If there’s one thing characteristic of the experience, being part of the community that is La Consolacion College Bacolod, is that there is always an opportunity to experience the joy of giving. Indeed, the mission that was started by the Augustinian sisters more than a century ago is alive and well to this day and shared by LCCians who bring about Christ’s compassion and consolation to “the last, the least and the lost”, through their loving service and wholehearted giving.
“There’s a longing inside all of us to give and offer ourselves in the service of others, because it is when we feel we are most connected to God. Compassion and consolation are central to the mission of La Consolacion College. These are the values that our educational experience in LCC Bacolod is designed for — to form the minds and hearts of our students and everyone part of our school community in such a way that they recognize that fulfillment comes from the joy of giving, of doing something for the good of your neighbor” said Sister Maria Garcia, OSA, LCC Bacolod President.
This Advent Season, a series of gift giving activities is organized by the academic departments and employee organizations of LCC Bacolod for various groups of indigents in different sectors of society. The events kicked off on December 10, 2021 with students and parents of the Night High School Program (NHSP), the academic and non-academic office personnel, and the general maintenance staff sponsoring a feeding and gift-giving activities among the mendicants outside the San Sebastian Cathedral and the street children at the Bacolod Public Plaza.
A bloodletting activity was also held today, December 11, at the main campus. The event dubbed as “Dugo Mo, Sugpon Sg Kabuhi Ko” was spearheaded by the institution’s Health Services Center in partnership with the Corazon Locsin Memorial Hospital Blood Bank. The event gathered a total of 15 blood donors from LCC’s faculty, personnel and alumni.
At the Tahanan Mapagkalinga ni Madre Rita Bacolod (TMMR), the Senior High School faculty organized a simple Christmas party for the 15 scholars of the center. Established in 2019, the TMMR is an advocacy program for children of very poor families sustained by LCC Bacolod.
Meanwhile at the HRMT Center, the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management faculty also held gift-giving for the students of the NHSP, which is an extension program running for 27 years now, providing access to quality private secondary education for the less privileged children who cannot go to school in the morning because they have to work at a very young age or help their parents at home.
Many more outreach activities are slated in the coming days. The Graduate School will visit the Bacolod Girl’s Home as their charitable institution of choice on December 13. Sr. Gerolinda Tingson, OSA, Dean, said that care for the orphans was originally the mission that was started by Mother Consuelo Barcelo, OSA, one of the two Augustinian religious from Spain who came to the Philippines at the latter part of colonization. Their orphanages later grew into becoming schools and the Filipino sisters who assisted in their mission later founded the Augustinian Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation (ASOLC), the congregation that owns and operates 23 mission schools in the Philippines including LCC Bacolod.
On December 17, the faculty of the School of Business and Information Technology and the students of the Expanded Tertiary Education and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP) will have an outreach activity among the students and parents of the Mother Rita Barcelo Center NHSP Montinola Extension Campus in Talisay City. The school was established in 2016 on a three-hectare property donated by the philanthropist, Mr. Antonio Montinola. The school serves the children of sugarcane farmworkers in the neighboring haciendas.
The Integrated School faculty on the other hand will have their outreach activity in Barangay Handumanan at LCC Bacolod’s adopted community in Purok Rosebell and Kawayanan.
On December 18, the School of Liberal Arts and Education and the School of Architecture, Fine Arts, and Interior Design will have their outreach activity at barangays 11 and 12 for the indigents of the two communities neighboring LCC Bacolod main campus.
On December 22, an advent recollection will be held for all the faculty and personnel. This will be organized by the Center for Spirituality and Mission.
Culminating the advent celebrations will be a Christmas Concert by the students, alumni and personnel in the afternoon of December 22. The concert will be staged at the Auditorium and will be streamed live via Facebook page, @lccb1919.
Dubbed as the “Everlasting Light: A Christmas Carol for a Dark World”, the concert features the music of Claire Cloniger and Mark Hayes to be directed by Architecture Faculty and Music teacher, Ar. Jico Monte.
The concert is a project of the Center for Music, Arts, and Culture which is sponsored by LCC Bacolod Board Chairman, Ramon Ponce de Leon.
Sr. Joan Infante, OSA, VPAA and one of the key organizers of the event is very excited and hopeful that the music could soothe the souls of those who will watch it. She said that the COVID-19 pandemic has been a dark space, but she said that out of darkness plants grow from seeds, and out of darkness, we are able to see the light. “May this season remind us of why Jesus came into the world, as light to shine in this dark world”, she said.* 12/11/2021
Photos from the Senior High School faculty outreach at Tahanan Mapagkalinga ni Madre Rita Bacolod and the Bloodletting Activity at the school Auditorium on December 11, 2021.