completion added as incentives.

A guest speaker from the Department of Health was busy talking about malnutrition in the Philippines, and how it’s such a serious problem. I wasn’t sure how they had quantified it, but she was saying that tomorrow’s workers would only be 52 percent as productive as they could be, as health, nutrition, and education are critical issues. While the prevalence of stunting has been on the decrease since 2003 — from a high of 34 percent in 2003, we brought it down to 24 percent in 2023, and we’re hoping to bring this further down to 13 percent by 2028 - it remains an issue.

If at the start of the Hands On journey in the Philippines, it was more about middle-aged achievers seeking higher purpose in life, and joining up to do good deeds; a shift came about over the course of the last five years. This resulted in a surge of Gen Z volunteers; the rank and file of various companies, and young adults, searching for tangible impact and genuine connections. And I for one, am happy that this is the case, at it augurs well for the generations still to come. They’re more conscious of concepts such as sustainability and resilience — and they do seek social agendas, along with those of environment and governance.

Issa Litton and Marc Nelson have gamely volunteered their services over the years, and that’s very much appreciated by HOM Co-Founder Gianna Montinola. Over the last two years, Issa has even asked her 1Lit talent hosts, those who are up to it, to join her and assist in hosting the proceedings. Last year, they even offered a dance number as an entertainment break. This year, the likes of Rocio Escaño, Aziza Mondoñedo, Sam Thurman, and new 1Lit “recruit” Ansis Sy, provided support to Issa.

Witness to the enthusiasm of the people gathered on the day, one couldn’t help but be buoyed by their smiles, the friendly competition between companies; and recognize the veneer of how the activity was a case of cause-oriented team-building. I was cognizant of the fact that this was a Saturday morning, and that all these employees had elected to show up before eight in the morning, and were hard at work producing the kits and blankets.

Hands On Manila looks forward to 2026, when they celebrate their 25th year, a rewarding journey that can be traced back to 2001.