Eastvantage has donated desktop computers and equipment to Mark Anthony Perez, known in his social media accounts as Mr. Kapanalig, whose advocacy is to provide free laptop and computer repairs and donate them to less privileged students in rural communities who don’t have any computers that they could use in their online learning.
Work from Home, Learn from Home
Eastvantage’s successful implementation of its business continuity plan during the community quarantine made sure that all employees have all the equipment and IT support they need to be able to work in the safety of their homes. With the desktops and laptops delivered to our employees’ homes, the oldest equipment and those with defects were left behind in need of new homes.
Meanwhile, Mark Anthony Perez, a full stack developer from Tarlac, was inspired to start his advocacy when he saw students on social media asking for one peso donations for a laptop (#pisoparasalaptop). With the 2020 schoolyear’s alternative learning system requiring students to be online, Perez began his project just before the school year began. From his social media page, Mr. Kapanalig, Perez would ask people with defective laptops to donate them, repair the laptops for free, and send them to less privileged students who are in need of computers and don’t have access to their online learning modules.
A CSR for a Timely Cause
It was around early September when Eastvantage learned about Mr. Kapanalig’s advocacy, around the time it became viral in social media and the local news. Eastvantage has contacted him expressing interest to donate, and with the logistics and data privacy concerns sorted out, Eastvantage was able to deliver a total of 25 desktops, 60 monitors, 68 keyboards, 11 computer mouses, 37 headsets, and a video projector to Perez’s home where he and his team of volunteers bring the equipment up to good working conditions.
Students are already commenting on the Mr. Kapanalig page as soon as the donations arrived. The ones who will receive the IT equipment are interviewed by Perez’s team and are carefully chosen based on how great the need is and who would benefit from it the most, in the case of IT equipment such as the projector, even teachers are also eligible to become beneficiaries.
Eastvantage has held corporate social responsibility projects every year. This year’s CSR is very timely: as the whole educational system shifted online, the need for adequate equipment for access to online learning has never been greater, and thanks to Mr. Kapanalig and his advocacy, Eastvantage was able to help.
