29Apr2024

Making a Difference ●Building Dreams ● Creating Impact ● Saving Lives

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INDIVIDUAL SPOTLIGHT
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Category: INDIVIDUAL SPOTLIGHT

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INDIVIDUAL SPOTLIGHT
April 24, 2023

Carlin Isles

There are many stories of successful orphans who became heroes in the sports and entertainment industry.  They made their history by remaining motivated and determined to achieve their life aspirations despite their humble upbringing and difficulties.  Carlin Isles is an example of an individual who struggled during childhood and became famous in sports by becoming the fastest man in Rugby.  As part of our coverage of individual spotlight of successful orphans, below is a snapshot of a person who made a massive impact. 

Carlin Isles was born in Massillon, Ohio, on November 21, 1989.   He spent most of his time in his early days since he rarely saw his biological mother when growing up.  Carlin Isles did everything possible to survive, even to the point of eating dog food.  At the age of 7, he was adopted by Starlett and Charles Isles, who treated him like their own and supported him with the stability and love he needed to excel in sports and academics.

While growing up, Carlin Isles ran track and played American football, holding multiple high school track and field records.  Next, he enrolled at Ashland University, where he became an All-American in the 60m dash and ran a personal best of 6.68 seconds, a school record. He also holds freshman class records in the 100m and 200m dash (indoor and outdoor).  Before taking up Rugby in 2012, Isles ranked as the 36th fastest sprinter in the United States with a 100-meter outdoor personal best of 10.13 seconds.

 Then, miles Craigwell encouraged him to start playing Rugby, another crossover athlete from American football who played for the United States national team. Isles played club rugby with the Gentlemen of Aspen RFC, based in Aspen, Colorado.

Isles first caught the attention of the rugby media in the summer of 2012 when Rugby Mag dubbed him “The Fastest Man in American Rugby, ” according to (celebsagewiki.com).   Isles played for the US national developmental team Atlantis in July 2012 at the Victoria 7s tournament.  He was a part of the Warriors 7’s side that won the Melrose Sevens in April 2014.  With over 100 tries, Isles ranks third for the United States in career tries scored.

 Carlin Isles’s determination and persistence made him a well-known Rugby player.  He ‘didn’t let his past upbringing affect him; instead, he followed his dreams of becoming the best athlete.    Charles Isles’s success today is partly because of the love and care of his adoptive parents, who paved the way for him to have a stable life and fueled him with the support structure.

The Mary K. Yap Foundation salutes all children raised in foster care.  Carlin Isles made the best of his journey by overcoming adversities, believing in himself, and working incredibly hard to surpass all expectations.

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INDIVIDUAL SPOTLIGHT
April 24, 2023

Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan was born in Hong Kong on April 7th, 1954, as Chan Kong-sang.  He was the only child of poverty-stricken parents  – refugees from the Chinese Civil War.

“Taking Full Charge of own circumstances.” 

The small family lived in the Victoria Peak district, a prestigious area in Hong Kong. But their lifestyle was far from privileged. First, they lived in the servant’s quarters while his father worked as a cook and his mother as a housekeeper for the French Ambassador. Then, when Jackie was seven years old, Jackie’s parents left to work at the American embassy in Australia to keep their jobs, leaving Jackie alone in Hong Kong to study.

Over ten years, Jackie learned martial arts, acrobatics, singing, and acting. Finally, at 17, Jackie Chan graduated and continued his trade as a movie extra and stuntman for various Chinese productions. Movie after movie, Jackie chased his dream of making it big.  Eventually, his efforts began to show promise. Jackie Chan’s first big success came in 1978 with Snake in Eagle’s Shadow, where he reportedly knocked out a tooth. It was followed by Drunken Master,  who almost went blind.

Since then, Jackie Chan has starred in a series of blockbusters that finally put him on the Hollywood A-list. From Rush Hour to Kung Fu Panda, his roles have continued to entertain audiences worldwide.  At home in Hong Kong, he continued making movies that he knew would delight his fans, his innovative filmmaking and marketing setting the stage for countless Chinese action-comedy films to follow. 

