The Birth of Greater Good Philippines

  I truly believed in their mission, which is why I opted to stay connected to Greater Good Inc. when I left the company in January this year. 

I started working for the Hawaii-based media company on January 2006, without any inkling that I would be staying with them for two years.    At first I even asked myself why I would be working for an organization which is thousands of miles away. 

"Even if it had a worthwhile purpose, would it concern me?," I thought.

I was taken under the auspices of Techmonde Corp., a Hawaii-based BPO catering to SMEs in the State and the rest of United States, with a delivery office in Makati City.  Both Greater Good Inc. and Techmonde Corp. were at their nascent stage at this time, and I thought it would be a great experience having to be part of the growth of these organizations. 

And indeed it was an exciting journey.

It was my first job and I felt lucky to have been put under the management of truly great people who now I consider my mentors (to Matt Mee-Lee, Nancy Ong, and Evan and Kari Leong, thank you very much).  Then there were my colleagues who, despite having a completely different expertise (most of them were architects, web developers and engineers), have made the day-to-day activities in the office fun-filled and interesting.  Techmonde Corp. was a small company, and we were close to being a family there (at least that’s what I felt, even though I was physically dettached from my co-workers 80 percent of the time).

From writing articles and web copies, my tasks have increased in such a way that I have become an integral part of Greater Good Inc.  And I learned a lot, personally and professionally.

From a radio show and a podcast during its early months, Greater Good Inc. has grown to encompass a multi-media (TV, radio, print and Internet) approach to serving the community.  It has been received well by the Hawaiian community and has been honored with various accolades and awards.  The mayor of Honolulu, Mufi Hannemann, declared the month of September as Greater Good Month.  Greatergoodradio.com has received thousands of visitors in more than 90 countries in just a few months behind its launch.   

It didn’t take me a long time to adopt the Greater Good mission.  A couple of months after joining the company, I felt that there was a need to replicate this in the Philippines to accomodate the Filipino servant leader and tell their stories.

Ironically, it is only now that I’m no longer working full-time for Greater Good Inc. that I have managed to start this plan I and a colleague have set two years ago.  There are still a lot to do but it is good that the first step has been taken.

I thank Ms Norie Garcia of Hands On Manila for her time and willingness to become the very first feature of this blog.  I remember having proposed to her an interview as early as 2006 but I then did not have the time because my priorities were with Hawaii.

Now, I am inviting everyone to be part of this mission.  You can write articles about Filipinos who actively engage in charity, volunteerism, and community giving, or your ordinary man on the street doing extra-ordinary duties for the greater good of the country, and we will publish your work here at greatergood.i.ph.  Photos to go with your write up are very much appreciated.  Please send the materials to jayr(at)greatergoodradio(dot)com with the subject "Filipino Story"

Cheers!