Pull For Don by Jansie Santos and Beryl Elizabeth Lupot

6:27 PM All About U 0 Comments

This is the story of how one man’s call for help united Philippine Ultimate. They say misery loves company but as it turns out, so do kindness, generosity, and gratitude.

{Jansie} It was May 29 when I saw Don Laczi’s post calling for support to raise funds to help him reach his dream of covering the Philippine team in the 2017 World Championships of Beach Ultimate in Royan, France. I immediately went to generosity.com and was disappointed that I couldn’t make a donation via Paypal. I thought to myself, “There has to be another way…” A couple of hours later, Beryl of Tarsier Ultimate (Bohol) sent me a message, “Mahal! Supportahan natin si Don! Magpa pa tournament kami dito, fund raising para kay Don for France niya. Heheh ‘PULL FOR DON’ yung tournament.”

{Beryl} – After seeing Don Laczi’s post regarding his fund raising, I really wanted to help but thanks to poor internet connection, was never able to open the site. So I messaged Don directly to ask for his account number so I could directly make a deposit. Then, I tried to share his post via FB Messenger, I get replies like “What is this”, “I can’t open the link”, etc., etc. Frustrated, I opted to make an event page or a group so that there would be centralized dissemination of information. It was then that I thought, “Why not make an event for Don! Why don’t we play ultimate for Don, why not ‘Pull for Don’”. If he has his PULL Project, then this is the right avenue to show some love and gratitude to the man who has done so much for the ultimate community. 

*1 The moment I thought about the event, I messaged my beloved Jansie to ask if she was interested. Of course, she was. 

{Jansie} Of course, I was in. It was a no-brainer. I have always been vocal about Don being one of Cabalen Ultimate Open’s biggest blessings. Disc In Pampanga was in the planning stages of Cabalen 2014 when Don sent me a message, saying that he wanted to fly from Iloilo to cover the event. Back then, I only knew about him from photos I had seen of Shindig in Dumaguete. 

I still remember our first conversation. He talked about wanting to promote the event, about his goal of contributing to the growth of Philippine Ultimate; he talked about his passion for his craft – sports photography. Part of Cabalen’s success, we credit to Don. For his photos – yes, definitely - but bigger credit goes to his passion. When you’re surrounded with people who are passionate about what they do, there is a strong inspiring force that drives you to be just as passionate. 

{Beryl} Jansie created a group chat and we added people who have organized and who can organize tournaments in various areas in the Philippines. She added those people in Luzon and I was in charge of adding people from Visayas and Mindanao, then on from 10 people, the network just grew bigger and bigger. The response was overwhelming! In a matter of hours, we were able to get support from 11 areas in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. In a matter of 7 days, 15 PULL for DON tournaments had been scheduled in a series of dates all over the Philippines. I remember grabbing my hair in amazement. Every time an area would confirm and ask for their logo to be personalized with the specified date, was jaw-dropping and heart-warming.

It was amazing how many people raised their hands to help. Russ (Pampanga) wanted to make a poster for the event but to our surprise, Matet Galarido – a few hours after the plan was laid out – already had a design! She designed the poster and edited it for each event. We had people volunteering to organize a Pull for Don in their community like Jundril in UP and Ammiel in Iloilo.

{Beryl} Aside from being a very catchy title, one that is easily understood; Diba hearing it, reading it: PULL FOR DON, it instantly gives you an idea that it is for a cause; it is to play to support Don. The idea behind the title was inspired by Don's PULL PROJECT. In that project, he focuses on individuals, he captures the moment right before the disc is thrown for a pull, he captures the raw emotion and intensifies it with a moving caption. That might be just a picture for Don, another one in his album but to that person it means a lot, it gives a certain feeling of gratification in playing ultimate, a different kind of high leaving each person's heart full but thirsty for more moments like such. For all the varying reasons stated that every ultimate player pulls - plays ultimate, imagine if we turn things around. Imagine if that one person will play ultimate for the person behind the camera then consider having the opponent team play for the same reason. Let us have 2 people from both endzones then widen the picture, you see 6 more people on each to make seven on the line then multiply the number of people as you widen the scope then multiply again and so on and so on - that makes a community. Imagine that one community pulls - plays ultimate- for a common reason, for one dream. *goosebumps* 

That was the idea, it became a reality all because it was for a great cause. It was in gratitude to one person who has done so much to the community. 

{Beryl} After I messaged Jansie, the support just kept on coming, on and on, nonstop yung notification. Jansie and I were constantly updating Don on the progress and there were moments when all we could say sa chat was thank you, no thank you, really thank you paulit ulit hahaha kasi it was overwhelming. Involuntarily we shed tears, especially upon when people would tell us why they were supporting the tournament, how Don inspired them one way or the other.

{Jansie} On June 3, five days after conceptualization, Pull for Don kicked off in Pampanga and Tuguegarao and commenced in Subic on June 13. In a span of 10 days, 15 fundraising events were held in different parts of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. It was that simple. Everyone’s enthusiasm to help was exhilarating. Social media was a convenient vehicle for us to mobilize the different communities, no matter the geographical distance. However, it was Don’s genuine dedication to Ultimate that made it easy for everyone to return the gesture.

While this was happening, there were also other people chipping in through their own ways such as Karen’s much-anticipated “Date for a Cause” with Jessica and Alvin. Of course, there were also those who stayed in the shadows, helping out rather silently. 

If I had to pick my favorite takeaways from this milestone, it would be the following: 1) Kindness begets kindness; 2) You’ll be surprised by how many people are eager to help. Sometimes, all we have to do is ask; and 3) If you were put in a position to inspire, to help, and to make a difference, do it. 

 {Beryl} This whole experience is so enriching and humbling, this is a proof that kindness begets kindness. If you remember, Don shared an event for Baby Theo, the son of our teammate Matet who was premature and needed several operations, Don used AAU as a platform to gather help for Baby Theo. Now, Baby Theo is growing well and happy and Matet, to return the favor is the one behind the Pull for Don poster. I am just happy and I feel so lucky and blessed to have known and have the chance to work with people like them, like Mahal. So much talent, so much passion, and a big, big heart. I guess that is also what ultimate is all about, it is not just the intensity of the games but it is really the people, the people you meet that will inspire you and that will prove that life is good when you have them around. 

{June 3} What makes Pull for Don even sweeter is that Don shared the funds raised with some of the TP players – gotta love the ripple effect! More than being able to raise funds, I love how all these people worked in unity for a common goal. If we were able to do it this time for Don’s coverage of the Philippine contingent in WCBU, I’m sure we can definitely do it again whether for the same objective or for a new one. 

Thank you Jansie, Beryl and the rest of the Ultimate Community... I am forever Grateful of your generosity!

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