Although Jackie Chan never learned to thoroughly read or write, use a computer, or lose his fear of public speaking  –  he never stopped pushing his limits. As a result, he now speaks seven languages, contributes millions of dollars to philanthropic causes, and is a creative entrepreneur who desires to “do one good thing every day.”  Looking back on his harsh childhood training and countless movie failures, he doesn’t regret any of his hurdles, as one way or another, they all inspired him to think differently and work even more challenging.

Jackie Chan’s determination to be excellent, one of the Mary K. Yap Foundation’s core pillars, made him reach his ambitions, making him a successful actor, stuntman, and movie maker. He worked and strived hard to be a well-known artist up until this day. He didn’t let the past affect what He would become in the future, even though some people didn’t believe in Him.

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INDIVIDUAL SPOTLIGHT
April 21, 2023

Juan Karlos Labajo

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Juan Karlos Labajo, also known as “JK,” is a Filipino-German singer born on February 5, 2001, and raised in Consolacion, Cebu, the Philippines, by his mother, Malinda Labajo. His German father, Oliver Stolz, left the family after his birth. His mother married a second time, and he has two younger half-brothers from her second marriage. 

On November 17, 2013, he became an orphan after he lost his mother at the age of twelve, following which he was adopted by his uncle, Jovanni, and Grandmother, Linda, in Metro Manila. His family struggled financially for a long time, and he even had to scavenge junk for a living.

Juan Karlos Labajo, having a talent for singing, decided to join the season 1 blind audition for ABS-CBN’s ‘The Voice Kids.’ He charmed the coaches with his rendition of the Adam Sandler song, ‘Grow Old With You.’ Coaches Sarah Geronimo and Bamboo Mañalac wanted him on their teams, which allowed him to choose one, following which he picked Mañalac. His performance of ‘Sway’ during the live semi-finals at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World Manila placed him third after public voting, which advanced him to the four-person finals. In the finals, the coaches praised his performance of ‘Yesterday’ by The Beatles, ‘Runaway Baby’ by Bruno Mars, and the duet ‘Eto Na Naman’ with Gary Valenciano. Still, he again finished third in the voting.

 

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After the competition, JK was managed by Star Magic, ABS-CBN’s training and management center. From there started his career, and he was cast in different T.V. programs. He also appeared in the lead role in the Philippine drama anthology series ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya.’ His successful career continued as he was involved in different parts – supporting and leading the cast. 

In August 2015, he released his debut album ‘JK,’ which comprises eight tracks, including the song, ‘Di Ka Man Lang Nagpaalam,’ dedicated to his late mother. He also became a host of a music program, MYX. He later released his second album, ‘JKL,’ which consisted of eight tracks, including three of his compositions.

Even though his mother didn’t have the chance to support and witness JK gain over many years of hardships, he was still proud to become successful and even dedicated a song to his mother. He was the one who believed in himself when nobody was his support. He didn’t give up during his life as an orphan growing up without the support from his biological parent, but instead worked hard to follow and achieve his dreams with minimum help from his uncle and grandmother.

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INDIVIDUAL SPOTLIGHT
October 20, 2021

Women Rights’ Champion

“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.”

– Eleanor Roosevelt (The First Lady and an orphan)

 

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The longest serving First Lady in US history, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, was born on October 11, 1884. At the early age of 8, Eleanor Roosevelt lost her mother, Anna Hall Roosevelt, due to diphtheria in 1892, while her father, Elliott Roosevelt, died of alcoholism. 

Eleanor lived with her maternal grandmother, Mary Hall, who sent Eleanor to Allenwood School, a progressive girls’ boarding school in London, England, in 1899.  Ms. Marie Souvestre, Allenswood ‘s Director, recognized Eleanor’s keen intellect, improving her self-confidence. As a result, she became a well-liked leader at a young age among her classmates.

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Eleanor lived in the life of politics as her uncle, Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, the brother of her father, who assumed the 26th presidency (1901-1909) right after President McKinley was assassinated. She was then involved in different charity programs and contributed to volunteer settlement houses and social work, activities that reflected the service’s philosophy of the time spent at the Allenswood ‘Girl’s Boarding School, which molded Eleanor to appreciate and develop deeper insights into politics.  During this time, she fell in love with her fifth cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who later became the 32nd President for four terms from 1933 and 1945.

