When the Marawi crisis broke out and residents started fleeing to Iligan City, the Smart sales team there sprang to action. Led by Stephanie Dawn “Tippi” Albulario, they immediately set up Libreng Tawag stations in evacuation centers.

Tippi is the Customer Development Manager for Distributor Sales, handling Iligan City, Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte. She has been with the Smart Sales team for more than 13 years.

Offering free calls to subscribers in times of calamity is part of the telco’s disaster response program, which is implemented by sales teams.

Tippi’s group also joined the relief distribution organized by Smart and its provincial distributor, Ilicomm, for dealers and agents affected by the crisis, as well as soldiers on active duty.

Apart from supporting the company’s disaster response activities, Tippi initiated a fundraising campaign on social media among family, friends, and colleagues, in the hope of reaching out to more people.

Within a week, she and her team were able to donate drinking water and children’s snacks to displaced families. As more donations came in, they donated diapers, toiletries and clothes for infants in evacuation centers. On the side, they also joined a local toy drive.

“I like coordinating these types of activities; it feels good to help other people,” Tippi says.

In 2011, when Iligan City was ravaged by floods brought on by tropical storm Sendong, Tippi’s home served as drop-off center for donations.

It isn’t only in times of emergency that Tippi is motivated to bring comfort and cheer to others.

Every year, on her birthday, March 16, she hosts a party for special children. At Christmas, the whole family conducts a “shoebox project,” a gift-giving activity for poor children. It is inspired by a public charity in the US that gifts to collects and distributes gifts in shoeboxes to children around the world.

“Around six years ago,” Tippi explains, “our family was tapped by a group from the US to be their local partner in delivering gift-laden shoeboxes to the less fortunate. We enjoyed it so much that we decided to continue with the project on our own.”

It has since become a tradition for the whole family to shop for the kids at Christmas. They also welcome donations – including shoeboxes -- which they collect through drop-off boxes placed in cafes and other establishments owned by friends.

Last year, they were able to give gifts to almost 200 kids in a local parish.

What started as a simple gift-giving activity by the family has grown, drawing the community and even friends overseas.

“We enjoy picking out toys and clothes for the little ones. Seeing their smiles when they open their shoeboxes is icing on the cake,” Tippi says.

Whether in good times or bad, sharing brings a sense of fulfillment, she says.

“During disasters, everything is done ASAP, action must be quick,” she says. At Christmas, there’s time to plan and relish the pleasure of wrapping the gifts, she adds.

She offers this poignant insight: “The people we help during ‘normal times’ are the less fortunate. Their lives are similar to those who are displaced by disasters; the difference is that they live this life everyday… They all deserve love and attention.”

Stephanie Dawn “Tippi” Albulario (leftmost) during the turnover of relief to Smart sales agents who were affected by the crisis.