Good Karma Shirts is a project by the good folks at UP Industrial Engineering Club. Learn more about how they got involved in environment conservation by not only being a Haribon Affiliate Member, but by also hosting our 2015 General Assembly!
By Polo Piedad
UP Industrial Engineering Club, Haribon Affiliate Member
May 2015
Last April 25 was the conclusion of the 42nd General Assembly of the Haribon Foundation. The annual General Assembly allows Haribon Foundation members a chance to get to know each other, and Haribon’s on-going conservation work in the country.
This year, celebrities and new Haribon Ambassadors for Conservation Enzo Pineda and Barbie Forteza were present, signaling their alignment with the cause of saving our environment. They, alongside Haribon membership, participated in fun activities such as ice breakers, birdwatching, & games. The theme of the event echoed the motto of Haribon’s current membership: Act. Make an Impact.
The behind the scenes of the General Assembly was also handled by Haribon supporters. Specifically students from the Good Karma team of the University of the Philippines, Industrial Engineering Club, or IE Club.
IE Club is an academic, student organization at the College of Engineering of UP Diliman. As part of its external affairs, Good Karma is a community development project that aims to help different beneficiaries by means of selling specialized t-shirts. The shirts come in five colors symbolizing five different advocacies: red – the fight for life or public health, blue – the fight for seas, white – the fight for education, black – the fight for light, and green – the fight for the trees and the environment. Each cause has a corresponding beneficiary that receives the proceeds from the shirt sales. Haribon is the beneficiary for the fight for trees and the environment, or the green shirts.
New Haribon Ambassadors for Conservation Enzo Pineda and Barbie Forteza attended the General Assembly to show their support for environment conservation.
Good Karma also helps its beneficiaries by means of outreaches that further the different advocacies.
One such outreach was Haribon’s General Assembly. The Good Karma team reached out to Haribon by providing the man power, venue, and some logistics for the event. It was an opportunity to continue the fight for a healthy and sustained biodiversity. It was also an opportunity for the team to learn about the future projects of Haribon, to get to know Haribon’s members and ambassadors, and to learn the values Haribon is built on. They also learned about the Urban Birds of the Philippines and the basics of birdwatching.
The help of Good Karma was the little they could do in return for the help of Haribon last November 2014, when Good Karma worked with Tulong sa Kapwa Kapatid (2KK) to teach children from Payatas about Biodiversity. Haribon brought their “Biodiversity on Wheels” to Payatas, and increased the environmental awareness of the kids through lectures, videos, and activities.
To learn more about Good Karma, and how to get shirts to help Haribon, check out “Good Karma Shirts” on Facebook: Facebook.com/GoodKarmaShirts. And follow our Haribon Ambassadors for Conservation on Twitter! @dealwithbarbie & @enzo_pineda