Eleanor Roosevelt is commonly appraised as one of the influential American women of the 20th century.  In addition to serving as the First Lady of the United States for 12 years, she was a newspaper columnist, author, diplomat, and a great contributor to the League of Women Voters.   President Truman appointed her as the delegate of the United Nations General Assembly. In 1946, she joined as a member of the Human Rights Division, further cementing her position as one of the inspirational voices in the modern world.

 

Our Foundation is pleased to recognize the incredible ‘life celebrations of Eleanor Roosevelt.  Although she became an orphan young, she championed noble causes that embodied gender equality movements to be accepted worldwide.  In acknowledgment of her invaluable workaround ‘for women’s and human rights, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by President Kennedy, among others.

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INDIVIDUAL SPOTLIGHT
March 12, 2020

Bridgit Claire’s Inspiration

Bridgit Claire Mendler was born December 18, 1992, in Washington, D.C.is, the daughter of Sandra Ford-Mendler and Charles Mendler. She is an American actress, singer, and songwriter.

In 2010, Mendler became ambassador to First Book, a campaign to encourage reading and give books to children in need where it became part of Disney’s Friends for Change, a pro-social “green” initiative of charity for environmental issues encouraging fans to act in the year 2011. She released a promotional single called “We Can Change the World” on June 11 as part of the campaign theme. It raised $250,000 for the Disney Worldwide Conversation Fund. 

In 2012 Mendler won the honorary award from Common Sense Media as Role Model of the Year for her work against bullying. Mendler was the third young artist to win the prize, which usually honors environmentalists and scholars. She also attended the annual UNICEF acoustic concert in New York to raise donations for charity in January 2013.

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During the course of her young professional life, Mendler participated in various public causes including the end for cyber-bullying, a charity race to help children with health problems in underprivileged countries and a Bay Sit-In project which asks for teens to help give parents a break and give babies a healthy start to their future. Mendler represented the Save the Children during the charity congress for the institution’s  annual Advocacy Summit in Washington, D.C.

Mendler said, “It’s an easy way for kids to help little ones everywhere get a healthy start and an opportunity to learn just by doing something they do most weekends anyway.”

The Save the Children’s president, Carolyn Miles thanked Mendler publicly for humanitarian work: “We are thrilled to have Bridgit on board. Her passion for helping children came through when she met with families and kids during her visits to the remote communities in the deserts of California and Guatemala’s western highlands”.

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INDIVIDUAL SPOTLIGHT
January 4, 2020

Life is tough without Hope

No other Hollywood celebrity has captured the hearts and affections like Marilyn Monroe has done for decades.  Her stardom and popularity continued to glow even after she died in 1962.  

In 1999, the American Film Institute listed 100 Years …. 100 Stars.  Monroe ranked as the sixth greatest female screen legend. Yet, her story is no other than before her.  Marilyn was an orphan.  Her mother, Gladys Baker, had paranoid schizophrenia throughout her life.  She was mentally unstable and financially unable to care for her daughter, so she placed Norma Jeane Mortenson (Marilyn Monroe’s birth name) with foster parents, whom she lived with until she was 7.

There are scores of Hollywood films, one after another, starring Marilyn that brought fame and attention to the screen.  Among all her releases, the most famous film was “Some Like it Hot,” in which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress Award category in 1960.  The film co-star Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and George Raft.  The comedy story was about two male musicians who witnessed a mob hit that led them to flee the state in an all-female band disguised as women, but further complications set in.

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Despite the many unfortunate events in Marilyn Monroe’s life ever since she was a little girl, from having an unable mother to marrying a couple of times to different men in her life, Monroe lived a beautiful life before her death on August 5, 1962. However, she didn’t let these unfortunate moments in her life stop her. Instead, she made it possible to be famous and well-known in her craft and delivered each film excellently.

 “Keep smiling because life is a beautiful thing, and there’s so much to smile about,” said Monroe.

Our board continues to provide hope and love to all underserved children in Myanmar, especially during this worldwide pandemic. Our goal remains to reach out to vulnerable children and integrate them well into their communities so that they can thrive, like how Marilyn Monroe was able to do when she was adopted into a foster care system at a young age. 

