Public invited to today’s wellness fundraiser

Imperial Pacific International, Ltd. will be holding today, Friday (not yesterday as earlier reported) its first annual wellness event, “Light up the Night Holiday Walk ‘N Roll.”

This is a two-hour event that will begin at 6pm at the Garapan Fishing Base. Registration will be from 3:30pm to 5:30pm.

This event is meant to encourage wellness activities and a healthier lifestyle within the workplace and encourage community involvement in the campaign of healthy living.

Geri Dela Cruz, Imperial Pacific International’s executive director for Corporate Social Responsibility, said, “This event initially started off as a wellness program; however, after collaboration with Ayuda Network, it became more of a fundraiser with which the proceeds will aid underprivileged families receive gifts this Christmas.”

Helping conceive the idea of bringing together the fundraiser in time for the Christmas season, Franchesca Tomokane, former CSR representative, said, “I have always envisioned a solution to help underprivileged children feel loved during the holidays. What better way to make it happen than to have a walkathon to raise funds for this Christmas.”

“With the leadership of [Dela Cruz] and the help of the CSR team, and in collaboration with Ayuda Network, this was all made possible, and I’m so excited to be a part of the event, as well as anticipating and seeing the outcome of it.”

The “Light up the Night Holiday Wak ‘N Roll” will start at the Garapan Fishing Base and all the way to the Quartermaster Tank and back. Registration will be from 3:30pm to 5:30pm with the option to pay the registration fee of $10 or waive the fee by contributing a gift with a price value ranging from $5 to $10. There will be refreshments and water provided to all participants.

There will be a judging competition consisting of the “Most Lit Outfit of the Night,” which will be inclusive of the contestant’s own props. There are prizes at stake for first, second, and third place winners. All proceeds from the event will be used to purchase Christmas gifts for children.

In line with this, Imperial Pacific will also be setting up a toy drive. There are designated drop-off boxes at a few locations: at the reception area on the third floor of the Bank of Guam building and at the Finance Department. And to promote the charitable act of gift-giving to those in needed within all IPI casino staff, a drop-off box can also be found at the employee lounge located at the casino.

All IPI employees are invited to drop off new, unwrapped toys during regular business hours from Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, between the hours of 8am to 5pm. The deadline for the toy drive is Dec. 16, 2016.