ACE Hardware, SM Retail’s home improvement brand, through the SM Foundation’s Operation Tulong Express donated Php2 million-worth of essential items to families displaced by the recent typhoons in Rizal province.

ACE Hardware staff visited Kasiglahan Village in Rodriguez, Rizal on December 16 to turn over some much-needed items to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) local chapter. These include beddings, mats, personal protective equipment (PPEs) and cleaning supplies among others.

“ACE Hardware is known for being a helpful place not just in our stores but also through our work with communities and outreach activities such as this. Through our donations, we hope to help the people of Rizal rebuild their homes and recover from the typhoons’ impact,” says ACE Hardware Senior Vice President Bernard Ong.

Some of the items were already given to the 150 families who have taken refuge at the Kasiglahan Elementary School. From there, the local DSWD chapter will continue to distribute the donated items to the other typhoon victims in the province.

“Lubos ang pasasalamat namin sa ACE Hardware at sa SM Foundation Operation Tulong Express para sa tulong na hatid nila. Malaki ang tulong na ito para malinis at maayos nila ang mga gamit nilang nasira noong bagyo,” says Rozario Llaneta, disaster volunteer at the Municipal Social Welfare Development.

ACE Hardware, other SM Retail companies, the SM Foundation, and the rest of the SM Group continue to assist the victims of the typhoons that recently hit the country. Operation Tulong express has been distributing Kalinga Packs to communities in the Bicol Region, Bulacan, Marikina, Rizal, Cagayan, Isabela, and other hard-hit areas. SM Supermalls also opened its doors to stranded customers during the onslaught of the typhoons.