Tag: advocacy

Sun Life and Smart renew partnership to promote financial literacy among cooperatives

Sun Life Philippines (Sun Life), the country’s leading life insurance company for 12 consecutive years, has renewed its strategic partnership with Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart). The aim of this partnership is to enhance financial literacy among cooperatives affiliated with Smart.

Expanding the Program’s Coverage

The renewed partnership between Sun Life and Smart will broaden the program’s reach by conducting financial literacy trainings for cooperatives in various locations, including Benguet, Bulacan, Cavite, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, and Metro Manila throughout the year. This expansion seeks to empower more cooperative members by providing them with essential knowledge about finance and its relevance to their industry.

Building on Previous Success

Sun Life and Smart are committed to surpassing the achievements of the program in 2022. Last year, the initiative successfully engaged and educated nearly 500 cooperative members on finance fundamentals. The partners aim to build on this momentum and continue empowering Filipinos to pursue their financial goals.

Advocating Financial Literacy

Sun Life has always been a strong advocate of financial literacy, recognizing its crucial role in leading individuals to a brighter life. With the renewal of the partnership with Smart, Sun Life President Alex Narciso believes they can further elevate their efforts and empower more Filipinos to achieve financial independence.

“Sun Life has always been a staunch advocate of financial literacy as we believe it plays a key role in achieving a brighter life. We are always looking for ways to elevate our efforts and help empower even more Filipinos to pursue their financial goals. I believe the renewal of our tie-up with Smart can help us do that,” Sun Life President Alex Narciso said.

Empowering Cooperatives through Financial Literacy

Cooperatives play a vital role in their respective communities and contribute significantly to the country’s economy. Recognizing their importance, Smart is committed to empowering these cooperatives through financial literacy and digitalization. By renewing its partnership with Sun Life, Smart reaffirms its commitment to supporting its partner cooperatives and providing them with relevant solutions.

“Given the key role that cooperatives play in their respective communities and in our country’s economy as a whole, it is important to empower them through financial literacy and digitalization. Through the renewal of this partnership with Sun Life, we are doubling down on our commitment to support our partner cooperatives and help provide them with relevant solutions,” FVP and Group Head of Smart Go-To Market and Subscriber Management Melvin Nubla said.

Joining Forces for Financial Empowerment

The collaboration between Sun Life and Smart represents a collective effort to promote financial literacy and empower Filipinos in their journey toward financial independence. As part of this endeavor, Sun Life encourages individuals to stay updated on the program and other initiatives by following @SunLifePH on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. To learn more about Sun Life and its products, visit its website at www.sunlife.com.ph.

Details provided in a recent press release.

Sun Life Foundation and Save the Children Philippines collaborate for “Project SUNBRIGHT”

Sun Life Financial-Philippines Foundation, Inc. (Sun Life Foundation), the philanthropic arm of Sun Life Philippines, and Save the Children Philippines have joined forces to launch “Project SUNBRIGHT.” This initiative aims to reduce and prevent malnutrition among children and pregnant or lactating mothers by promoting exclusive and appropriate complementary feeding.

Project SUNBRIGHT is set to benefit 600 individuals in Muntinlupa City, including parents with infants or children under two years old, teenage mothers, caregivers, health service providers, and pregnant and lactating women. The project’s objective is to determine the causes of undernutrition among these groups and prevent them by promoting optimal “Infant & Young Child Feeding” (IYCF) practices, capacity-building of health service providers, and using Socio-Behavioral Change Communication (SBCC) strategies.

Project SUNBRIGHT
Sun Life Foundation officers handed over the giant check donation to Save the Children for “Project SUNBRIGHT” during the recent signing of the memorandum of agreement 

Empowering the Community through Advocacy

Through Project SUNBRIGHT, community groups among pregnant/lactating women and other stakeholders will be strengthened to promote IYCF. The project aims to enhance existing efforts to promote breastfeeding among beneficiaries who have children of breastfeeding age to minimize or eliminate malnutrition among Filipino children.

Lourdes Pambid, Program Manager for Urban Health and Nutrition of Save the Children Philippines, expressed her gratitude for the partnership. “Working with the Sun Life Foundation for this project has been truly fruitful and productive. They are very receptive of the project’s goals and have strong support for civil societies. Through this collaboration, we are able to provide a wide array of interventions that promote breastfeeding as well as enhance existing efforts through strong advocacy of the practice,” Pambid concluded.

