TAGUIG CITY, PHILIPPINES – On June 13, Sunday, runners from different parts of the metropolis will converge at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig for the SCHOOL BOTTLE RUN, a groundbreaking event aiming to collect at least 9,000 1.5- and 2-liter plastic soda bottles for an extraordinary purpose: building the country’s first plastic bottle school.
The project was conceived by Illac Diaz, an award-winning social entrepreneur and founder of the MyShelter Foundation, a non-stock, non-profit organization dedicated to combating climate change through sustainable, eco-friendly, low-cost, and disaster-resistant structures.
After successfully utilizing innovative and sustainable construction technologies to build earthen and bamboo schools, Diaz now turns to soda PET (plastic) bottles to construct weather-proof schools that not only reduce waste but also serve as communities’ first line of defense against disasters. Moreover, these schools stand as concrete reminders of critical issues that must be addressed within our communities, particularly during disaster-prone seasons.
The first plastic bottle school will be built in Maharlika Village, Taguig City, with support from the Department of Education, the City of Taguig, Pepsi, Insular Life, and Cecon.
To aid in bottle collection, runners are encouraged to bring two 1.5- or 2-liter plastic soda bottles each, in addition to paying a modest registration fee: P200 for the 3K run, and P300 for the 5K and 10K runs. The starting point is at 28th Street, fronting Serendra. Gunstart times are: 5:30 AM for the 10K, 5:45 AM for the 5K, and 6:00 AM for the 3K.
I love volunteering with organizations like Gawad Kalinga and Habitat for Humanity to build houses, so this advocacy excites me immensely! Not to mention, it’s a fun, unique, creative, and eco-friendly way to help children who lost their schools during the Ondoy tragedy last year. It’ll only cost you a few hundred pesos and two PET bottles to make a difference. Help us rebuild these children’s dreams—let’s recycle and protect our environment. Let’s all RUN for a cause, just like these kids CHASE their dreams. See you tomorrow! ^_^
