12 November 2020, #ULYSSESPH #RELIEFPH. Earlier in November 2020, in immediate response to Typhoon Ulysses destruction, iVolunteer donated P5000 to FEED as part of their consolidated relief efforts conducted for our partner NGOs, as they realized that nonprofit communities are the most vulnerable to calamities and would be in need of resources. They immediately set up a relief page, identifying which partners were involved with which relief efforts, and rallied support for cash and in kind donations via their website (https://www.ivolunteer.com.ph/treasure-volunteer/6540) and FB (https://www.facebook.com/ivolunteerphils) pages.
Meantime, the PHP5000 from iVolunteer was immediately handed over by FEED to FEED Ambassador Tina Antonio, Founder of La Union Soul and President of San Juan Resort Restaurant and Hotel Association (SJRHAS). The PHP5000 was fully deployed to purchase the outstanding requirements of organic native Philippine vegetable seeds requested by remote communities affected by Ulysses. Tina was instrumental in mobilising the relief effort from La Union with Love – also in charge of consolidating all donations from all across the Philippines to La Union, before the deliveries to Tuguegarao and Cagayan Valley, with thanks to several on the ground trusted volunteers. “Our care packages arrived in #CagayanValley. We have collected a total of PHP109,200 in cash donations that have been disbursed for additional relief goods, direct aid to Zonta, CNCVB, and Taripnong – Cagayan Valley, logistics and transportation costs. We still have PHP16,413 remaining balance that will be transferred directly to our NGO partners as soon as they receive our truckload of in-kind donations. Thank you to our youth groups ELYU BTS ARMY Lupon ng mga Indibidwal na Nangangalaga sa Kalikasan (LINK), LU residents, friends in Manila who have supported this drive! 🤗NGO partners Zonta Club of Central Tuguegarao Caridad Esquibil HQ! Some of the in-kind donations will go to Taripnong – Cagayan Valley as well. Special thanks to Randgren Aleson Palabay, Walter, and Allen, who have travelled through the rainy weather. Thanking Emil Rodriguez Ganaden’s and DPWH Region I for the logistics support.” – Tina Antonio
Tina was sure to publish regular updates on the status of the donation drive throughout, thankfully: “It was only last friday, Nov 13 at 8PM when we found out through social media on the situation of #CagayanValley through friends in #RescuePH. We quickly got in touch with our group North Philippines Visitors Bureau on FB messenger to check our groups in Cagayan Valley area. We were keeping in touch through messenger until after midnight to ensure that Caridad Esquibil, Tata Bulauitan Custodio, Mitoy F. Cayosa, Malou Escasa were safe from #UlysessPH.

iVolunteer continues to gather funds to allocate to the ff. NGO partners who have identified support needed during this time:
- Kythe Foundation: 3 patients and their families need relief items
- Heart Warriors of the Philippines, Inc.: their members from Marikina and Rizal need help because their places got devastated
- 2kk Tulong sa Kapwa Kapatid Foundation: need to purchase banigs, blankets, medicines, and food for those displaced in Montalban
- Progressive Assistance Canada: food packs and hygiene kits
- Juan Portrait: Communities in Dingalan, Aurora need disaster responses as they live in the coastal. Most lost their homes and will need food, toiletries, and other basic clothing, kitchenware
- Save the Children Philippines: Pooling donations affected by typhoons Rolly and Ulysses in Albay and Catanduanes. Their teams have been in the areas since last week and are doing further assessment to identify the needed support
- Coalition of Services of the Elderly, Inc.: For the affected communities in Bicol.
- Childhope Philippines Foundation, Inc.: To distribute relief packs and hygiene kits to street children and their families.
- Philippine Jesuit Prison Service: Scholars and their families in Marikina need clothes and underwear
- Fostering Education & Environment for Development – FEED Inc: Disaster relief needed for recent typhoons.
- Bunny Project/Got Heart Foundation: The Bunny Project team of sewers (who themselves were also affected) are now sewing big waterproof skin-friendly family blankets for flood victims that can double as ground cover and mini tents.
- La Liga Mariquina for effected community in Marikina
- Edicute for devastated partner IP communities
- Project PEARLS for communities in Tondo
- The Storytelling Project communties in Cagayan for basic necessities of food, clean water, clothes and hygiene kits
- Karinderia ni Mang Urot food for communities
- ATD Fourth World: relief for partner community of Manila North Cemetery
- CRIBS Foundation relief for staff members devastated by the typhoon
- Yellow Warriors Society Philippines relief for staff members devastated by the typhoon
- Grain Foundation for PWD: relief effort for students affected in areas of Las Piñas, Pasig and some around Metro Manila.
Typhoon Vamco/Ulysses lashed the main island of Luzon whipping destructive winds and dumping heavy rainfall that triggered massive flooding in several areas. Vamco, the third major typhoon to hit the country in as many weeks, made landfall over Quezon province at 10.30 p.m. of 11 November (local time), packing maximum sustained winds of 150 km/h and gustiness of up to 205 km/h. The typhoon then traversed through Central Luzon overnight, moving to within 100 kilometers north of the capital Metro Manila, and exiting landmass on the morning of 12 November.

