June, 2009

The Council joins me in sending our warmest greetings to all our friends and fellow alumni at UPAA Toronto.

There have been many new happenings in this Association in the recent past. For one, we’ve just concluded a highly successful year of UP Centennial celebrations in the Greater Toronto area that coincided with those at UP campuses back home.

Our membership roster is growing significantly as we press on with our drive for membership retention and recruitment. Kapihan, our highly successful breakfast meetings are evolving into social networking opportunities. We’re starting a series of Career Planning and Job Networking events for members who are professionals and we are expanding the highly acclaimed Mentoring Program aimed at assisting newly arrived UP immigrants. Other activities are constantly being tweaked to make UPAA Toronto more relevant to all age groups especially to the younger ones. Our website will soon be migrated to a new technology platform to make it more current, more interactive and more informative.

We are gearing up for the forthcoming Summer Fest, an annual project of the Philippine Colleges and Universities Association which UPAA co-founded in 2002 and where we have had a consistent leadership role.

Our Endowment Fund for deserving UP students is currently at 1.2 million pesos and our Professorial Chair is at 1 million. We intend to contribute more to these funds in the next two years. As you know, the University needs all the assistance it can get from its alumni and this is our humble way of giving back to our Alma Mater. Sports and other events will be lined up to raise the necessary funds.

There are a lot of new and exciting things in the offing. Members are clearly enjoying the camaraderie and the nostalgia as well as all the other benefits that active participation brings. But we are trying our best to provide more. Committees are now in place to study the feasibility of delivering group insurance benefits, discount cards, etc. And we are working to increase public awareness and mind share of UPAA in the community.

We thank all the past leaders, as well as all the dedicated members who have tirelessly and unselfishly worked in furtherance of our objectives. Without their active involvement and deep concern, the UPAA Toronto will not be where it is today. Going forward, our continued growth and success will rely heavily on the support and active participation of all members, the young and the young at heart. I call upon each and every UPian to join hands with the Council in moving this Association to greater heights.

Push On UP!

Joe Zagala President