SINoP mission goes up the mountain and down to the plain

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna—The Society of Non-research Professionals (SINoP) at the international Rice Research Institute (IRRI) held two succeeding activities within a week to help respond to the needs of a community on the slopes of Mt. Makiling and provide its members with financial literacy training. Mt. Makiling is a dormant volcano near IRRI's headquarters in Laguna province on Luzon island in the Philippines.

On 2 July, SINoP members and alumni (photo), together with members of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (IRRI-UPLB Chapter) trekked to Bagong Silang Elementary School—the organization’s adopted school—at the foot of Mt. Makiling to donate books and school supplies.The items were purchased using proceeds from its Back-to-School fundraising sale held in May and donations from SINoP members and friends. The event was also the dedication of the Eva Corazon P. Reyes Library, in memory of SINoP’s former president.

While SINoP is proud to reach out to the people in IRRI’s host communities, it also recognizes the needs of its members and provides seminars at the institute’s headquarters. On 7 July, SINoP held Investment 101: Personal Finance, a seminar on the basics of investing and the available options that suit their respective investment personalities. The seminar was facilitated by Ms. Janine Kyra Rivera, an associate investment counselor from the BPI Asset Management and Trust Group. Investment 101: Personal Finance was the first in a series of seminars lined up for SINoP members for the year.

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