Article by: Dulce Caludac Corporate Secretary

On behalf of Waraynon Initiative Network (WIN), I had the humbling experience and fulfilling opportunity to handover the $500 check donation to Mary’s Kitchen, an all volunteer organization who has been serving the less fortunate of Orange County since 1984, serving an average of 180 needy and homeless people daily Mon- Sat, year round, rain or shine. They come from all around, and gratefully receive a light breakfast, a hot meal at noon and a sack dinner to take along as they leave. Nowadays due to the pandemic, the meals are no longer served as sit-down meals.

All the meals are sacked and distributed with lunch and dinner packs given during the lunch hour. Through Mary’s foresight and God’s grace and the generous support of many donors and unpaid volunteers, no one is turned away and no one leaves hungry. Mary’s Kitchen also provides clothing and free daily showers to the homeless and the needy. They also share their food donations with parish churches and with Triangle Terrace in Orange, CA, housing 2000+ seniors (who are room-confined due to the pandemic) and individuals with physical and mental disabilities. The donation is not much, however, WIN hopes it will make a difference to the community in fighting hunger and enhancing the quality of life and keeping dignity
alive for everyone who comes to Mary’s Kitchen for help, especially during this time of the coronavirus.

About Mary’s Kitchen

Mary’s Kitchen is a volunteer organization whose aim is to provide compassionate care for the less fortunate of Orange County, California. All services are conducted in a manner, which preserves dignity. This is why those who we assist are considered our guest. We are non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization. 100% of monetary donations received go directly to maintain the services provided for our guests.

Mary Mcanena, Founder of Mary’s Kitchen started feeding the hungry and homeless at the age of 81 by making chicken soup and hauling it to Hart Park in Orange. As her feeding grew, she moved to a city lot at 517 W. Struck St. She worked from a kitchen in a modular “trailer,” with picnic tables, freezers, storage buildings, showers and laundry facilities.

Mary passed away in 2003. Her successors carry on her well-earned legacy – now a 501c3 charity.

Her bestfriend Gloria Seuss is the current CEO/President of Mary’s Kitchen.

#WINstrong❤️

#HUNGER🚫

#WINcares💗

#WINshares💞

Article by: Dulce Caludac Corporate Secretary

Last June, 23rd in collaboration with the Senior Ministry of the Cathedral Chapel of St. Vibiana (CCSV) and its Pastor, Rev. Truc Nguyen, WARAYNON INITIATIVE NETWORK (WIN) delivers lunch packs to 45 seniors of the parish community to create some semblance of continuity during the stay-at-home directives .

These are senior parishioners who have little or no family support who are usually picked up and brought to the parish hall and driven back home by CCSV volunteers once a month for a Senior Luncheon sponsored by the CCSV Senior Ministry.

Lunch was made by Met Him at a Bar,a restobar in Los Angeles located near the church- Gemelli all’amatriciana (made with in-house Gemelli pasta, pancetta, and pink amatriciana sauce) with a famous Amos chocolate cookie and bottled water.

Thank you to the owners, Vincent and Mindy Kinne, for working with WIN to make this happen! In keeping with the times, a pandemic care kit containing wet wipes and hand sanitizer was provided.

Thank you Gina G. Ibarrola, Realtor at Blessed Living for the generous donation of the care kits.

Gina Girlie

Big thanks to the following volunteers/Delivery team:

CCSV:
Dory Ann Lagman
Nancy and Mike Sheehan (Nancy Galicia Sheehan, Mike Sheehan)
Victor and Ryan Benedicto
Rev Fr Truc Nguyen

WIN:
Gina and Jiggs Ibarrola
Gines Uy

This WINDERFUL act was made possible by the amazing leadership of Board Member, JIGGS IBARROLA, and GINES UY, VP for Ensemble and Training Development, and WIN member, Gina Ibarrola.

#WINstrong

#attitudeofgratitude

More photos from the Waraynon Initiative Network (WIN) – sponsored Luncheon Outreachfor the senior parishioners of Cathedral Chapel of St Vibiana in Los Angeles.

