Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Michael Kors and SSI conducts feeding program in Mano Amiga

Michael Kors in action

The article below found on the website of SSI, talks about their experience with our Mano Amiga scholars in a partnership feeding program with Children’s Hour.

More than just being a market leader in the world of fashion, Michael Kors, the premium lifestyle brand that has brought classic pieces of timeless elegance, has also been exerting tremendous efforts to alleviate the issue of world hunger. Stores Specialists Inc. (SSI), the exclusive distributor of Michael Kors in the Philippines wholeheartedly supported the brand’s global movement through partnering with Children’s Hour.


The long-standing value of SSI for social responsibility is alive through its continuous efforts to organize outreach activities that address different social issues.

Through the company’s CSR effort, aSSIst, “SSI always finds a way to do its share in helping out and giving back to the community,” said Michael Huang. This is also why joining Michael Kors’ fight against hunger was a natural response to them. “The issue is not something invisible to us here in the Philippines. It’s sad that this is a big issue but the hunger problem is not unsolvable,” Huang added.

Kors cares



It was a meaningful experience as SSI employees gave their time to prepare healthy lunches and meet the bright and active children of Mano Amiga Academy in Taguig City this July. Founded in Mexico in 1963, Mano Amiga Academy’s mission is to offer high-quality education to underprivileged children. The school’s specially-conceptualized curriculum aims to provide children with an education that is at par with the best private schools in the world, to widen their horizons and effectively motivate them to have higher aspirations in life. Through the non-profit organization Children’s Hour, SSI has been sponsoring the 27 kids from Mano Amiga’s second-grade class since 2011.

The volunteers from SSI visited and engaged the kids of Mano Amiga in a series of activities that included fun storytelling, educational games, and personal one-on-one time as they shared the hearty, healthy lunches they prepared. On the final day of activities, genuine smiles were abound despite the rainy weather as the 109 kids of Mano Amiga Academy each received two bags filled with a carefully-selected assortment of nutritious groceries to take home to their families.



The kids thanked SSI and Michael Kors through a feel-good performance of the song “Lean on Me”. They also expressed their sincere gratitude with artwork which they personally created during their art class, thanking “Mr. Michael Kors for feeding the hungry around the world.” On behalf of SSI, Michael Huang received the precious gift, together with a banner that read “#WatchHungerStop,” the campaign’s official social media tag, signed by SSI’s 27 Mano Amiga scholars.

United Nations World Food Programme for this mission, the brand released the “100 Series” watch as part of its WATCH HUNGER STOP campaign. For each watch sold, 100 children in a hunger-stricken area will receive a nutritious meal. The watch has a detailed map of the world etched on the colorful dial, along with the words “100 Series.” Michael Kors’ signature is engraved on the back, as is the campaign name, WATCH HUNGER STOP, and the message “1 WATCH = 100 MEALS.”

The collaboration of SSI and Michael Kors was indeed an inspiration to urgently and consciously address the world hunger crisis. July being Nutrition Month, the endeavor was also quite timely and apt. Geenette Garcia, Assistant Executive Director of Children’s Hour, commended this movement and said, “For us, they become stronger champions of Children’s Hour. They become stronger champions of children.”
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