Cafe 81 supports Rain Love on Manila

(Above, L-R) Medical Headhunter Randy Libiran, Alroy Teves R.N.,

Chef and Cafe 81 co-owner Aris Tuazon, and Little Goliath's Louie Cale love Rain Love on Manila.

(Below) Cafe 81 is at 81 East 7th Street, between 1st and 2nd Avenues, New York.

New York, NY. Friends from the newest Filipino bar and restaurant on the East Side, Cafe 81, show their support for Rain Love on Manila by wearing the Rain Love on Manila shirt at the birthday bash of chef and restaurateur Aris Tuazon last Saturday, March 6.

Cafe 81 opened midway through February to give people a fresher alternative to Filipino cuisine. There are less than 5 restaurants in the city offering a taste of homegrown Filipino goodness, and with Cafe 81's great rapport with Manhattanites, it's no surprise to hear Cafe 81 is moving steadily up on that list as the go-to place to satiate those nostalgic appetites.

Next Saturday, March 13, Cafe 81 hosts a Manny Pacquiao fight night viewing, and once again Rain Love on Manila cheers with them. Join us at Cafe 81, on 7th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues.

Shoutouts to Chef Aris Tuazon, Randy Libiran, Louie Cale, Alroy Teves, and all those who showed interest and support for Rain Love on Manila.

Rain Love on Manila at Maru

New York, NY. Rain Love on Manila came to the NYC-Tristate Young Professionals for Ondoy Relief mixer at Maru in Koreatown at the invitation of Ted Martinez, event organizer, who found out about the initiative last year and has since supported the cause.

Thank you to all those who came to the Rain Love on Manila table (right where the DJ is), inquired about the Rain Love on Manila mission, and made their generous donations.

Special thanks go out to Ted Martinez for inviting Rain Love on Manila and Donna Reyes for being my pitch partner for the night!

Photo above: Donna Reyes of NBA and Deb Flores representing Rain Love on Manila.

Rain Love on Manila hits Korea(town)!

New York, NY. Thanks to Ted Martinez of NYC Tri-State Young Professionals for Ondoy Relief,

Rain Love on Manila gets a chance to show and sell the Rain Love on Manila shirts at their mixer this week at Koreatown.

	February 25, this Thursday 6:00pm - 8:00pm
	Maru Bar and Lounge
	11 West 32nd Street bet 5th/6th Ave
	New York, NY

Philippine National Red Cross and Rain Love on Manila

Manila, Philippines. At the start of the year, Rain Love on Manila met the amiable people of the Philippine National Red Cross - Rizal Chapter, Pasig City, to introduce the intent of the initiative as well as to leave samples of the Rain Love on Manila shirt. Joining Deb is Myla Arzaderota and Von Gustilo who are the representatives of the organization that will facilitate the distribution of the relief once all material and financial donations have been collected.

Quietly but Steadily Raining Love

New York, NY. The year 2010 marks a quiet but steady response to the super-typhoon disaster relief of Rain Love on Manila, mainly in Manila and in New York.

According to the Managing Director of Dairy Zest Corporation, and the authorized recipient of the care packages for distribution, Nellie Flores, the boxes containing clothes and food items assembled in New York by generous people from school, the Filipino community, friends in PR, design, and the like have started to arrive in Manila. It is agreed that all of the boxes must have arrived before they begin to distribute them to the victims.

Meanwhile, we have collected the sales made from the online venues Etsy and Zazzle and are in the process of wiring all proceeds to the Rain Love on Manila - Manila contingent before devising a plan for awarding the financial assistance.

Rain Lovely New Year!

Manila, Philippines. Dear Rain Love on Manila friends and family, I have been rather quiet toward the last month of 2009, wrapping things up on a personal level. But now that 2009 is through, let me share with you the small steps we have accomplished as the year closes.

• Since September 27, 2009, Rain Love on Manila Facebook group now spreads the love and information to 980 people all over the world. It started with a profile picture, and now we are a solid community.

• Those who have generously donated old clothes, some food items, shoes, blankets and the like have been gathered and shipped mid-December through LBC to be received by Dairy Zest Corporation, one of the organizations whose employees are among the list of beneficiaries of the Rain Love on Manila cause. The shipment is expected to arrive in end of January. We have also gotten the support of Sharp and Kass Uehling in the shipping of these care packages.