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INDIVIDUAL SPOTLIGHT
April 22, 2019

By Any Means Necessary

Malcolm X began his childhood with an unforgettable traumatic experience when his ministerial father, Earl Little, was brutally murdered by the Black Legion on September 28, 1931, known to many as a racist terrorist organization.  Malcolm was only six years old when he lost his father. However, the situation worsened for the fatherless Malcolm when his single mother, Louise Little, was diagnosed with a mental illness. The ailing mother of 7 children registered at the mental institution where she needed to stay for 26 years.  

The day-to-day survival was a massive struggle for the Little family to meet end needs.  Since no one was to look after them, Malcolm and his siblings lived in various foster families under the government assistance program.  Malcolm did not finish school in the seventh grade and was sent to a juvenile home in the nearly all-white community of Mason, Michigan.  A few years after living with foster parents, Ella Collins, Malcolm’s half-sister, gained custody of the 15-years old Malcolm and moved to Boston in 1941.

As a youngster growing up as an orphan under his half-sister’s care, Malcolm works on every possible opportunity that comes his way. As a result, there were several odd jobs on railroads, restaurants, bars, shoeshine stands, and jewelry stores.

He even ran with the courts, including breaking, entering, and possessing firearms. Yet, despite all these misguided fortunes in Malcolm’s life, he made the best of his jail time by reading and devouring books at the prison library. Malcolm’s desire to read and learn as much as possible during his time in jail was his way of making up for the education he missed when he dropped out of high school. 

Malcolm’s ability to inspire Nation of Islan (NOI) members and nonmembers earned him the first minister to various temples, including the highest appointment as the Chief Minister of Harlem’s Temple 7, appointed by Elijah Muhammad, the founder of NOI, in 1961. Malcolm believes in the empowerment of black people. He thought black people should create their power, structure, and wealth and dismissed the then-dominant integration and racial acceptance ideas.   Malcolm also believed strongly in the notion of self-defense as an alternative to nonviolent resistance.  He was extremely vocal on certain subjects that he held dearly. 

As we commemorate the auspices of International Orphan Day, the Foundation would like to pay tribute to Malcolm X.  He grew up as an orphan and later became one of the prolific civil leaders of our times.  Despite the distressed and turbulent environment endured by Malcolm X, he didn’t stop pursuing his agendas and sharing knowledge with everyone. He lived by his words and integrity, one of the three Mary K. Yap Foundation’s core pillars. He didn’t let complications stop him from accomplishing his personal goals and motives. With his courage and determination, he has achieved all these things.

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INDIVIDUAL SPOTLIGHT
February 24, 2018

Business Icon for the Ages

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 Our INDIVIDUAL SPOTLIGHT series writeup looks at one of the most admired business executives and what he stood for that contributed to this masterful achievement.  No one could have expected an orphan infant, Steve Paul Jobs, who was adopted as a baby, to spearhead and lead a company that sold to more than 1.65 billion customers worldwide.

When Steve Jobs was born in San Francisco on February 24th, 1955, he became an orphan at an infant age due to his biological parents’ grinding decisions. He was subsequently raised in a stable, lower-middle-class adoptive family in Cupertino, California, in what is now known as Silicon Valley. Steve grew up in a setting conducive to developing an interest in computers. His adoptive father, Paul, was a machinist whom Steve called “a genius with his hands.” Steve’s adoptive parents were warm and loving, making him feel special. They promised the birth mother to send Steve to college, where he dropped out after one year to pursue other life passions.

“There’s some notion that because I was abandoned, I worked very hard so I could do well and make my parents wish they had me back or some such nonsense, but that’s ridiculous,” he insisted. “Knowing I was adopted may have made me feel more independent, but I have never felt abandoned. I’ve always felt special. My parents made me feel special. They were my parents 1,000%,” a response Steve Jobs shared about his adoption.

Our Foundation continues to look forward to working with our worldwide partners, our ambassadors, and our troop of dedicated volunteers to bring the best in the empowerment of our orphaned children’s communities in Myanmar. We learned from Steve Job’s orphan childhood that children cannot stop enjoying regular and purposeful life.   Orphan children can be loved and emotionally supported during their early years of development, even if the upbringing must be under the guidance of adoptive parents. 

Our board will continue to provide hope and love to all underserved children in Myanmar. Our goal remains to reach vulnerable children and integrate them well into their communities.   Steve Jobs had shown that he, too, could live everyday life and be emotionally secure and confident of his abilities even when he was adopted.

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