Smile Train and Glad Philippines Launch Third Annual #GladToGiveSmiles Campaign

MANILA - December 7, 2018 - Smile Train, the world's leading cleft charity, has partnered with food storage maker Glad Philippines for the third year in a row to help spread smiles and love this Christmas season.

"Every year we are Glad-To-Give back to Smile Train as we believe we can bring more smiles to children, families, our consumers and partners for the holiday season," said Mr. Paulo Lao, Sales and Marketing Director for Southeast Asia of the Clorox Company, which owns Glad. "Our continuing partnership with Smile Train is a product of the company's profound commitment to helping others."

The event was held at Sarsa Kitchen + Bar BGC where i first met Ms Kimmy of Smile Train. She invited me to sit next to her and join them for a wonderful dinner. 

Ms. Kimmy together with Glad Kitchen discussed about there campaign and some of the press interviewed her. 

Then after the dinner we transfered to Mercato Centrale for a cooking demo with Celebrity Mom Dimples Romana using Glad Kitchen products. The Glad-To-Give campaign is Glad's social response to encourage its patrons to perform acts of kindness. Under the partnership with Smile Train, the #GladToGiveSmiles program allows proceeds from the purchase of Glad food wraps, zipper bags, and storage containers from booths in Mercato Centrale at Bonifacio Global City on December 7-8  and Glorietta on December 13-14 to benefit Smile Train's cleft programs.

"We are grateful that we have long-term partners like Glad, who value corporate social responsibility and partnerships that will benefit those in need," said Kimmy Coseteng-Flaviano, Smile Train's Area Director for the South East Asia. "This initiative gives more cleft patients another reason to smile and teaches them the value of giving, especially for the holidays."

More than 20,000 new babies with clefts are born every year around the globe. Without access to proper treatment, these babies often have difficulty eating, breathing, speaking, and ultimately thriving. Smile Train's sustainable model empowers local medical professionals with training and resources to provide 100%-free, quality, and safe cleft care to children in need in their own communities.

For more information about Smile Train's global efforts and to make a donation, please visit smiletrain.org  To learn more about Smile Train's programs in the Philippines, follow Smile Train on Twitter and Instagram @smiletrainPh, and like us on Facebook at @SmileTrainPhilippines.

About Glad Philippines

Glad is the leading brand when it comes to food packaging safety. We are at the forefront of every celebration because we know that people who love good food understand the importance of food safety and proper handling. Our flagship products consist of quality foil, wraps, holiday trays and containers. Here in the Philippines, Glad products are available in leading supermarkets - SM, Rustans, Unimart, Lnadmark, Robinsons, and Puregold.

About Smile Train

Smile Train empowers local medical professionals with training, funding, and resources to provide free cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children globally. We advance a sustainable solution and scalable global health model for cleft treatment, drastically improving children's lives, including their ability to eat, breathe, speak, and ultimately thrive.

I'm so glad that i got to witness this kind of event. Thank you again for having me! 

#GladGetTogethers

#GladFeasts

#SmileTrainPh

#GladKitchen

Thank you for reading my blog!

The Sweetest 30 ft. Christmas Candy Cake is unveiled in Greenhills

Ortigas & Company makes the holidays extra-sweet with the launch of the first and only Christmas Candy Cake at the ultimate shopping destination, Greenhills, which opens to the public on November 8.

All set to delight the young and the young-at-heart from November 8, 2018 to January 6, 2019, the biggest Christmas Candy Cake, located at the VMall Lobby, will be filled to the brim with all the candy one can possibly dream of. Imagine a Christmas candy cake full of every candy you can ever think of—gum drops, butterballs, eclairs, hard candy, chocolate bars, fudge, in an assortment of sizes, shapes, and colors—filling the four-layer 30-feet high cake.

To make things more exciting for its launch, guests can enjoy a Willy Wonka performance, with visions of a chocolate factory coming alive right before their eyes. As an added Christmas bonus, golden tickets will also be scattered around the mall for mall-goers to find. Lucky winners will be able to claim special prizes if they find these tickets from November 6 until Christmas Day.

True to the spirit of generosity that gives meaning to the season, Greenhills will have special guests under the care of the Department of Social Welfare and Development and will take part in the joy of the season.

As the first and largest Candy Cake in the Philippines, this Christmas installation will surely enhance the experience of all those shopping at the only mall with the widest selection of retail offerings with various tiangge stalls with their festive assortment of goods for the value-conscious, as well as retail stores with a selection of gifts for everyone.

