THEN. Prudentialife Founder and Chairman Amb. Francisco A. Alba and Cardinal Sin distribute gifts to Golden Acres beneficiaries along with marketing staff and sales associates.	NOW. Prudentialife Prexy Jose Alberto T. Alba turns over donation to GK Exec. Dir. Antonio E. Meloto to support the GK PAGASA educational program while CFC-EFI Prexy Naomi A. David, nursery school children and volunteer teachers at the JATA Sibol School look on.

Just how far can a well-meaning company go to help? Ask those who have literally gone a long way. To provide each of the 3,000 inmates of Manila City Jail his own banig (sleeping mat), Prudentialife Plans, Inc, had to order them all the way from a Bicol-based supplier.

“We couldn’t buy them from Manila so we had to go to Bicol. Natutulog sila sa sahig (They were sleeping on the floor),” described Francisco A. Alba, Prudentialife founder and chairman, of the condition of the detainees who were among the beneficiaries of the company’s various outreach programs.

Partying, Prudentialife-style. Instead of spending on lavish parties to mark its anniversary, Prudentialife management and employees have been celebrating the occasion with the needy members of the society since its inception in 1978.

This tradition of sharing its blessings with the underprivileged has been ingrained in Prudentialife’s culture, which stresses the firm’s role not solely to its immediate stakeholders, but also to society in general.

“We are trying to show our employees that we have an obligation not only to make money for the company and for our family, but also to help the less fortunate people who are also our brothers and sisters, “ explained Mr. Alba, adding how the task is almost imperative for those who have been given so much.

Indeed, from contributing to charitable institutions and religious communities to spearheading programs on education, livelihood, health, and values enhancement, Prudentialife through the Prudentialife Foundation, Inc. has undertaken several activities to promote the welfare of impoverished Filipinos.

For 25 years, the late Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin joined Prudentialife in these activities, saying mass to elders at hospices and distributing gifts to children at orphanages.

“He used to say, ‘If only all big companies would follow (your) example, this will be a better country,” the former ambassador recalled.

The same commitment has been passed from one generation to the next as Mr. Alba’s son, Jose Alberto, who is now the company’s president, continues Prudentialife’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives with the guidance of his father.

To mark its 28th foundation this year, for example, Prudentialife supported the Patronato, a welfare program of the parish of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage in Antipolo, which provides study grants to children of poor families.

With Jose Alberto at the helm, Prudentialife has also strengthened its participation in projects spearheaded by Gawad Kalinga, a private sector initiative which aims to build houses for poor but deserving families in depressed communities nationwide.

Restoring Dignity. In 2004, Prudentialife became the first pre-need firm to join Gawad Kalinga. It has built the Prudentialife-Gawad Kalinga Village in Baseco, Tondo, Manila, benefiting 48 homeless families. Employee volunteers visit them regularly to check on their needs, material or otherwise. Recently, Prudentialife also conducted a medical mission in the said village.

For Prudentialife, the main attraction of Gawad Kalinga is its sustainability. Unlike other undertakings that end with fund-raising, Gawad Kalinga “is a continuously evolving project. What we are looking at is actually community development,” the younger Alba said.

With the goal of uplifting the lives of the residents, Prudentialife has recently built a nursery school and a livelihood center in the village.

“(Without Gawad Kalinga), these children would’ve been hopeless. They don’t have enough food to eat; they don’t have anybody to teach them the right values, to give them good education. But now, they can become future leaders in the community. And I am happy we are part of that,” the ambassador shared.

His son concurred: “It bought back their dignity…it’s a huge transformation and we feel proud to have contributed to that.”