EMPLOYEES of SM City Bacolod started off this month for grandparents by brightening the day of senior citizen residents of St. Vincent's Home in Barangay Tangub, Bacolod City.
The weekend activity, which is part of SM's Employee Volunteerism Program, enjoined mall employees to volunteer their time and talents to community services.
The volunteers' program with St. Vincent Home's elderly included partnering with a senior citizen and guiding them through games and songs and getting to know them over a shared meal. The elderly also received treats from the employees.
"We encourage our employees to share themselves with the community through various volunteer services," said Carlynna Tionko, human resources manager. "Being with the seniors is a good caring activity that we can insert into our daily routine so we can be a blessing to others, just as we have been blessed through our work."
Across all SM malls around the country, similar community activities of caring for the elderly have also been held over the weekend and will continue throughout the month, impacting a day in the life of around 3,000 senior citizens and counting.
Various activities and entertainment geared for senior citizens will also be held at the malls this month. Senior citizens can look forward to age-appropriate wellness and beauty sessions, sweet surprises on Grandparents Day, or even take an active part in various senior-led bazaars in selected SM malls to show and sell their hobbies or treats from favorite heirloom recipes.
SM Supermalls, through SM Cares, champions the needs of seniors by ensuring that they are provided with services for leisure and ease. Its initiatives include courtesy lanes in the malls, complimentary health and fitness classes, and computer literacy sessions. It also conducts programs which encourage the elderly to become more active, engaged and social.
SM Cares focuses on serving its customers and the communities where it operates. Through its programs for the elderly, persons with disabilities, children, and youth, women and breastfeeding mothers and Overseas Filipino Workers, SM continues to strive to create a mall for all. (PR)