Dear You,
Today, I met Jaya. She's a kid who sells lemon on the sidewalk. She reminded me of when I was younger. So I bought some lemons and stayed for a bit. I told her I used to sell vegetables when I was little. She gave me a smile of disbelief and excitement. "is it true?" she smiled. I felt like I could see through her eyes. Her smile and those big bright eyes, is what all of these is all about. To all the Jayas out there, all of them whose got dreams and tomorrows ahead of them. This one's for them - for us. To all of us who used to be the little Jayas, to us who tried our best to make the most out of the cards that we were dealt with.
You see, if we take a trip down memory lane from where it all started, none of this would have been possible without the people who were willing to take on the task. Those who gave without expecting anything in return, not even recognition. Those who donated during the early years. The people who were willing to dedicate their lives to a cause they believed in. The people weird enough to jump in and try to make Lovebucket work. To Creal and Ivan. To those who flew with me to Bali back then to pitch this confusing app idea. Those who supported us even from afar. To all the mentors who told me it was possible. To friends who never left and have always supported the idea, to Debbi. To the crazy team who said yes to converting our marketing company to evolve Lovebucket into what is now Dreambucket, to Ferina and Claire (insert Paula).
Those who said YES to something that sounded crazy, like how do we raise more than a Million in just 3 months?! For Tuburan and the community for trying and starting this with us. To Kate, who is my safe space. To Tita Miles, who loved the children so much. To Joan, who believed in Dreambucket and never left. To Joefel and Tita Angel, for holding things together for the team.
To our volunteers, Team Boy Isog and Boy Tahi who went beyond and never asked for anything in return. To Yana, for being present. To Joseph and Aireen who donated all of their income from their farm produce. To everyone who purchased tickets. To our winners and those who VETOED their prizes. To our Grand Prize Winner, Twittle, who wanted nothing in return, but to see the people she care about smile. To the consolation winners; Jean and Eric from France who always supported our endeavors. To Anya, Susan, Aimelou, and Gorre Family.
2023 was a year of knocking on doors and trying to open windows of opportunities! It was a year of us coming together to see if we could really make a difference! And hey, WE DID! WE DID IT! WE ALL CAME TOGETHER, and it made everything possible! Now the doors have been opened, and the windows are beaming with dreams ready to be realized. 2024 is up for a whole new level. Bigger goals, larger communities, wider impact, all wrapped in the same dream of trying to help build a better Philippines by supporting one sustainable initiative at a time.
So, buckle up, because this year, we’re turning dreams into reality, and we’re doing it with an extra sprinkle of magic!
- Tin
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