Long Branch businessman Jay Francis Llave is in the Philippines this week taking bags of rice and school supplies to hundreds of poor students, whose schools are twinned with ones in Etobicoke.

The gifts are from the Lakeshore Charitable Foundation, which has been operating since 2008, and was at one time twinned two with public schools in that country.

Llave, the owner of Lakeshore Accounting, at 3421 Lake Shore Blvd. W., helps raise funds which are donated by area residents to the schools in the form of supplies, books, equipment and renovations of the classrooms.

He left in late May on his most recent visit to take supplies for volunteers and students.

“This is an important visit since it we haven’t been there in two years due to COVID,” Llave said before flying out. “We have to let them know we are still a sponsor and that we are back.”

The Foundation is in the process of twinning with a larger second school in Mindanao with 2,800 students. They already help 700 students in their first school.

They group also help in obtaining volunteers to help renovate sections of the schools to make it safer for students.

“We have boots on the ground and will continue to help these students,” he says. “Donations of funds or school items are very much in demand.”

The foundation was founded by the late Long Branch accountant Phillip Barker who made dozens of trips to the Philippines taking school supplies for two schools, which was one of his passions.

Barker adopted Bay Bay School in 2005 and donated about $25,000 of his own money and raised about the same amount to make repairs to the school buildings and furnishings and to buy books and supplies.

“It’s incredible,” he once said.  “Last year I found out that some of these children had never had a cookie before in their life.”

Barker for years put together gift bags for the children and handed them out at a festive assembly dressed as Santa.

You can get in touch with Jay at 416-251-3474 if you can help financially or otherwise.