• Rain Love on Manila shirts have been seen and worn in Manila, New York, Canada, and several other places. Come send us a photo of you wearing your Rain Love on Manila shirt, to help us get an idea how many of us are out there raining love!

• Manila is pushing for their second batch of 100 shirts, and New York is looking into producing another batch for 2010. Maybe another color? Watch out for it!

• As of this writing, Rain Love on Manila shirts are now being sold in Analog Soul, at the Archaeology Wing of Powerplant Mall, Rockwell, Makati.

• As for what has happened to the lives of those we are helping, DZC and JWT report that all of the victims working for them have resumed their lives since November. Some have returned to their houses, while others have relocated to live with relatives who are better off.

I wish I have more time to meet and actually see the extent or trace of damage the super-typhoons have brought to the victims we know. So far, let's take comfort in the knowledge that this, as with all things painful and tragic, has passed. The Filipino has survived. We are alive, and we are pressing on.

Thank you to all of you who have been a part of reviving our downtrodden spirits:

1-JWT friends who have helped expand the message of Rain Love on Manila
and manage the task of Rain Love on Manila
2-friends of JWT who have contributed ideas to help make Rain Love on Manila exciting
3-Analog Soul who has given this mission a concrete form through shirts
4-C-Board of Pratt Institute Brooklyn for supporting the cause by providing the funds to print the shirts in NYC
5-Pratt's Office of Student Activities for helping promote the cause to the student body and facilitating the collection and storage of care packages
6-Graduate Communication Department of Pratt Institute Manhattan for disseminating the information on Rain Love on Manila to the graduate student body
7-Building and Securities Office of Pratt Institute Manhattan for storing the care packages
8-Sharp Communication for helping promote Rain Love on Manila in NYC
9-DAS for printing the first edition shirts in NYC
10-Kass Uehling for sponsoring the shipment of some care package boxes from NYC to Manila
11-School of the Holy Spirit friends in Canada who helped set up an alternate means to sell Rain Love on Manila shirts via Zazzle
12-Nylon Magazine for featuring Rain Love on Manila shirts in November 2009
13-Pratt Institute's Gateway group for the interest in featuring Rain Love on Manila in 2010.
14-Pratt Institute students, teachers, administration and friends who have bought and worn Rain Love on Manila shirts
15-everyone who has bought, worn and gifted Rain Love on Manila shirts in Manila, New York, Canada, California, and everywhere else in the world.

We are born with the urge to help. We are lucky to be able to love. Thank you all for taking Rain Love on Manila and making it your own mission. Salamat po sa inyong lahat.

Continuing to Rain Love everywhere and everyday,
Deb

Rain Love on Manila One-Day Shirt Sale in Pratt Brooklyn

New York, NY. Rain Love on Manila set up shop for a day in the Brooklyn campus of Pratt Institute, to raise awareness about the cause, and gather donations through the sale of shirts and stickers bearing Rain Love on Manila. Thanks to the support of the Student Activities and Community Services departments, Karen Miller, Vic Alonzo, Michelle, Joe, James, Colleen and Daniel, the story of Rain Love on Manila is starting to be heard among faculty and students.

For anyone who wishes to purchase the Rain Love on Manila shirts and is a member of the Pratt community (student, faculty, administration), please email rainloveonmanila@yahoo.com and mention how and when you heard about Rain Love on Manila, so that the flexi-donate rate can be applied to your purchases.

Meanwhile, shoutouts of love go to the following who have taken the time out (and their wallets out) to start Rain Love on Manila off in Brooklyn:
Tess Schutte
Chelsea Washington
Julio Martinez
Angela Kang
Amanda Lapuaca
Jason Goodfriend
James Emery
Jon Beller

and to those who have the intention of strutting in Rain Love on Manila threads:
Jordan Judd
Lisa Spears
Diana Ngo
Colleen Stufflebeem
Daniel Esquiver

Would you like Rain Love on Manila to come to Brooklyn again (or wherever you are)? Please let us know! Next stop? Pratt Manhattan campus next week, from Wednesday to Friday! Keep reading this space for more details.