Within and beyond communities

The quarantine did not stop SM Development Corporation (SMDC) from continuing The Good Guys program. The program was started in 2019 to foster community spirit, promote healthy lifestyles, and develop secure and safe neighborhoods across SMDC developments. It has even expanded its services outside its own properties.

On September 30, the real estate developer donated face shields to the Philippine National Police (PNP) frontliners as part of the Protect Our Community initiative of The Good Guys program. The shields were received by Lieutenant General Guillermo L. Eleazar, Deputy Chief for Administration and JTF Covid Shield Commander.

“SMDC has been one with us in our efforts to ensure the security and safety of our communities through crime awareness and prevention seminars and workshops,” Gen. Eleazar said. “Today, SMDC has gone beyond its own communities through this donation to our police frontliners.”

Protect Our Community is a series of workshops on crime awareness and prevention, emergency preparedness, and fire safety. The workshops have been done in partnership with the PNP, the Bureau of Fire Protection, and the Philippine National Red Cross.

At the onset of the pandemic and the subsequent quarantine, SMDC beefed up its The Good Guys program to mitigate the health risks posed by the pandemic and to address the needs of its communities.

Sanitation and social distancing protocols were set up in all of SMDC developments. Regular disinfection has been diligently conducted during the last seven months. “Knowing that SMDC has been taking extra measures to keep our homes safe makes me feel secure and less anxious in these difficult times. I am glad I chose to stay here,” says Denise Ayzon of Jazz Residences in Makati.

The Good Guys learning assemblies, which used to be conducted every weekend in the SMDC properties, have taken on a new format and have introduced topics relevant to the times. A series of webinars touching mental health, wellness, online safety, and entrepreneurship have been conducted regularly for the benefit of residents and other SMDC stakeholders.

In keeping with the health advocacy of The Good Guys, SMDC partnered with the Red Cross and SM Foundation to conduct a Health and Wellness Caravan in SMDC properties. The Caravan was intended to provide non-COVID health services to elderly and PWD residents and staff. To date, the Caravan has been in 12 properties. Living-alone elderlies and PWD residents have been provided with personal shopping services for their food and medicine needs. This initiative not only has helped the residents; motorcycle riders have also had an extra source of income doing essentials deliveries for the PWD and elderly residents.

Around 26,000 local farmers benefitted from the Good Guys Weekend Market. The Market has provided a safe avenue for residents to purchase fresh produce. It has become a regular fixture at SMDC developments, servicing 15 properties around the Metro.

Weekend Market was expanded into a Mercato, a business platform for 130 resident-entrepreneurs affected by the lockdown. These are overseas Filipino workers (OFW) forced to come home, business owners who had to close shop, laid-off employees who needed a new source of income. SMDC allowed them to set up shop at the Weekend Market to be able to augment their family income.

SMDC residents themselves have shown altruism in these trying times. Early in the lockdown, they donated groceries, PPEs, face masks and shields, blankets, and clothes to service staff who were forced to stay in the properties because of transportation limitations. With the easing up of the quarantine, they have helped out in The Good Guys activities, whether as nurse volunteers or receptionists or overseer of Weekend Market set-ups.

Residents have also donated blood in the Bloodletting program, a partnership with the Red Cross, Philippine Blood Center, and the Department of Health. More than 300 blood bags have so far been donated to the Department of Health for Covid-19 patients.

“What is most impressive about these programs is the spirit of volunteerism that these have ignited. These are phenomenal acts of kindness that we sincerely appreciate. With the generosity and commitment of our volunteers, we have turned The Good Guys campaign into a movement,” says Jan Catherine Sy, SMDC AVP and The Good Guys campaign founder.

This year’s challenge has allowed SMDC to fulfill its vision of building a community of Good Guys. They unite the management, employees, residents, and other stakeholders in the true Bayanihan spirit. SMDC has transformed community building into nation-building.