SUN LIFE FOUNDATION LAUNCHES URBAN GARDENING INITIATIVE TO COMBAT UNDERNUTRITION AMONG STUDENTS

The Sun Life Foundation has recently initiated an urban gardening program at Comembo Elementary School, as a component of the Tulong Eskwela project. This collaborative effort with AHA Learning Center is dedicated to delivering quality education to student-beneficiaries.

The primary goal of the urban garden is to bolster the school's feeding program, addressing undernourishment among the students. Additionally, it seeks to inspire parents to adopt the practice of urban gardening at home.

“Aside from providing opportunities to learn, we also want to look after the welfare and holistic health of our student-beneficiaries,” Sun Life Foundation Executive Director Kristine Millete said. “This initiative can help provide them with more sustenance in a more sustainable way.”

During the launch, Comembo Elementary School also hosted “Palarong Pinoy” where students, teachers, and parent-leaders played traditional Filipino games together with Millete and Sun Life executives, including Sun Life Philippines CEO & Country Head and Sun Life Foundation Chairman Benedict Sison, Sun Life Foundation President Alex Narciso, and other members of the Sun Life Philippine Leadership Team. Sun Life Global President & CEO Kevin Strain, who was also in town from Canada, made sure to join the launch and festivities as well.

In the meantime, students, parent-leaders, and teachers were presented with gift packs, perfectly timed for the holiday season. The festivities concluded with a delightful boodle fight feast.

Tulong Eskwela stands as AHA Learning Center's prominent education program. The Sun Life Foundation collaborated with AHA Learning Center in 2020 to assist teachers, students, and parents in transitioning to a distance and hybrid learning setup amid the pandemic. Since its inception, the program has supported numerous beneficiaries, alleviating the difficulties of learning in a post-pandemic setting.

About Sun Life

Sun Life is a leading international financial services organization providing asset management, wealth, insurance and health solutions to individual and institutional Clients. Sun Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of March 31, 2023, Sun Life had total assets under management of $1.36 trillion. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

Note to editors: All figures in Canadian dollars