A few weeks ago, AJ Rafael(YouTube sensation with almost a million subscribers, a Filipino-American singer-songwriter from Riverside, CA ) asked Waraynon Initiative Network (WIN)’s Board Member & VP for Project Planning and Networking, Maxinne Vergara to help out on a project he was doing, which as it turns out was to spearhead a number of performances in East West Players’ first virtual gala (EWP is the longest-running Asian-American theatre company in Los Angeles).

So, a few WIN Orchestra members were tapped to perform in a video to a Disney song (Show Yourself from Frozen II) featuring Deedee Magno Hall and Joan Almedilla. Kudos to the following WIN musicians for this undertaking!

Mak Corpin
Carl Marchel Corpin
Jajan Corpin
Germaine Kempis
Kaela Cecille Omega
JD Damarillo
Alex Alexander Juhan
EJ Tugonon
Khris-Raymond Kempis
Maxinne B. Vergara
Yu-Ting Wu

The music ensemble had to stay small for the purposes of video editing, but the arrangement and orchestration were brilliantly done by both Khris and Alex! It’s exhilarating to see familiar faces playing music again!

They would have been busy in the thick of preparations for a concert which WIN had to cancel due to the pandemic.

The Mask Initiative launched by Waraynon Initiative Network (WIN) as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic has concluded. KN95 masks, reusable breathing armors and surgical masks with a combined total of about 850 pieces were donated and distributed to almost 2 dozen hospitals, nursing care facilities and healthcare clinics in California, Nevada and Texas.

About 50 breathing armors were donated by WIN Board Member Jason Colasito and distributed primarily to WIN members who are frontliners and their families to safeguard each other from the virus. The Care meals project for the healthcare and USPS frontliners has also come to a close. 500 lunch packs was provided to the healthcare heroes at the EVRMC hospital in Tacloban City, Philippines last May 12-13, 2020.

To support the drive against hunger during this global crisis, a $500 donation was made to the food bank managed by Isaiah’s Rock in Chino, CA.What’s next? -The Lunch Packs for the seniors of the Cathedral Chapel of St. Vibiana in Los Angeles was provided last May 12, 2020. Another lunch sponsorship will be done on June 23, 2020. WIN is in the last stage of its due diligence efforts, and as soon as it is completed, a donation to the food bank of Mary’s Kitchen in Orange, CA will be made. ——

We are very thankful to our donors and supporters for giving us help and enabling us to thrive and help so many in our infancy years. Imagine a world with a cure & treatment for COVID-19.

We hope for what we can only imagine!

#WINstrong

#WINhasanattitudeofgratitude

#ConquerWINgtheworldwithkindness

Masks found its way to the Southwest.

Another mask donation from WARAYNON INITIATIVE NETWORK (WIN) was received by the staff of the Medical- Surgical Telemetry Unit of Texas Health Resources in Plano, TX.

THANK YOU Health Heroes for helping us WIN this fight!

#WINstrong

Masks found its way to the San Jacinto Valley – Another mask donation from WARAYNON INITIATIVE NETWORK (WIN) was received by the nurses and surgeons of the OR at Hemet Valley Medical Center in Hemet, CA.THANK YOU Health Heroes for helping us WIN this fight!

#WINstrong

Masks donated by Waraynon Initiative Network (WIN) were also received by the staff at the OR/City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Duarte, CA.

The camera-shy frontliners conveyed words of gratitude for the donation!

#wewillWINthisfight

#WINstrong

#hopeforacure

Handover of KN95 masks donated by WIN (Waraynon Initiative Network) was done by WIN Member Agnes Pido Yaranon to the staff of the Ortho Dept at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, CA.

Thank you for helping us WIN this fight!

#WINstrong

#healthcareheroes

Masks delivered down south – KN95 masks donated byWIN (Waraynon Initiative Network) were received by the staff of the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU), Scripps Chula Vista in Chula Vista, CA.

This hospital has seen an increasing number of admission of COVID-19 + patients, a few of which undergo an operative procedure.

PACU, Scripps Chula Vista: -Thank you for helping us WIN this fight!

#WINstrong

#healthcareheroes

Handover of KN95 masks donated by WIN (Waraynon Initiative Network) was done by Board Member Michael Neil V. Omega to Nima Lal, RN Supervisor of the Psychiatric ER at Olive View – UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar, CA.

Thank you for helping us WIN this fight!

#WINstrong

#healthcareheroes