SAN DIEGO, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Two San Diego charities and a San Diego Private Equity Firm are teaming up to gift educational books to the children, families and schools in the Philippines. The San Diego Classic Lions Club of National City and The I AM Foundation, two non-profit organizations, are teaming up with The I AM Foundation's lead sponsor, Aero Financial, to gift thousands of children with books, school supplies and other needed items.

Remy Deramos, President of the San Diego Classic Lions Club, states, "On behalf of my club, I would like to ask for your help and support in donating school supplies and I AM! Affirmation Books to our project to the Philippines. We are conducting a Medical, Optical, Dental, Education, Rehabilitation, Nutrition and Other Services (M.O.D.E.R.N.O.) mission to the Philippines. We are leaving the U.S. on January 11, 2010 and will start our mission to the Philippines on January 17, 2010. We have been fundraising at Qualcomm Stadium and have put that money into a fund for the purchase of medicines, eyeglasses, dental supplies and school supplies including the shipment of these materials. We are at every Chargers game, at concession #351. Please assist us in helping these children and families."

Steve Viglione, Founder and CEO of The I AM Foundation, says, "We have gifted over 45,000 books to children after Katrina in 2006 and over 100,000 books and school supplies after the Tsunami to children in Sri Lanka in 2005. We now stand by our Filipino Community to support the physical and emotional well being of the survivors of this terrible tragedy in the Philippines."

Jim Price, CEO of Aero Financial, states, "We are honored to be a sponsor of this mission to the Philippines led by The San Diego Classic Lions Club. Aero Financial is a lead sponsor of The I AM Foundation's work and we know the power and value of children receiving The I AM! Affirmation Book after a disaster. The kids will also know somebody in the world is thinking of them during this extremely difficult time in their lives."

This mission is to also help the schools and students who are victims of the past four typhoons. It is bringing together the Filipino community to help with shipping clothes and blankets.

The schools have been devastated, and in some provinces, the water has been and still is up to the roof. The goal is to help the less fortunate Filipinos who are still suffering from these calamities. What is also needed are books and school supplies for the schools. The children need help desperately in these areas.

The San Diego Classic Lions Club Team is scheduled to go to 5 sites in the Philippines: Kalayaan in Laguna, Bayambang in Pangasinan, Tabaco in Albay (where the landslide took place), Abucay in Bataan, Olongapo City in Olongapo and Zambales Province.

There are 13 people on the team traveling to Manila from Los Angeles on January 11th, 2010. This mission is being led by The San Diego Classic Lions Club based in National City, CA. They meet every 1st and 3rd Friday each month.

The goal is to reach thousands of beneficiaries on our mission. The Lions Club is working with The I AM Foundation to gift as many Filipino children as possible with The I AM Affirmation Book: Discovering the Value of Who You Are. For every $10.00 donated to The I AM Foundation, the San Diego Classic Lions Club will receive two of these books, which have changed the lives of over 150,000 children in 40 countries.

Our deadline for shipping is December 15th, 2009. Please make your donation to The I AM Foundation today so we can have the books shipped to the Philippines and ready for us to gift to the children when we get there.

For those who would like to make a contribution in the other areas of the campaign for shipping, medical, nutritional and educational supplies, please call Remy Deramos at The San Diego Classic Lions Club directly at 619.818.9322 or visit www.sandiegolions.org. To sponsor children receiving The I AM! Affirmation Books please click here for The I AM Foundation's Campaign to the Philippines.

About The San Diego Classic Lions Club. Since 1917, Lions have served the world's population through hard work and commitment to make a difference in the lives of people everywhere. With 1.35 million members serving in more than 45,000 clubs in over 205 countries and geographical areas, Lions Clubs International is the world's largest and most active service club organization. The Downtown San Diego Lions Club is one of the largest Lions Clubs in the United States with over 150 members. There are currently 60 Lions Clubs in San Diego and Imperial Counties.

Established in 1922, the San Diego Host Lions Club is one of very few service clubs to enjoy the ownership and use of its own building with a beautiful meeting facility. Their meeting room and Executive Offices are located in the heart of San Diego's exciting Gaslamp District. Visit www.sandiegolions.org for more info.

About The I AM Foundation. Since 1998, The I AM Foundation has gifted and distributed over one million books and products to children and adults around the world. Their signature book The I AM! Affirmation Book: Discovering The Value of Who You Are has over 157,000 copies in print and is translated in seventeen languages. The books are printed in the U.S. and in the different countries they visit which also helps their economies.

The I AM Foundation believes that when a child discovers their value, they bring their value to the world. This year Aero Financial is supporting their book gifting to Mexico, India, Sri Lanka and other countries in South East Asia as well as cities in the United States. Both Aero Financial and The I AM Foundation receive heartfelt support for these missions from The Honorable Jeff M. Goonewardena, the Sri Lankan Consul General to Venezuela and Colombia and Personal Advisor to President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Mr. Goonewardena helped The I AM Foundation gift over 100,000 books and products to Sri Lankan children who survived the tsunami of 2006 and over 45,000 books to children who survived Hurricane Katrina. Mr. Goonewardena is also the President of Aero Financial in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan First Lady, Shiranthi Rajapaksa, endorsed both The I AM Foundation's mission and The I AM! Affirmation Book saying "Children are our hope for peace in the future. The I AM! Affirmation Book is commendable in its support of children. I convey my most sincere thanks for this work." The I AM Foundation website is www.iamfoundation.org.

About Aero Financial. Founded in 1992, Aero Financial is a diversified Holding Company with a core competency in Strategic Advisory and Consulting. Aero provides growth capital as well as a full range of essential support and organizational services to private and public companies. Headquartered in San Diego, Aero operates offices in Dallas, Baltimore, London, Dubai and Sri Lanka. www.aero-financial.com

Media Contact:

Jim Price, 1.619.481.3400 or Steve Viglione 619.200.3809

SOURCE The I AM Foundation

Back to top

RELATED LINKS
http://www.sandiegolions.org
http://www.iamfoundation.org
http://www.aero-financial.com