Education and Awareness

Project SUNBRIGHT aims to bolster existing efforts in publicizing nutrition concepts and programs that prevent or reduce undernutrition through an education drive that will train participants on Republic Act No. 11148 or the “Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act,” maternal, newborn, infant, and young child nutrition, Kangaroo Mother Care, essential intrapartum and newborn care, and management of moderate to severe acute malnutrition.

Sun Life Foundation’s Efforts to Promote Health and Well-being

Kristine Dianne Millete, Executive Director of the Sun Life Foundation, emphasized that the initiative is anchored on “Health,” one of the organization’s pillars. She added, “The Sun Life Foundation is proud to have Save the Children as our implementing partner in this important endeavor to promote health and nutrition for mothers rearing up their babies. With this collaboration, we look forward to enhancing existing efforts to promote breastfeeding among the beneficiaries who have children of breastfeeding age in an effort to minimize or altogether eliminate malnutrition among Filipino children.”

Aside from Project SUNBRIGHT, the Sun Life Foundation continues to work with various organizations to promote health among its beneficiaries. One notable initiative is the Sun Life Barangay Health Stations, which provide basic healthcare in remote areas.

About Sun Life

Sun Life is a leading international financial services organization providing insurance, wealth and asset management solutions to individual and corporate Clients. Sun Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of December 31, 2022, Sun Life had total assets under management of CAD1.33 trillion. For more information, please visit http://www.sunlife.com.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

Details provided in a recent press release.

Header image by jcomp on Freepik

Four reasons why you should choose cage-free eggs

Eggs are part of our daily food intake: from the sunny-side-up fried eggs we have for breakfast, a vital ingredient for our soups, sauces and other viands, to part of the batter for our favorite cakes and pastries.

Cage-free eggs

Cage-free eggs

Have you ever wondered how the eggs you eat are produced?

If you’re picturing a farm girl serenely picking eggs inside a barn in an idyllic farm setting during the wee hours of the morning, you’re way off the mark.

Eighty-five percent of the eggs produced in the Philippines come from hens living inside battery cages. In these contraptions, they don’t have enough space to stretch their wings, move around and exhibit other natural behaviors such as perching, nesting, dust bathing and foraging.

Preventing the expression these behaviors leads to the hens’ frustration, distress and even physical problems.

(Some of us have complained about the stress and frustration being confined in our homes while still expected to work and function as usual during lockdown. Imagine how much worse the situation is for these hens!)

Having evolved as the species at the top of the food chain, we ought to take better care of our food source such as egg-laying hens for economy, sustainability, as well as our own humanity.

Cage-free eggs

Cage-free eggs

One way to do just that is to support egg producers with cage-free systems. These environments include aviary and free-range systems that allow hens to exhibit their natural behaviors as well as provide opportunities for improved welfare of the hens such as perching space, litter space for dustbathing and foraging, nest boxes and environmental enrichments, among others.

Here are four reasons why we should go cage-free:

Food safety. Did you know that salmonella – the type bacteria that causes food-related illnesses such as stomach cramps, diarrhea, fever and stomach pain – are five times more likely to be found in cage systems than in cage-free ones? This is attributed to factors such as the hens’ acquisition of healthy gut flora, stress levels and susceptibility to disease when comparing the systems.

Cage-free eggs

Egg quality and health. According to numerous studies, cage-free eggs have a healthier overall nutritional profile. They have less saturated fat and cholesterol, higher levels of protein, Vitamins A and E, alpha tocopherol and alpha linolenic acid, carotenoid and beta carotene, as well as a healthier ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids.

Cage-free eggs

Animal welfare. Across the world, more and more consumers are supporting a shift towards cage-free systems as it has been proven to to give the hens a better quality of life during their egg-laying cycle and is part of an ethical and sustainable food production practice.

Cage-free eggs

Market and production. Cage-free systems, especially for backyard farmers, benefit from reduced production costs as well as access to better markets as consumer education and preference for eggs produced in cage-free environments are on the rise.

So how can we help in bringing about this welcome change in egg production?

Buy cage-free eggs instead of regular eggs. As demand for these eggs rise, more egg producers will shift to cage-free systems.

Dine at (or order from) restaurants that use cage-free eggs. Restaurants are among the top institutional purchasers of ingredients and their patronage can go a long way towards supporting cage-free farmers.

Tell your family and friends to choose cage-free eggs. Encourage your little ones to practice sustainable consumption of resources and help spread the word on the Cage-Free, Cruel-Free Campaign.

Cage-free eggs

For more deets on this initiative: