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It has been said that it takes a village to raise a child; but Saladmaster has shown that a committed direct sales company can raise a village.
By committing a portion of each sale to the GK777 project, participating Saladmaster dealers and consultants have raised enough funds to build 50 homes by the end of 2008 in Pototan, Iloilo, Philippines for people displaced by poverty and war. Our goal was met.
Groundbreaking for the new Saladmaster Village took place December 2007. It’s not just about the money – it is about reminding each other of the value we have as human beings – it is about restoring dignity to people who have lost hope – it is about building a local community and, in turn, building a community that crosses borders.
Saladmaster’s tagline is “We Change Lives.” In selling cookware that enables healthy cooking methods, educating consumers on the latest nutrition news, and offering the opportunity to others, the tagline is brought to life daily; but it has never been more of a call-to-action than it has become through the collective efforts of Saladmaster dealers and consultants throughout the world through the GK777 initiative.
GK777 stands for “Gawad Kalinga” – translated in English means “to give care” – by building 700,000 homes in 7,000 communities in 7 years (2003-2010). GK’s vision for the Philippines is a slum-free, squatter-free nation attained through a simple strategy of providing land for the landless, homes for the homeless, food for the hungry, and as a result providing dignity and peace for every Filipino. The organization is not based on charity, but rather, on building values in the poor. According to GK spokesman Dylan Wilk, “Poverty is not just an absence of money but an absence of community and values. You can’t just take away the slums; you also have to take away the slum mentality of the people who live there. It’s very important to give people back dignity and hope.” The organization has been such a success in eliminating poverty in these communities that the United Nations is studying the GK model to integrate into their own programs.
In 2006 Pidoy & Ting Pacis, Senior Dealers with Saladmaster, donated funds to build 10 homes through the GK777 initiative in Pototan, Iloilo, Philippines. As a result of seeing first-hand and sharing with others the story of the positive effects this act had on the lives of those now living in the homes, the Saladmaster division committed to name GK as their beneficiary group for all countries in which they operated in 2007. And this was only the beginning.
Keith Peterson, President of Saladmaster, said, “December 2007 heralded groundbreaking for the “Saladmaster Village” as part of the GK777 initiative in Pototan, Iloilo, Philippines. In so doing, Saladmaster joins business powerhouses such as Coca Cola, McDonald’s, Nike and others who have built these villages to provide a new start in life for people displaced by war and poverty.”
The commitment is to build 50 homes in the Saladmaster Village by the end of 2008. With the average family size in the Philippines being 5-7 people, this village has the potential to directly impact the lives of 250-350 people. The cost of materials to build a small home in the Philippines is $2,000, and labor is provided by GK777 through the “bayanihan” (meaning volunteerism) spirit. Saladmaster dealers and consultants have already pledged $100,000 to make this village a reality; and discussions are taking place to increase the number of homes being built to 100 by the end of 2009. Participating dealers and consultants have committed a fixed dollar amount from each sale to be donated to building the Saladmaster Village. As that information is shared with the host/hostess and guests, it can change the tenor of the gathering. “The host, hostess and guests sometimes ask how they, too, can donate to the project beyond the donation we will make from the sales,” according to Pidoy. “It can change the lives of our customers because they are made aware of this unique way of ‘giving back’ and helping those who have not had the same opportunities that we have.”
But building homes in the village is only step one. To continue to “change lives” we must also help with the education of the children. Toward that end, additional money has been raised to provide 25 scholarships (so far) for education of the children of Saladmaster Village. The plan for years 4 & 5 of the project are to build a community center in the village to host recreational events and religious services. Providing an opportunity to earn a livelihood will also be part of the process.
Today, homes are being built one-by-one and Saladmaster continues to Change Lives and gives hope for future generations.
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