Pencils of Hope – A Parol-Making Contest Launched

Makati City – Black Pencil Project turned over nearly 5,000 units of open-ended wooden pencils to remote public elementary schools in Central Luzon participating the “Pencils of Hope” – a Parol-Making Contest using only pencils provided by the volunteer group as material.

“The participating schools should ensure the pencils doesn’t break when tied up together using strings or local materials so they’re still usable at the end of the project” say program director Mon Corpuz.

When asked how Black Pencil Project came up with the ingenious Parol-making project, Corpuz revealed they’ve received these boxes of open-ended pencils from a corporate sponsor Rustans Coffee Corporation few months back and it was a challenge to distribute the pencils because of its bare qualities thus the idea to turn it to a “Parol” that can be disassembled so the pencils can be distributed to the same school. This project also commence the activities and fundraising drives for the Christmas season.

The symbolic “Parols” (Christmas Lanterns) will be unveiled this coming December and a special prize will be awarded to the best entry.

Updated October 18, 2010

Pencils of Hope

Hundreds of pencils comprised this beautiful barebones Christmas lantern made by pupils of Camiling Central Elementary School in Tarlac Province. The program was initiated earlier this September as a friendly competition among the schools of the district. The premise was to keep the pencils unpainted, and must be formed without glueing or nailing. These Pencils of Hope* will be donated to impoverished elementary schools after Christmas. The lantern are made of bare pencils donated by popular coffee joint to Black Pencil Project.