Old LY Site

By Carlos Diego A. Rozul Complementing the operations and communications efforts of LoveYourself are its engagement activities for both its internal and external stakeholders. It is with the volunteers that LoveYourself maintains its place in the public’s consciousness as an affirming place to start loving themselves. Truly, the volunteers are the lifeblood of the organization. As such, LoveYourself goes out of its way to show its appreciation and enrich its volunteers. They’re after all the heart and soul of the advocacy. Enriching Volunteers The year began with Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) training for volunteers, especially in Victoria by LoveYourself to be more sensitive to people of different SOGIEs. LoveYourself recognizes that even though its volunteers are allies of the LGBTQIA community, that not all may be fully aware and knowledgeable about SOGIE. Trans Deaf LoveYourself volunteer Disney Aguila enthusiastically shared her knowledge on Basic Fil...

By Jean Natividad After such great loss, Robin is determined to give back great love to the community that saw him through. It was the year 2016, and it had been a few months since Robin's mother, Violy, passed away. She had breast cancer, but it wasn't the cancer that killed her. She was, in fact, responding well to treatment and had lived longer than the doctor's prognosis. No, she didn't die of cancer. It was a fire that, although she survived, caused her health to falter and took her away from her only son. It was also the same fire that burnt down the home they had lovingly built together over the years. It had been a few months since Robin's mother passed away, and her son, in his prime, did not know where to begin. Robin thought to himself, "There's no purpose. Why would I build this? For whom?" But he did rebuild that house and so much more. Surely, he's done his mother proud. Fast forward to two years later, inside his office on a rainy Ju...

Let's celebrate the beautiful year that was and will be! You are invited to the first-ever LoveYourself Volunteers Convention and Christmas Party events on December 5, 2016 at the Ramada Manila Central Hotel in Binondo, Manila. Register now  so you can settle in more quickly on event day. For detailed directions, scroll below. We promise a feel-good time. Free buffet lunch, free shirts for lucky early birds, flowing hugs as we toast the year's accomplishments and a peek at LoveYourself's fearless goals for 2016. Then at night, we ring in the holidays with a Christmas Party complete with a Miss TLY Cabaret Queen pageant. Volunteers Convention Saturday will be a fun gathering filled with appreciation and love. We will recap the year that was, look at our progress in the fight against the spread of HIV and AIDS, and savor LoveYourself's sweetest achievements -- none of which could have been possible without your contributions. You will also learn about the ambitious new pr...

Twenty-five LoveYourself members participated in the ultimate test of speed, endurance and wits in the organization's first-ever Amazing Race held last Saturday, May 23. Patterned after the popular The Amazing Race  reality TV competition, the LoveYourself Amazing Race grouped the 25 participants into 5 competing tribes and took them through a gauntlet of tasks around Metro Manila. The race began at the Kilometre Zero marker in Luneta Park and from there the groups were put through a gauntlet of challenges such as purchasing items in the crowded Divisoria market, taking selfies with pythons and monkeys in Malabon zoo, and answering tricky quizzes on HIV information at the LoveYourself Anglo testing and community center . After 10 hours of racing, the teams arrived at what they thought to be the final pit stop at Amelie Hotel. But teams were met with a surprise final challenge: Field a contestant for that night's Bulaklak ng TLY beauty pageant. Five brave participants from ea...

   GOT LOVE? So, you know you’ve got talent and mad skills , but you want to do more than just your 8-to-5. Maybe there are all these creative ideas that you're dying to unleash. Or maybe you’ve just got all this love inside of you that you want to share, but you don’t know where, or how, or whom to. Find your impetus.  LoveYourself is always looking for committed volunteers who believe in our vision of a self-loving, healthy, and HIV/STI-free Philippines. If you  have the time, energy, and team spirit to make a difference in our community, read on. WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR? COMMUNICATIONS Software engineers / programmers. Technology is the tool that enables us to touch thousands of MSMs everywhere. And everyday, we're working on cutting-edge projects that can revolutionize the advocacy. If you’ve got IT chops, we want you!  Visual artists / graphic designers. We make things look sexy. If you’ve got an eye for layouts and you rock at Photoshop, you’ll de...

Last Saturday, something was amiss at Asgard. At exactly 08:00 PM on 10 August, 2013, Lovers flocked in droves to one of Victoria Court Malate ’s most magnificent themed rooms, Asgard .  The Thor-inspired offering—a palatial two-floor suite, decked to the nines with intricate gold finishes and illuminated at every turn with lush mood light—played host to one of the most exciting events at just a stone’s throw away from the LoveYourself Hub . The occasion? TLY Connect , a mixer organized by the LoveYourself Events committee with a distinctly LoveYourself flavor. Advertised internally as having “no agenda, just fun and excitement”, it was exactly the breather that the Lovers had been looking forward to, some even having come from the furthest reaches of the metro to be able to “mix, match and be merry” that night.  The Events committee certainly did not disappoint: a potluck ensured food, drinks and “drinks” aplenty, and a packed karaoke catalogue ...