Last July 31, the Samsung R&D Institute Philippines (SRPH) community was treated with a day of retail therapy as the SRPH Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Committee held a Garage Sale for a cause. Held at Tower 4’s Multi Training Room, the event was spearheaded by CSR leads Rome Coloma and Erris Tan, with Fiona Estoperez and Emmanuel Viray as Management Sponsors.

The event aimed to strengthen employee engagement, raise funds for a chosen community, and promote a sustainable lifestyle by decluttering and repurposing unused personal items of employees.

For this initiative, the CSR Committee partnered with Project PEARLS, a nonprofit organization which aims to help underprivileged children by delivering Peace, Education, Aspiration, Respect, Love, and Smiles through education, empowerment, nutrition, nourishment and healthcare programs.

“We wanted to have an event that everyone would understand [and] as Filipinos, we have a bazaar culture, and we also noticed that many of our colleagues have plenty of knick-knacks on their desks,” said Rome. As for Erris, the experience is nothing new. “Within TMG, we often exchange trinkets. So we thought of doing something similar with our colleagues,” she explained.

The event marked the first initiative of the committee for the year. “Our management sponsors wanted to ramp up CSR projects for the year to also introduce the committee to the SRPH community,” said Erris. "We need something that would bring people closer together,” (We need something that would bring people closer together), she added.

For some members, the event goes beyond selling. As a working student in college, the advocacy resonates with Rome. “I saw myself in that position. Through our initiative, we were able to assist a child who cannot afford their tuition,” he explained.

Initial preparation for the Garage Sale started last June, with key Committee members securing paperwork needed for partnership, followed by intense logistics planning within committee members.

Event promotion and calls for donations were done during June S-Habit and regular email blasts. In total, 600 items ranging from appliance and household, clothing, desk accessories, toys, and others essentials were donated for the garage sale.

During the event, employees had time to browse and buy from a bevy of items for sale. Representatives from Project PEARLS were also present to talk more about the organization and their G.R.O.W. (Giving Resources and Opportunities to Women) initiative. They also sold G.R.O.W. products such as bags, mats, and other upcycled products. A live selling event through Knox Meeting followed in the afternoon, with select high value items sold during the two-hour live. Reception from the SRPH community was highly positive, with calls for next iterations of the Garage Sale. “I was very satisfied because the items were affordable and they were sorted well. It was a fun experience,” said Alliah Gojo Cruz from SET.

Overall, the event generated over PHP 50,000 in total sales. Proceeds, including remaining items not sold, were all given to Project PEARLS. “It makes me feel very proud” said Erris. “We were able to mobilize people for a good cause,” she added.

Reinforcing this commitment on the ground, the SRPH CSR team—represented by Rome, Erris, Echo, and Jiane—headed to Tondo, Manila on August 13 to officially turn over collected proceeds and essential donations to Project PEARLS. The visit concluded with an immersive walkthrough of the foundation's G.R.O.W. livelihood hub, where the team met with the talented women artisans creating apparel and handcrafted keychains, spotlighting how collaborative community partnerships continue to fuel sustainable, long-term empowerment.

Meanwhile, Erris and Rome teased the next CSR initiative, which will be in partnership with Cats of McKinley.

The SRPH CSR Committee is the company's arm in implementing Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives through volunteerism and leveraging on employee capability, skills, and SRPH technology.