NEW members of the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons recently did their share in lending a hand to others amid the pandemic by manning a community pantry set up in Diliman.
CJ Cansino and Bismark Lina, formerly of the University of Santo Tomas, and ex-Centro Escolar University Scorpion Malick Diouf joined UP coaches Mo Gingerich and Poch Juinio in distributing essential goods to the people in the nearby communities.
The pantry was located at the Quirino Avenue Gate near the UP Integrated School and the College of Home Economics.
“I’m really excited to meet the entire community ever since I transferred to UP, but sadly, safe opportunities for that are super limited in the current situation. There might not be any live games right now, but we can still help boost school spirit by supporting the community even in this simple way. My fellow recruits and I are proud to be Iskolars ng Bayan and part of this Diliman community,” said Cansino, a key member of the UST team which made it to the University Athletic Association of the Philippines finals in Season 82.
The community pantry, which was set up on May 5 and 12, was organized by the nowheretogobutUP Foundation and non profit organization Sama-Sama Tulong-Tulong.
Goods and fresh produce provided in the pantry were directly sourced from farmers in San Ildefonso, Bulacan, so as to help the agriculture sector during this pandemic.
Also tapped for the program was the UP Transport Group, which transported the goods from Bulacan to Diliman to provide its members with an alternative source of income. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo