On 12/9/05, phyto_2485 wrote:

hi bro!watz up!i just been now to Fr. Moys and we already talk about the project i have now the tentative numbers of youth in there parish who really needs the materials.

150 and above youth needs:
clothings.schools supplies, 5 computers 1 projector for the catechetical ministry and i told them that whenever the balikbayan boxes will arrive in philippines it will be donated in there barangay.

thank you very much and have a nice day...god bless bro!u

I'm disappointed at myself for not being able to get PUSO's efforts going sooner. Christmas is around the corner, and I was really hoping that PUSO could host a number of donation events to benefit the PI. I felt that donating a whole bunch of computers/projectors would have been a perfect Christmas present to schools/barangays -- it gives them not only something to learn with, but something that will give them hope for a better future. And the true essence of Christmas is the gift of HOPE. Unfortunately, people have been busy with their own agendas, and I haven't been able to get the man-power to help me out. Hopefully the new year will bring new opportunities for PUSO. Meeting in JC on Sunday, then next week Interact meeting. We'll see what happens.

Also, in order to assure an effective organization of PUSO's efforts, I reorganized the administrative positions. Most of the titles have been changed. New positions have been added. A committee entity has been created so that each person has a clear-cut responsibility in PUSO's efforts. Check it out.

peace.

Dear kirk,

This sunday the December 4th, i will be holding a youth meeting in the afternoon. I dont know how your church is but it take a big part of my sunday mornings, I go there early to set up the sound system and because I play in the praise and worship band. if you are free this sunday please feel free to contact me, at any time (except during school). I'll give more details soon just wanted to reply to your email. My church is very big on helping in the Philippines, they would be happy to hear of this type of ministry. Alright that's about it, I will just email you if i have any more questions about PUSO and when i have the letter from the interact advisor.
Thanks again, god bless

James Ramiro

So on December 4th, I'm going to go to the First Filipino Methodist Church in Jersey City, NJ to talk about PUSO. Hopefully I will be able to establish a branch there. The meeting starts at 1030am and will go on until 300pm. According to James, the church is a big advocate of helping out the Philippines, so I'm pretty confident that they'll love the idea. James and myself will be pitching PUSO to the church, and hopefully everyone will be willing to help in the efforts of PUSO.

Also, next week I will be attending an Interact Club meeting at UHS. UHS heads, watch out for me. `;p

That's all for now. btw PUSO-ONLINE.org is almost here `xD

Kirk Inocencio

Dear Kirk,

Im sorry I haven't gotten to you personally but I have been a bit busy. Right now in Interact we are working on trying to get all the members to be on the same page for P.U.S.O. From what I understand this project could go on for the whole year, such as donations are accepted whenever. PUSO is a Philippine Organization, unfortunately all my members are not Filipino although it is the majority. When I brought this idea up in the most recent meeting, November 18, 2005 some of the non-filipino members were a bit hesistant. Our advisor has given us the heads up but I am a bit worried about the other members. With such a large group (95+ members) it would make a big difference in your efforts. I would love if you would come to our school to talk about PUSO, although I know that you must ride the bus from magnet to go home, it would be quite difficult. In the next meeting I will be talking about PUSO more in depth and see what the members have to say.

Interact is not a club by itself, it is a branch from Rotary, there is more information on the Rotary website. Interact has to go by a certain constitution, although we do not go by it as much as we should, i just do want to get in to much trouble if and when a Rotary authority comes to check up on us. I dont really know were PUSO would lies in the Interact constitution but I am sure that it shouldn't cause a problem.

For the Christmas Presentation, i would be willing to help in which ever way you may need me, but my hands are kind of tied right now just till after December 6, for i have a college interview. i would love to Branch Ceo but once again i have to talk to all of my members and hear their insight. I am sorry that i got to you after the thanksgiving break but I have just been busy.

I will hold a meeting probably the first or second week of December. I will get back to you with more details and my members insight. Thanks you for including us, you have been an answer to my prayers, cause i needed a big fundraiser for this year and i think this is the one.

Outside of interact I am president of my Church Youth. i would be willing to start a branch there not only in the youth but also the church as a whole. it is entirely a Filipino church (with exceptions), First Filipino American United Methodist Church. i will be holding a meeting next sunday, but we are also busy putting on a Youth and Children's Choir play but i will pull them aside for this.

God bless, happy holidays

Regards,
James Ramiro

* My E-mail response:

November 28, 2005

James Ramiro

Dear James,

What's up bro? First of all, I'd like to thank you so much for taking the time to pitch PUSO to Interact. I understand that you have so much to juggle right now, and I appreciate the fact that you took the time to read my letters and review the logistics of PUSO and such.

So regarding your concerns: I predicted that a couple of people would be skeptical about PUSO and helping out, simply because of the fact that there is a huge number of students in Interact. There is always that cluster of people that are hesitant about new things such as PUSO. What you need to make clear to them is that, contrary to the name, PUSO is not solely restricted to Filipinos. The officers certainly do NOT have to be Filipino -- as a matter of fact, it would be much better if the officers are of diverse backgrounds. The organization DOES, however, help the Philippines in particular -- unlike many world-renowned charity organizations such as Red Cross, which helps a multitude of countries around the world. The Red Cross certainly does provide funds to aid less well-off countries, but their funds need to be distributed according to the needs of the particular country. Moreover, the Red Cross is really crisis management funds. So unless the Philippines gets a terrible typhoon or what have you, they won't be seeing too much money funds from the Red Cross.

Also, you've more than likely heard about the Philippine government corruption and how money funds that go towards enhancing education, public works, employment, etc. get pocketed by government officials. I founded PUSO to bypass the government and go straight to the teenagers / people who need the aid. Also, I feel that if a widespread organization focuses on a specific country, the effectiveness of the aid will increase tremendously.

Now, in regards to the ride issue: I spoke to one of my teachers today (11/28/05) and he said that it would be alright for me to leave early from school to attend your Interact meetings. He said I would need a letter from the director of Interact, president of the club (you), my parents, and myself. They would all be forwarded to my principal and then the superintendent. The sooner I get those letters to him, the better. My dad would be able to pick me up from school to drive me to UHS. All I ask from you is to request that you and your advisor write a letter to my principal, saying that this is what I am doing, why I'm doing it, etc. I'll tell you what other things you will need to include in the letter once I get the okay from everyone. Also, please give me a 1 1/2 week in advanced notice about the meetings that you plan to hold. I can only attend meetings on certain days, depending which block I have for that particular week. (B day blocks are the only days I can leave school early) I will definitely be attending one of your December meetings. Also, if possible, perhaps you can hold more frequent meetings for Interact once PUSO is approved by everyone. I understand that you have your own agenda to deal with, but hopefully you can spare 15-45 extra minutes after school.

Christmas presentation won't be happening this year, unfortunately. I was really looking forward to coordinating it with you guys, but there is definitely not enough time to coordinate the event (we'd probably need 1-2months of preparation time) and seeing that Christmas break is almost here, it'll be even more difficult to get people involved. Also, there are still people who are skeptical about PUSO, as well as others who don't completely understand the logistics of PUSO. I think I was jumping the gun a bit when i proposed the idea.

It would be EXCELLENT if you could talk to your church pastor & youth to see if they'd be interested in establishing a branch at your church. If you'd like, I could attend your meeting on Sunday and talk a bit about PUSO with you for a couple minutes, since you seem to have a fairly good understanding of the logistics and what we're all about. Just give me a heads up, if anything.

Thank you so much for your time, James. I hope everything goes well. Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Take care & God bless.

Regards,
Kirk Inocencio

So synopsis: James held an Interact meeting November 18, 2005 -- most members were interested in getting involved; however, some were skeptical about the efforts. He will arrange a meeting sometime in December, and I will be attending it. We will iron out any questions and concerns regarding the efforts. James will pitch PUSO to his church; I may attend that meeting and talk briefly about the efforts along with him. PUSO is not doing the Filipino Christmas presentation -- there is definitely not enough time to coordinate it, unfortunately. That's all for now. More to come soon.

Finally, other news: PUSO may get a domain name: http://www.puso-online.com. Look out for that sometime within the coming weeks.

And finally -- I'll be working with some people to help me register PUSO as an OFFICIAL 501(c)3 organization (aka official NONPROFIT organization that is registered in government files.)

MORE TO COME SOON!

In addition, Ivan Payumo from Jersey City is very interested in bringing P.U.S.O. to his school, Hudson Catholic High School. Ivan will first pitch P.U.S.O. to the president of the Filipino American Club in HCHS. After everything is cool with el presidente, I'll arrange a meeting with the Fil Am club sometime and talk to them about the efforts. From there we'll get the ball rolling with donation events and such. Perhaps the first project will be a Christmas-oriented Filipino fair. The holiday season is around the corner and is a great opportunity to educate the community about how the Philippines celebrates Christmas. I'm very excited! I can't wait to see what's in store for P.U.S.O. within the coming months. We'll see what happens.

I can't wait to meet with BLD Trenton's Core members. I really want to start coordinating events as soon as possible. The future of P.U.S.O. looks VERY promising.

By the way, I will be pitching P.U.S.O. to the Youth at BLD Newark today. Wish me luck!