Some 50 children and 25 of their companions from the Baseco in Tondo, Manila, as well as from the Tagaytay and Santa Rosa areas, received early Christmas gifts from the Villar Foundation through its Lakbay Aral program.

The Baseco gift-giving event is an initiative of the foundation with the support from venue host Crosswinds of Brittany.

“We really planned this pre-Christmas event for these children from Baseco. We want to get them out from their dire surroundings in Tondo and let them experience something bright and cheery here at Crosswinds [Tagaytay] even just for a day,” said Sen. Manny Villar.

The children had a day of fun at Crosswinds, an idyllic residential property in Tagaytay that has been all decked up for Christmas where games and activities were prepared.

This year Brittany went all the way with the holiday cheer as it created Santa’s house filled with holiday toys. It even has a live Santa Claus inside, who gamely posed for pictures.

The senator with wife Cythia and daughter Camille distributed early presents to the kids after a short Christmas program.

“We want the children to enjoy the usual things that ordinary children experience during Christmas—gifts, games and their favorite food. It is our way of spreading the Christmas spirit to them. Hopefully, they will fondly remember this day for a long time to come,” Camille Villar, chief operating officer for Brittany, said.

Crosswinds, Brittany’s prime leisure development, is a 100-hectare Swiss-inspired community in Tagaytay, a natural perfect holiday setting for a vacation home for the holidays with the cold Tagaytay fog, spectacular rolling terrain, and the crisp scent of the over 20,000 pine trees planted within the community.

The Swiss-inspired architecture added to the Christmas mood, dressed up in twinkle lights for the holidays.

Deux Pointe, one of the most prime locations in Crossswinds, is an enclave designed for charming duettos, which are units that have two homes in one structure.

A lovely row of Swiss chalets is also a sight to behold. Situated at the highest peak in Crosswinds, Brittany has dubbed this the Christmas Village.

The Villar Foundation, under its Kalusugan Caravan program, has been conducting regular feeding sessions in Metro Manila and other parts of the country. The foundation upholds the senator and his family’s long-time advocacy of extending help and support to poverty-stricken Filipinos.

The Villar Foundation also has other projects related to the environment, education, health, as well as overseas Filipino workers, livelihood and others.

(Marianne Tocmo)