Rescuers evacuate residents from their flooded homes after Typhoon Vamco hit, in Marikina City, suburban Manila on November 12, 2020. (Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP), Philippine Inquirer
Ahead of the typhoon’s landfall, torrential rains were already being felt in the Bicol Region which was just affected by Super Typhoon Goni in early November.
Flash floods and landslides were reported in the provinces of Catanduanes and Camarines Sur. Large swaths of Luzon, including the capital city, were submerged in roof-level floods in scenes reminiscent of Tropical Storm Ketsana/Ondoy in 2009.

A man carries a child to safety as a rescue team from the local government helps a family trapped in floodwaters in Barangay Boclod in San Jose, Camarines Sur on Wednesday. San Jose LGU photo (c/o ABS-CBN)
In Marikina City, located in the national capital, officials reported that around 40,000 houses were either partially or fully submerged, and that all 47 evacuations centers in the city are full with some evacuees seeking temporary shelter in nearby homes. Similar episodes of immersed houses and people trapped on rooftops were reported in the provinces of Rizal, Bulacan, and Cavite.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) deployed search and rescue teams to support local authorities in ferrying people to safer ground.
Government has yet to assess the typhoon’s damages to shelter, infrastructure and agriculture.
- Source: https://reliefweb.int/report/philippines/philippines-typhoon-vamco-ulysses-snapshot-12-november-2020 – UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (https://www.unocha.org/).
About iVolunteer
Our Mission: iVolunteer Philippines is promoting volunteerism by:
- Providing organizations with a platform and avenue to reach more volunteers that match their organization’s needs.
- Campaigning and promoting the concept of volunteerism broadly.
- Providing volunteers an easy way to find volunteering opportunities that matches their skills, interest, and advocacy.
How we are doing it:
- Developing leaders within the iVolunteer Philippines community through internal training and volunteer ambassador development programs such as Social Innovation Challenge and Community Meetups.
- Empowering nonprofits by providing volunteer management and organizational development trainings.
- Building sustainable media and corporate partnerships that promote volunteerism to a greater audience.
- Offering time and skills-based volunteering as well as Treasure Volunteer (donations) to give people more options on how they can give back to their communities.
- Creating events such as BayaniRun, Start Your Adventure, Time Please, Go! Volunteer, and Youth for Volunteerism to provide a physical platform where volunteers and NGOs can connect and build new partnerships and opportunities.
Not just a website
iVolunteer is not just a “website” but a culture-driven community empowered by our shared passion for volunteerism. We thrive because of small contributions of many passionate individuals and partners. This is how we sustain our advocacy to promote volunteerism in the Philippines: one person at a time.
100% powered by volunteers
The iVolunteer website is run 100% by volunteers with full-time day jobs! It’s a testament that if you want to help, there is no reason not to start now with what you can offer. In this, we also find hope that others, given the right information, will be encouraged to join our cause.
Building on each other’s work
iVolunteer was founded in 2009 in the aftermath of Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy). Our founders saw many Filipinos wanted to volunteer amid the crisis but couldn’t do so because the accessible NGOs back then could no longer accommodated additional volunteers. Meanwhile, those NGOs with lesser visibility struggled to get help in time. It is here that iVolunteer came into fruition and found its purpose.
In 2011, iVolunteer [www.ivolunteer.com.ph] was launched as the online volunteer-matching platform we know today. Over the years, we have used the internet, social media, and our extended network to bring more volunteers and nonprofit organizations together.
We invite all volunteers
We’re inviting everyone: short-term or long-term volunteers, of any background, interest or expertise to be part of our community. Start your adventure by signing up in one or more volunteer opportunities we post and update on a daily basis. Lead the change and empower others by sharing your experience as well our website to your friends and family.
We invite all organizations
If you are a duly-recognized organization, whether government or non-government, with volunteer opportunities to offer, please maximize our platform to reach more Filipino volunteers and create more volunteering opportunities that will welcome both time and skills-based volunteers.
Come partner with us for a Better Philippines!
- For NGOs: partnerships@ivolunteer.com.ph
- For corporations and media: connect@ivolunteer.com.ph
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