Catch-UP Graduation, Class of 2026 – SULONG: Kilos Patungo sa Pangarap
A powerful milestone: 160 students from our school drop-out programs in Catch-UP celebrated their graduation! Their journeys reflect hope for a brighter future, made possible with the support of our committed Catch-UP team.
Some of our sponsors, @avanthealthcare and @rotaractmanila , were present to celebrate with us. Thanks to them and the many other supporters who believe in these young people!!!
“Doubles Dive” from Synchrony Philippines is an annual event run by Synchrony employees - a fun celebration of collaboration and community impact, supporting NGOs like Young Focus. Synchrony hosts several activities throughout the year, and in a recent event, Ram and Paul shared stories about Young Focus - past and present.
Check out the video clip of them taking on the ice-bucket challenge during the event! ❄️💦
TRANSITION PREPARATION
As part of our commitment to guide students through transitions, we conduct meetings with students in their last year of elementary or high school education, together with their parents, these sessions focused on preparing them for the next school year.
Especially for the graduating high school students, we recognize that as they move closer to college or university, the decisions they make become more significant and life-shaping. Choosing a course and a college/university are not simple decisions. Many students feel pressure or uncertainty during this time, which is why guidance and clear information are so important.
Cindy, our Student Support Program manager: “During the meeting, we discussed practical steps on how they can prepare for enrollment, such as researching schools and courses, understanding admission requirements, managing deadlines, and preparing necessary documents. Parents’ involvement is a key part of this process. When they understand and support their child’s plans, students become more confident in making decisions and navigating this transition.
We’re excited to see where their journey leads, and we’re proud of how far they’ve come. Congratulations as you prepare for graduation—this is just the beginning!”
☕✨ FROM HER TABLE ✨☕
In celebration of International Women’s Month, Starbucks invited us again (as in the past two years) to their Community Store location in Tondo! This year, they partnered with three talented chefs from Michelin-awarded restaurants, Chef Miko Calo 👩🍳, Chef Cara Davis 👩🍳, and Chef Amanda Hao 👩🍳, to make special pastries, each chef bringing her own style, story and culinary expertise.
‘From Her Table’ is about highlighting amazing women in today’s food scene: their creativity, passion, and leadership as they keep breaking barriers in the kitchen.
Even better? Part of the proceeds will go to Starbucks’ partner organizations (including Young Focus) that support and uplift women and communities. 💚
Starbucks has been using the hashtag #StrongLikeCoffee in the past few years to spotlight inspiring female partners, artists, and leaders. So, also during this event, the three chefs invited shared their experiences and answered questions from our students. Of course, our students also had a blast enjoying the new pastries as well as other delicious foods... 😄
Responses from our college students:
“The part that really hit me was Chef Miko talking about women in the kitchen. She reminded us that female chefs are just as capable as men and that our unique strengths, like emotional intelligence, make our cooking special. It inspired me to keep chasing my dream of becoming a chef!” - Vinice
“I had so much fun at the event! I learned a lot about how these amazing women handle pressure and lead with confidence. Chef Amanda’s advice about believing in yourself and being clear about your goals really stuck with me.” - Charmaine
“Listening to the chefs’ stories was super motivating! Chef Miko encouraged us to grab every opportunity, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m planning to take a Bread and Pastry course to level up my skills and create my own unique pastries someday. Big thanks to Young Focus for giving me this chance!” - Cassandra
Thanks, Starbucks Philippines, for the continuation of your support and for inviting our students so they can be inspired to dream big! @starbucksph@armunar
MARK SORIANO @ YF for 10 YEARS! 🎉
We wanted to publicly recognize and celebrate Mark’s commitment to youth over the past 10 years! In 2015, he started the Young Unlimited program for teenager school dropouts under our Social Care Program, which at the time was managed by Ann Ragudo @cathlynannragudomcfeather .
A lot has happened in Mark’s Young Focus-life as well as in his personal life. In spite of a period of severe health issues, he never gave up. He remained committed to what he believed in, dedicating his life to serving school dropouts in the community, which even led to him receiving 'The ONE Philippines Humanitarian Award' in 2024.
Thank you, Kuya Mark, for who you are and for everything you have done!
A new chapter is now opening for him. No... he's not leaving Young Focus! Instead, he'll take on the role of Career Development Officer. In this position, Mark will focus on strengthening and equipping students to be ready for the job market by organizing seminars, lessons, coaching sessions, company visits, and outings etc.
The Young Focus team hope for many more years with Mark, who has such amazing passion to see the talents and gifts of our young people developed! 👏
𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝗔𝗧 𝗖𝗛𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗠𝗔𝗦 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗪𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗔 𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗛𝗬 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲! It’s a cherished annual tradition for Young Focus: distributing 1,000 Christmas buckets filled with festive food items and extra rice for the holiday season.
In addition to 747 Christmas buckets for the families of our students, the remaining buckets were distributed to others in need, including seniors and people with disabilities. Thanks to everyone’s contribution to our Christmas campaign, we were able to distribute 30% more food supplies than planned. We’re so grateful for this!
During the distribution, there was also a fun raffle for the families, including special Christmas gift items provided by donors, such as rice cookers, water kettles, even extra hams. A whole team of different Young Focus friends came to help with the distribution. And of course, the mothers from our Family Care team were there, together with Young Focus students and staff, to bring the celebration to life with music and dance. 𝗔 𝗕𝗜𝗚 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗞 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗳𝘂𝗹, 𝗷𝗼𝘆-𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱! 🎄✨
𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗦: 𝗕𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 ‘𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗘𝗕𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗡’ 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗚 𝗙𝗢𝗖𝗨𝗦!
It’s a typical Dutch tradition: on New Year’s Eve, the Dutch enjoy a festive snack called ‘oliebollen’. These are deep-fried dough balls made from yeast batter, usually mixed with raisins or currants (and sometimes with apple pieces). The batter is dropped into hot oil, where it puffs up and turns golden brown on the outside while remaining soft and fluffy on the inside. They are eaten with a generous dusting of powdered sugar. The ‘oliebollen’ recipe used today hasn’t changed that much since the 1600s!
On December 31st, our Filipino-Dutch Young Focus friends in the Netherlands, Gert and Leah – with the help of a whole group of family and friends – baked more than 1,500 ‘oliebollen'. They worked hard all day, including outside in the cold in a tent, starting 5:00 in the morning, then selling the ‘oliebollen’ in their village to support the work of Young Focus in the Philippines. Actually, this is something they do every year!!!
𝗔 𝗕𝗜𝗚 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗞 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗧𝗢 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺!!! 🇵🇭🇳🇱
