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Education

While access to basic education in the Philippines is high, UNICEF has reported that the country is experiencing a “learning crisis” that prevents children in the Philippines from achieving their full potential. Compared to countries at the same economic level, the Philippines is behind by five to six years’ worth of schooling (PISA, 2022). Recent measurements show a lack of functional literacy — the ability to understand text they are reading — in 90 percent of 10-year-old students (SEA-PLM, 2019).

Hands on Manila has chosen to highlight the crisis through our volunteer efforts, bringing volunteers into schools to spend time in the spaces and with the communities affected: teachers, students, and school leadership. As volunteers learn about the crisis at hand, they do their part to improve school infrastructure, provide supplemental learning through original HOM curricular materials, and support overworked staff through wellness days.

HOM has also created more robust financial literacy programs with our volunteers and partners for both adults and children. Volunteers run programs that assist with basic financial tracking and best practices to livelihood and small business support.

Education remains a key focus for our volunteer efforts as the country works on improving conditions for families and communities.

Education partner beneficiaries & programs

Ricardo P. Cruz Sr. Elementary School

Sto. Rosario Elementary School

Tomongtong Elementary School

Livelihood

Hands On Manila partners its volunteers with livelihood programs that support the reduction of poverty through sustainable business models. Our volunteers stand side by side with small business owners and NGOs to help to build capacity and provide materials that can contribute to financial sustainability.

Our programs include small business support and education and product production and development. Hands on Manila’s programs are community-driven and are developed using the bottom-up approach. Simply put, we do not create programs that our NGO and community partners do not need.

Health & Wellness

At Hands On Manila, we believe that access to basic nutrition is a human right. Currently, the Philippines is suffering from the burden of malnutrition on multiple fronts: childhood stunting and wasting, micronutrient insufficiencies, and rising rates of obesity. Persistent food insecurity and lack of awareness and available education on nutrition have exacerbated these issues.

Hands On Manila has shifted its health and wellness volunteer programs to highlight preventative health measures in childhood nutrition and maternal health. Our volunteer programs focus on supplementing school-based feeding programs with packed meals and longer commitments from our partners. HOM food kits are designed to educate recipients with healthy and affordable snack choices for children and maternal health kits that include education and materials to support nursing and post-natal health in mother and child. We remain committed to thoughtful, intentional and impactful volunteer programs that can last beyond the program.

Finally, because nutrition and health are a holistic endeavor, our volunteer programming continues to innovate to work with the ‘whole person’. From wellness days with seniors to building DIY mosquito traps to prevent disease, we continue to design programs where volunteers connect with one another facing some of the most pressing issues for Filipinos.

See a list below of some of our health & wellness partner beneficiaries and programs.

Partner beneficiaries & programs

Arnold Janssen Kalinga Foundation Inc.

Guadalupe Elementary School

South Daang Hari Elementary School Main

Environment

The Philippines has been named one of the world’s largest contributors to ocean plastic in 2025. The use of single-use plastic combined with insufficient waste management has left our waterways clogged and our wildlife suffering. Along with the challenges of deforestation, our contribution to the global climate crisis is high while Filipinos are among the most vulnerable to the effects of these very changes.

Hands On Manila gears its environmental volunteer programming towards connecting people to the issues while also giving them an opportunity to contribute to combatting them. For example, our signature Mabuhay Balls are created by Filipino engineering students and are designed to naturally oxygenate waterways. Volunteers can spend time making these balls and then distribute them in our partner communities, where HOM has relationships with residents and leadership. This helps us to understand the impact of the work and also to create the most meaningful program for volunteers.

This is the spirit with which all HOM Volunteer programming is developed. Creating lasting connections between volunteers, beneficiary communities, and the issues at hand. Our planting, ocean clean-ups, and other targeted activities are done hand-in-hand with the people in the communities that we serve.

See a list below of some of our environment partner beneficiaries and programs.

Environment partner beneficiaries & programs

Alabang Elementary School

Las Piñas–Parañaque Wetland Park

Masungi Georeserve

From one Saturday to a year-long partnership.

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Replace with the real case study narrative and outcomes.

Everyone has something to give — and something to gain.

In February 2025, Hands On Manila hosted the international Points of Light Gathering, convening leaders from 37 organizations worldwide to explore “Bayanihan & Corporate Impact: Promoting Volunteerism for Better Business.” The discussions affirmed Filipino bayanihan as a global model for collective action and volunteerism as a catalyst for innovation, employee engagement, and stronger brands.

At Servathon 2025, 1,000 volunteers united to support children and address malnutrition and food security through community projects. At Good Deeds Day 2026, volunteers strengthened our Library for All initiative, inspiring a love of reading while enhancing the comprehension and imagination of 200 young learners.

To date, 25 years later, Hands On Manila is proud of mobilizing over 68,000 volunteers and logging on more than 540,000 hours of service through partnerships with 50+ companies.

We expand our impact by creating customized corporate volunteer programs aligned with CSR priorities in education, the environment, livelihood, and health and wellness. Guided by our tagline “YOUR HELP, YOUR WAY,” we help companies turn their values into meaningful community impact through tailored volunteer experiences.

Globally, Points of Light is launching a National Volunteer Strategy to double volunteerism in America over the next decade. As its Philippine affiliate, Hands On Manila embraces purposeful volunteerism—an intentional and thoughtful approach to engaging volunteers where everyone has something to give and something to gain.

It will go beyond creating meaningful volunteer experiences to strengthen organizations, empower communities, and inspire active citizenship. By creating shared value, volunteerism can become a catalyst for stronger, more resilient communities where everyone thrives.

HOM × ARK Foundation × NVC

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. A collaboration assembling meal trays for communities in need — a model of public/private partnership in action.

Bayanihan Conference · POL Global Gathering

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. We convene leaders to advance the practice of volunteerism in the Philippines and beyond.

Built on partnership.

Public/private partnership is how impact compounds. Our corporate partners and beneficiaries keep the work growing — here's the network at a glance.