UFO donates $500 to Red Cross

 The United Filipino Organization, the umbrella organization of some 30 Filipino groups, donated $500 to the NMI Chapter of the American Red Cross yesterday as part of efforts to strengthen their involvement in the community.

UFO president Bong Malasarte and board members Nelida Atalig, Leo Cañedo, Ed Reyes, and Olive Yana presented the check donation to executive director John Hirsh at the Red Cross office yesterday afternoon.

“This is a good-sized donation for us so we really appreciate it,” Hirsh said as he accepted the check from the UFO officers.

Hirsh commended the UFO, which continuously supports the Red Cross through many community service activities.

Their donation, Hirsh said, and all the other contributions that Red Cross receives support local operations of the volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education.

Hirsh said donations help fund free trainings for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, first aid, automated external defibrillators, lifeguarding, and swimming as well as purchase first-aid kits and AED to be donated to the community.

“We provide very good stewardship of people’s donations. We’re very transparent. Anybody in the community is always welcome to come to our office and look through our books and see how we keep track of anything,” added Hirsh.

Malasarte, for his part, said that UFO officers unanimously agreed to donate the money to Red Cross to support their disaster preparedness efforts for the CNMI.

“We are aware of the importance of being ready all the time. At the same time, UFO also believes in the importance of helping the community to which we belong,” he told Saipan Tribune.

Last April, UFO also made a $500 donation to the NMI Japan Disaster Relief group to provide assistance to all the victims of the devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit Japan in March.

“We want to show our sponsors and donors that we do believe in helping out our community,” said Malasarte who is also the president of MDX Amateur Radio Club.

While UFO’s donation is a “very small” amount compared to the scale of Red Cross’ projects, Malasarte expressed hope that their group will be able to donate more once the island economy emerges from the current slump.

Malasarte also thanked all sponsors and supporters who have donated their time and resources for the success of the recently concluded UFO Basketball Friendship League: Docomo Pacific and Marpac; participating teams and players; committee officials; UFO officers, members, and volunteers; BANMI referees Abner Venus and Gabriel White; Jerry Tan; commissioner Wilfredo G. Ching; and KSPN 2’s Bob Coldeen.