Aside from the Christmas Candy Cake, Greenhills will also hold a Christmas Sweet Bazaar at VMall Lobby from Nov. 9, 2018 to January 6, 2018. There will also be Paskuhan Pinoy 2018 at the VMall Garden from November to January 2019. Starting November through January 2019, a Night Market will be at the G-strip parking for food enthusiasts from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. as well as Regional Delicacies at the ground floor of the Center Mall from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Kids will also be able Meet & Greet Santa on all Saturdays of December at the VMall Lobby from 2 to 5 p.m. Fireworks will also light the Ortigas skyline every Saturday at 7 p.m. for the entire family to enjoy. And lastly, Simbang Gabi will take place at the Chapel of the Holy Family from December 15 to 23, 6pm daily.

Families and friends out to shop and explore Greenhills can also find more dining outlets to choose from such as newly opened restaurants Bijin Nabe, Kimpura, Coco Fresh, Moshi Koshi, and Serenitea. In the following months, Scout’s Honor, Breakfast at Antonio’s, Ippudo, Yabu, Bad Bird, any many more will also be opening their doors for diners to enjoy.

Greenhills has all sorts of cuisine to meet various tastes, and will definitely satisfy the tummies of all those who love good food. Enjoy all these amidst the sparkling Christmas lights and the beautiful installations that will remind you that the holidays have come.

Being the crown jewel of San Juan, Greenhills has newly opened health & wellness facilities namely Bruno’s Barbers, Urban Hair Lounge, Beeswax, Nazal MD, and Skin Station. The Medical City, Aivee Institute, Brow Studio, Center for Advanced Dentistry, and Oroderm will also be opening in the coming months.

“Greenhills is still Ortigas & Company’s ultimate shopping destination and top of mind go to place, especially during the holidays. We want shoppers to have an even more delightful shopping experience with our Christmas Candy Cake and the Christmas Sweet Bazaar, which will bring in more exciting merchants,” says President and CEO of Ortigas & Company Jaime E. Ysmael.

Indeed, Christmas is more delightful and so much sweeter in Greenhills.

For more information and updates, please visit and follow Greenhills on Facebook and Instagramuse the hashtag #2018OrtigasMallsChristmas and #GreenhillsCandyCake when posting.

Christmas Tunnel returns to delight more audiences in its second run

The first spectacle of its kind in the country promises an even more exciting show fresh from its international win

Ortigas & Company’s award-winning Christmas spectacle—the first of its kind in the Philippines—returns this year as the Christmas Street Light Musical Tunnel opens to the public on November 6.

Set to light up the premier developer’s Ortigas East estate, the Christmas Tunnel will warm hearts and delight the senses with a captivating light display playing alongside some of the yuletide season’s well-loved hits.

Ortigas & Company is gearing up for another exhilarating show as the Christmas Tunnel marks its second run with new arrangements and a flashier show for more artistic and musical flair. With this show, families and friends who will troop to Ortigas East are sure to feel the joy of the Christmas season.

The Christmas Street Light Musical Tunnel, which bagged two Stevie Awards in the recent International Business Awards for Real Estate Marketing Campaign of the Year and Re-Branding/Brand Renovation of the Year, promises a one-of-a-kind experience with its structural features. Made with 2,368 pixels of light, each pixel is composed of three bulbs in red, blue, and green, flickering and dancing festively according to the music’s beat. When stretched out, the Christmas Tunnel is equivalent to 1.4 kilometers, or the length of 28 Olympic swimming pools.

“Ortigas & Company continues to make its malls the go-to destination for family and friends, and what better way to show this than through the return of the award-winning Christmas Street Light Musical Tunnel at Ortigas East. This much-awaited tradition, which began last year, was developed to provide Filipinos and even tourists more reasons to celebrate at Tiendesitas and make it a must-see holiday destination,” says Ortigas Malls Vice President Renee C. Bacani.

As an added offering, famed shadow play group El Gamma Penumbra and Ben&Ben will perform during the launch. There is also a whole slew of holiday activities in the estate’s retail destination, Tiendesitas, which guests can enjoy.

There will be a StrEAT Food Market from November 7 to January 6 for foodies in the metro, while kids get the chance to take photos with Santa in the Meet & Greet sessions happening on all Saturdays of December at the Fashion and Furniture Village from 2 to 5 PM. Fireworks will light the Ortigas skyline also every Saturday at 7 PM. Churchgoers can also flock to the Simbang Gabi which will take place at the Food Village from December 15 to 23 at 6 PM.

Families and friends out to explore Tiendesitas will also find new dining choices, such as the largest Rico’s Lechon branch in Metro Manila. Sports enthusiasts will also soon be in shopping heaven as Decathlon, the largest European sports brand, opens in Tiendesitas.

These new shops are on top of the exciting redevelopment happening in Ortigas East, which will give rise to Metro Manila’s eco-estate filled with some of the choicest retail, residential, and lifestyle offerings.

For more information and updates, please visit and follow Tiendesitas on Facebook and Instagramand use the hashtag #2018OrtigasMallsChristmas for all social media posts.