Manila, Philippines – Five individuals are sharing Php1 million for sharing stories that represented their hopes and dreams. Manulife Philippines recently launched the #StartYourStory campaign to encourage Filipinos to take that first step toward turning their dreams into reality.

“Our #StartYourStory campaign encourages everyone to pursue their aspirations and take steps to make those dreams happen. We introduced this contest as part of the campaign to make that message more tangible,” said Ryan Charland, Manulife Philippines’ President and CEO.

The hundreds of stories submitted mostly centered around dreams for their families. Luz Desquitado, the first winner, shared how her family had to sell their house 11 years ago when her mother had a stroke, and how she dreams of building a new one today. The winning story from Gizelle Acapulco tells of her father who lost his legs in an accident during his seafaring years and needs to replace his old prosthesis. Ana Maria Lourdes Manalo, an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) mother, shared her story of coming home for good to be with her family after she and her husband worked overseas for 25 years.

Personal dreams and those involving loved ones were also popular themes. Lloyd Mickel Gaba shared how he wants to give his girlfriend the best wedding, after they had to forego the ceremony due to the unplanned arrival of their daughter. Gae Bolado, on the other hand, hopes to return to school after she had to stop due to financial constraints.

“At Manulife we help people with their big financial decsions in order to make their dreams come true, and we are happy that this contest has helped five people start their stories today.” added Charland.

 

Liked this post? Follow SwirlingOverCoffee on Facebook.

About Manulife Philippines

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company opened its doors for business in the Philippines in 1907. Since then, Manulife’s Philippine Branch and later The Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. (Phils.), Inc. (Manulife Philippines) has grown to become one of the leading life insurance companies in the country. Manulife Philippines is a wholly-owned domestic subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation, among the world’s largest life insurance companies by market capitalization.

About Manulife

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services group providing forward-thinking solutions to help people with their big financial decisions. We operate as John Hancock in the United States, and Manulife elsewhere. We provide financial advice, insurance and wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. At the end of 2014, we had 28,000 employees, 58,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving 20 million customers. At the end of September 2015, we had $888 billion (US$663 billion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made more than $23 billion in benefits, interest and other payments to our customers. Our principal operations are in Asia, Canada and the United States where we have served customers for more than 100 years. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we trade as ‘MFC’ on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under ‘945’ in Hong Kong. Follow Manulife on Twitter @ManulifeNews or visit www.manulife.com or www.johnhancock.com.