Joy of Giving

 Joy~Nostalg celebrates the holidays with a twist

By Earl D.C. Bracamonte

For the second straight year, the Joy~Nostalg Hotel & Suites Manila is mounting the symbolic kick-off to the holiday season with a meaningful twist!

Simply dubbed "The Joy of Giving," the hotel's tree lighting event this year aims to spread the love and light to those in need. Joy~Nostalg has partnered with the Liter of Light movement espoused by social entrepreneur Illac Diaz, coffee label Nespresso, and the Negrense Volunteers for Change (NVC) Foundation Inc., in supporting the livelihood of underprivileged communities.

"Gifts are simple, it's either you like them or not. We are gathered once again to celebrate the spirit of the season - not just in giving, but to effect change in other people's lives. We spread joy when we show compassion and generosity.

"This season, we use recycled empty coffee capsules as decors in our X'mas trees, and bring solar lights to zero grid communities. Believe me when I say that they are located an hour-and-a-half from the hotel so they're still part of the metro. While giving back to these communities, we also take care of the environment in the process," enthused general manager Odette Huang.

Nespresso coffee capsules are made from aluminum. As artisans of hope, the NVC Foundation Inc. upcycled over 3700 empty capsules into Christmas decors, and made the discarded coffee grounds into compost fertilizer.

This year, the hotel is also celebrating its 14th year anniversary. It has partnered with Liter of Light to hand out over 100 solar lamps to residents of Sitio Catmon in Brgy. Wawa, Rizal. And another 100 similar lamps from donations. Proceeds from a hotel-mounted bazaar, together with pledges from hotel employees, made it possible to come up with the solar lamps to be given away.

"We bring lights to those who have no access to electricity. This initiative was born in the Philippines but this campaign is now being rolled out around the world. We hope to light more homes and more communities in the years to come," intimated project deputy director  Karen Capiz.

To date, the Liter of Light campaign has brought brightness to the once-dark 350,000 homes in over 15 countries worldwide. And that number is increasing year by year.

As a five-star serviced residence, the Joy~Nostalg Hotel & Suites Manila is managed by the Accor hospitality group.