Empire East Marks 25th Year with 25 CSR Activities, Celebration for Employees

Real estate innovator Empire East Land Holdings, Inc. commemorated its 25th year in the industry through a series of activities that rewarded its workforce and fulfilled its corporate social responsibility goals under the banner theme “Celebrating Unparalleled Communities.” 

On July 15, 2019, the exact date of the company’s silver anniversary, the employees gathered for a Eucharistic mass in the morning at the St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Taguig City. Its corporate headquarters in Uptown Bonifacio was lit up in the early evening with blue and green LEDs forming the company logo alongside “25 Years” as all employees headed to the nearby Xylo at The Palace for a nightlong anniversary concert and party.

Its People as Stormbreakers

During the celebration dubbed as “Stormbreaker,” Empire East President and CEO Atty. Anthony Charlemagne C. Yu reminisced about the past 25 fruitful yet challenging years of the company, emphasizing that its hardworking and highly productive people were behind its success. He also thanked and recognized all officers and employees who battled together with the company against numerous setbacks in the past two decades—highlighting that they are the true “stormbreakers.”

Atty. Yu also recalled the time he started leading the organization at the onset of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. As companies closed down one after the other, Empire East and its people bravely pursued to deliver its commitments to its stakeholders even at the brink of an economic meltdown. Along the way, the company was able to pioneer breakthrough lifestyle concepts that have become industry trends. Today, Empire East boasts a portfolio of unparalleled communities that redefined the Philippine real estate market. 

Giving Back to the Society

Earlier this year, Empire East management announced that the year-long celebration of its 25th anniversary would revolve mainly around the “Empire East Cares” program by conducting a total of 25 pocket CSR activities initiated by each department in the company. Unlike the traditional full-blown CSR programs of other corporations, which are company-funded, the expenses for these pocket CSR initiatives come from the officers and employees as their way of giving back to the community—truly reflecting the compassionate and kindhearted workforce that Empire East has.

Although smaller in scale, the activities aim to impact more people in various sectors of society, ranging from the youth, the elderly, displaced families, and indigenous groups, providing help for education, healthcare, and environmental protection. To date, here are the completed CSR activities as part of the company’s anniversary celebration:

• KALINGA – The Audit and Management Services Department reached out to the elderly of San Jose Balay Alima Foundation in Indang, Cavite, and gifted them with food, basic necessities, and a fun-filled day of singing along and dancing. 
   
• SHARE LOVE. SAVE LIVES. DONATE BLOOD. – In partnership with Philippine National Red Cross, the Credit and Collection Department encouraged fellow employees across all departments to donate blood to help those in need. Dozens of blood bags were generated from this drive held at the company’s head office. 
   
• BRIGADA ESKWELA – Before the opening of the new academic year, the Human Resources and Administration Department helped out in fixing and repainting the chairs, tables, and classrooms at Calumpang Elementary School in San Miguel, Bulacan.
   
• PREP: PREPARE FOR SCHOOL. PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE. – The Sales and Marketing departments provided brand new backpack bags, school supplies, uniforms, and pairs of shoes for the students of New Little Baguio Elementary School in the far-flung Santa Maria, Laguna, to fully equip them for the new school year. The students of that school, who mostly belong to several indigenous tribes, were also the beneficiaries of a mini-library filled with books, reading materials, and desktop computers set up in the previous year.
   
• HAPPIYONG: HAPPINESS IN A PAYONG. – By selling “payong" or umbrellas, the Legal and Corporate Affairs Department, together with HR and Admin Department, were able to generate funds for their outreach activity to young Mangyan children in a far-flung town in Mindoro.
• TREE PLANTING – To support the aggressive reforestation efforts of a local community in Tanay, Rizal, in response to the worsening climate change, the employees of the Credit and Collection Department joined hands together to plant tree seedlings.
• PRECIOUS MEMORIES – Members of the Management Information Systems Department went to the Precious Heritage Children’s Home in Antipolo, Rizal, to give the orphaned children with food, drinks, and gifts.
• GIVE A GIFT – The HR and Admin Department provided gifts that include basic necessities, clothes, and school supplies to the displaced young boys of Silong Tanglaw Foundation in Quezon City.
• ALL ABOARD PASSPORT-ON-WHEELS – This initiative by the Marketing Department, in partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs, was targeted towards the company’s employees, salesforce, their families, and relatives, to facilitate faster and more convenient processing of passport application and renewal
• LEND A HAND, SHARE SOME LOVE, AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE. – Children of Gentle Hands, Inc. in Quezon City benefited from the outreach activity of the Legal and Corporate Affairs Department.
• FEED A CHILD, NOURISH YOUR SOUL. – The Recruitment and Selection Group under the Office of the President facilitated a feeding program for the children and senior citizens living in the slums of Tondo, Manila.

More corporate social responsibility efforts will be conducted in the coming months to complete the targeted 25 programs by the end of this milestone year for Empire East. This line-up of CSR activities will include the completion of more housing units for displaced families in Tunasan, Muntinlupa City, in partnership with Gawad Kalinga. The first phase of these multiple housing units was already turned over during the company’s anniversary last year.

“Empire East Cares” was the sole recipient of the Special Recognition in CSR last 2018 during the Philippines Property Awards by the PropertyGuru Group, the largest, most credible, and most prestigious accolade-giving event for real estate in the Asia Pacific region. “As our country prospers, there will always be pockets in the community that are left behind. We at Empire East believe that it is our responsibility to take care of these communities,” Atty. Yu shared upon accepting the award.