While others may be jaded about this sentiment, I’d like to believe that Filipinos are at heart, still firm believers of the bayanihan spirit, and are ready to uphold our socio-cultural value of “malasakit.” It’s engrained in us; but there are instances when the October-December days and nights get too frantic or busy, or the traffic in the metropolis makes us want to surrender, or we’re just stumped on what to do that’s both effective and cost-efficient. And that’s why I appreciate how SM Store has institutionalized certain initiatives and promotions that make “Sharing” such an easy choice and option – led by their flagship advocacy of Shop & Share.

Through Shop & Share, both the customers and the employees of SM Store can take part in giving back, in strengthening community ties, and in inspiring hope during the holiday season. The emphasis on children as beneficiaries of the Shop & Share initiatives ensures that the Christmas holidays of these less fortunate become a little brighter, and they’re given positive experiences to look back on during this season of joy and anticipation. And I like how SM Store does this with a lot of intent, making sure the gifts will be of lasting value and worth to the child.

This year, the third Shop & Share program was launched in October, highlighting the birthday month of SM founder, Henry ‘Tatang’ Sy Sr. Benefitting 10,000 children from over 70 public schools, it was the “Shop & Share Shoes” initiative; where SM customers who had a single receipt purchase of at least ₱3,000, could donate a new pair of shoes for only ₱100. SM Store basically subsidized the remaining cost of the pair of shoes. For the children, you can’t imagine the smiles on their faces when they received their new pair of shoes - something they could proudly wear to school the very next day. And being the age that I am, I couldn’t help but appreciate how this is a tribute to SM’s own provenance, to being known as Shoe Mart way back then.

A couple of months ago, from October to November, with the prevalence of the influenza virus and the typhoons, the Shop & Share promotion was in the form of Care Kits for children – kits of tissues, paracetamol, alcohol, and soap. Some 13,500 kits were distributed to public school children; promoting good health habits, hygiene, health awareness, and community resilience. The big idea with “Shop & Share Care Kits” was preventive care, and teaching good health habits to children. Here, it was again a ₱3,000 single receipt purchase entitling the customer to just add ₱99, and thereby be donating a kit to a public school child.

From Dec. 1 to 31, it’s the “Shop & Share a Toy This Christmas” program, where one can donate a toy for only ₱100, after a minimum single-receipt purchase of ₱3,000. Here, the thrust is to help SM Store and SM Foundation deliver 5,000 brandnew educational toys to children in schools and health centers, to act as a symbol of joy, of imagination, and of learning. These will be children with limited access to these kind of recreational/educational toys, and these toys aim to support the children’s early learning, by nurturing creativity.

This Shop & Share A Toy program is ongoing; and so SM shoppers who are reading this, can still take advantage of the great opportunity that transitions SM shopping into acts of sharing, and spreading joy through learning. Think about it, it’s not often that we have that kind of opportunity placed on our laps, with minimal fuss required on our parts.

The photos here showcase how effective these programs are, how they generate smiles on the faces of the children, and how the teachers become enthusiastic facilitators to the SM CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activation. And let’s not forget the SM Store and Foundation employees who readily volunteer to be part of the process. This also brings a degree of fulfillment on their part, that they’ve contributed to the nobility of the endeavor, and have face to face contact with the beneficiary children. All we had to do, as SM Store shoppers, was add a small amount to our SM Store bill.

The ethos of sustainability is deeply embedded in the SM Group of today, it’s part of their OpEx and DNA, it’s entrenched in their way of doing business. Distinct from their sustainability initiatives are programs such as these, which are more CSR in nature, as spearheaded by the SM Foundation. What’s nice to see is how they all converge and manage to intersect, elevating the role of the different SM entities in the community, and perpetuating the notions of paying it forward, giving back, and sharing. If we talk of big business, and commensurate big responsibility, it’s rewarding to see it actually happening; and how they allow us, the consumer, to be a ready participant.