The volunteerism spirit has proven itself to be alive as more than 13,000 volunteers flocked the Manila leg of the most prominent volunteer engagement event in the Philippines: Go! Volunteer expo!
iVolunteer, together with SM Cares, SM Supermalls, and Cravewell, gathered nonprofit organizations and volunteers at SM Megamall Event Center last May 6 and 7 for the 2-day volunteer exposition full of exciting activities.
“We’re very happy that thousands of Filipinos answered the challenge to #DiscoverNew and #GoVolunteer,” said iVolunteer Executive Director JB Tan. “For us, this was a clear signal that volunteers are ready to go back out there and contribute their time, talent, or treasure for benefit of others.”
The Go! Volunteer expo in Manila, which was on its third run, featured booths of different volunteer NGOs from a wide range of advocacies like hunger & poverty alleviation, community development, children & youth, education, and environment & disaster response. Attendees get to taste the fun side of volunteerism as they complete their digital passports by finishing tasks such as biking for a cause, carrying pregnancy weights, decoding words via braille, and playing an electric connectivity game.
“It’s so exciting to be back out here to volunteer–and just in time after the [World Health Organization] declared that the pandemic is no longer a global emergency,” said Kris Lenaming, an expo volunteer.
“You can feel that the energy shared by all volunteers is multiplied when we get to interact face-to-face.”
The event also had inspiring keynotes from iVolunteer Champion 2021 Nor-Ain Mohammad and Mark Napao of the sustainable energy nonprofit Solar Hope during the first day. iVolunteer also launched its flagship volunteer organization incubator program, Social Innovation Challenge, where the group calls aspiring nonprofits to hone their skills in organization management and volunteer engagement.
Go! Volunteer rides on the coattails of its stellar Manila leg as it heads to continue the expo in Davao, marking the first of its kind outside the capital. Davaoeño volunteers and nonprofits are set to meet on May 27-28 at SM City Davao Annex where the event is expected to host its most diverse slate of partner organizations ever.
“SM Cares is dedicated to supporting communities by empowering the next generation of leaders and actively involving them as champions of our various advocacies,” said Royston A. Cabunag, Assistant Vice President for SM Supermalls and SM Cares Program Director for Children & Youth. “As the ‘Mall for All’, we are thrilled to be an avenue for iVolunteer to welcome and gather organizations and volunteers, creating more meaningful opportunities for the youth to create a brighter, more sustainable future for all.”
Go! Volunteer 2023 expo is in cooperation with Alaska Milk and Airspeed, and in partnership with CheQ Systems, Jabra, and The Good Store. The event was made possible with media partners CNN Philippines, Philippine Daily Inquirer, WhenInManila.com, Discover MNL, Wonder, Freebie MNL, and Philippine Star.
Go! Volunteer expo is a 2-day volunteer exposition and the most prominent volunteer engagement event in the Philippines, where nonprofits and volunteers meet to match their needs and interests. Watch the highlights of Go! Volunteer expo 2023 in Manila here.
MANILA May 6-7, 2023 SM Megamall A Event Center | 13,000+ organic foot traffic | 17 NGO partners from 5 different advocacy groups |
35,000 the numbers organic foot traffic in 2016 and 2019 | 28 NGO partners (2019) 25 NGO partners (2016) |
6,000 volunteer hours recorded after expo | 15%-20% volunteer conversion rate |
2023 will be the most diverse Go Volunteer! expo ever! More NGO partners from different advocacies: Poverty Alleviation, Community Development, Children, Education, Environment, Persons Deprived of Liberty, Elderly, Persons With Disabilities, Women Empowerment, Animals, and many more!
15,200 volunteers | 400+ non profit organization partners | 4/5 volunteer satisfaction rating |
Our ethos: make volunteerism known!
Volunteer Education
We teach the basics of volunteering through our social media channels and learning sessions such as Start Your Adventure, Community Meet- Up, and Destinasyon: Finding Your Advocacy.
Volunteer Leader Development
We guide the next set of volunteer leaders in engaging, managing, and building relationships with volunteers through participation as organizational staff, volunteer engagement workshops, or joining the Social Innovation Challenge.
We work with our partner NGOs to provide a supply of volunteering opportunities which in We work with our partner NGOs to provide a supply of volunteering opportunities which includes a perpetual free access to the website, capacity building trainings, and volunteer engagement workshops.
We fulfill the demand for volunteering opportunities not only through the website but also by staging scaled volunteer engaging events such as Go! Volunteer Exposition and BayaniRun.
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