MANILA-BASED social enterprise Hand and Heart will hold an exclusive four-hands dinner to raise funds to build a learning center for deaf children in Metro Manila.
The organization partnered with Discovery Primea, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and Canada Hardware for the “Artful Hands, Open Hearts” fundraising dinner, featuring meals prepared by celebrity chef Sharwin Tee and Discovery Primea’s executive chef Luis Chikiamco.
Seats for the dinner are limited but are still on sale with Hand and Heart with a P18,000 donation per seat excluding taxes.
There will also be a silent auction showcasing donated items from fashion icon Heart Evangelista; art pieces by masters Arturo Luz, Ramon Orlina, BenCab from Unique Bisyo’s catalog, and the “Father of Philippine Art Workshops” Fernando “Nanding” Sena; and paintings from contemporary artists Jesse Esplana and Michael Sagaran.
The auction will feature artworks made by artists with autism, said Hand and Heart co-founder Elyse Go.
“When you come to the dinner and also support and buy an artwork, our artists with autism benefit from it as well. But more importantly, we really want to showcase their talents,” Go told republicasia during a media roundtable preview for the fundraising event at Discovery Primea, Makati on Friday.
The “Artful Hands, Open Hearts” exclusive dinner will be held on April 7 at Discovery Primea’s Cervantes and Shakespeare Ballrooms.
A ‘technology-enabled’ learning center
Hand and Heart has been supporting the employment of almost 400 deaf individuals since 2018. While Go described them as “industrious” workers, job positions offered by companies to deaf individuals were limited because they were not given quality education.
This became the organization’s driving force to set up a learning center for deaf children in the National Capital Region (NCR).
Go said they aim to raise at least P1 million to P2 million funds to cover one year of operations of the learning center, which they are eyeing to build in Quezon City.
“It’s not gonna be a regular learning center. We want it to be a technology-enabled learning center so that [deaf children] can catch up with our digital world,” Go shared with republicasia.
The Hand and Heart co-founder said they target admitting at least five deaf students, aged three to five, for the pilot class. Hand and Heart is currently accepting applications and screening deaf students.
“In the long run, sana maging big school siya, or at the very least, three to nine [years old], hanggang Grade 3. Kumbaga pre-school hanggang Grade 3,” Go said.
“Kasi diyan ‘yung foundation ng isang bata. Gusto namin kasi ‘yung curriculum angkop din sa kanila, so quality curriculum. ‘Yung foundation nila from pre-school to Grade 3 [ay] solid,” she added.
The curriculum will include a “strong” reading program to address the gap in written communication and reading comprehension skills among the deaf community.
“Their vocabulary is not as high, their capacity to communicate in very good grammar is a big gap,” Go noted.
She continued, “We’re coming up na with a method, maybe a bilingual method, to address the gap through a solid curriculum na customized for the deaf para makapag-aral sila ng tamang way of reading and makapagsulat sila ng maayos na grammar.”
Continued collaborations
The upcoming fundraising dinner with Hand and Heart is Discovery Primea’s second art endeavor for the year, according to the hotel’s general manager David Pardo Ayala.
“Discovery Primea has a very strong affinity for Filipino artists, one that you can see in full display in our hotel’s public areas. This 2025 we are strengthening our relationship with artists, and enhancing our presence in art circles,” Ayala said in a press statement.
The fundraising event is also Discovery Primea’s second collaboration with Tee, who has been its long-time friend, colleague, and supporter.
Ayala said attendees may learn “new interesting cooking techniques, plating styles, and flavor association” from the celebrity chef during the “Artful Hands, Open Hearts” dinner.
For Tee, food is not just about sustenance but can also serve as a means of supporting organizations like Hand and Heart.
“So at our pop-up, and soon-to-be restaurant, Little Grace, we use our food to raise money to support causes aimed at improving society,” he shared in a press statement.
“Learning about Hand and Heart and the work that they do for our deaf community, I just felt it was incumbent for Little Grace to help in any way that we can, both for this dinner and for the future as well,” he added.
The “Artful Hands, Open Hearts” exclusive dinner is also open for corporate table sponsorships. Interested organizations may reach Hand and Heart’s business development executive Aimee Buzeta at 0962-5042737 or [email protected].
