When this contest started, not many expected it to make a significant impact. However, as word about contest starts to float around the blogosphere, emails and feedbacks from difefrent parts of the world have been very encouraging. In fact, some of the big-name bloggers wanted to join as sponsors in the next contest of this nature.

Even government executives took notice of our efforts to help promote child welfare policies in the Philippines. The awareness that was generated by our campaign compelled several agencies to mobilize their resources to address children's rights. It may not be enough, but it is a start.

This site would like to thank everyone who participated in this contest, specifically the sponsors, and also the contestants who join, not because of the prize, but to help make a difference in a child's life. Thanks you all.

Now, the much awaited winners of this contest are the following:

First Prize - Thoughts and Obsessions

Second Prize - Blog Contest for Pinay at Memory Filled

Third Prize - My Random thoughts

Consolation Prize

1. My Indulgence
2. I Luv Contest
3. Thera Concepts
4. My Kawaii Life
5. I Heart Contest
6. Webby Contest
7. ThemeLib Contest
8. Blogging from Scratch Contest
9. Erikson Home
10. Blogger's Book Club
11. My HideAway
12. Sisa Mausisa

Prizes will be delivered in 1-2 days. Thank you again and hope to see you in our next contest!

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On 10 November 2008, over 10,000 bloggers from around the world will unite to raise their voices on behalf of more than 40 million voiceless refugees. To ask the world to face the atrocities so many human beings must endure and to join hearts and minds to help bring forward information, understanding and action.

All readers are invited to join by telling their stories, sharing their thoughts and being a part of the global solution to a global problem. It is in the bloggers' power to bring people to act to make a change. The core cause of this event is information. Information leads to empowerment. Bloggers Unite enables ordinary folks to make an extraordinary impact.

Bloggers can actively help this cause by writing just a post that will raise awareness about refugees and Refugees United, a non-profit organization that helps refugees relocate family and friends through the use of the internet. It provides refugees with an anonymous forum to reconnect with missing family. By registering with nick- names, scars, former locations and other markers only identifiable to family and close friends, everyone can remain 'invisible' to all but relatives.

Any posts about this event can be useful in establishing a network among local non-government organizations (NGOs) to help refugees in their search for lost loved ones. The primary goal is to reunite children with parents, husbands with wives, and family members with friends.

Readers can learn more about this event at http://unite.blogcatalog.com. The site features action badges, source material for blog posts, and more information about these people who have no country to call home.

With the bloggers help, thousands of people will be encouraged to get involved and make Bloggers Unite For Refugees a success. It is one of those events that even if just one family is reunited, then it already made an immeasurable impact on the world.

Participate in this event and invite your fellow bloggers to post as well.

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Credit Line for Energy Efficiency and Climate Protection (CLEECP) to be implemented by the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) in a meeting on 21 October 2008 at the Malacañang Palace.

“It is a credit facility for those who have projects that protect the environment, provide energy efficiency, promote conservation, minimize the greenhouse effect,” Dureza told a news briefing.

He said the CLEECP would run from 2009 to 2012. A memo to the NEDA Board from the Investment Coordination Committee released by the Palace stated that German bank Kredintanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW) will provide PhP 1.377 billion that would be converted to Japanese yen and be released in two tranches. The LBP will provide the remaining PhP 344.29 million.

The CLEECP aims to lower annual carbon dioxide emissions to 24 million tons through energy efficiency measures and direct emissions reduction projects, the memo said.

The scope of the project will be nationwide, but 50 percent of the overall loan amount will be made available for the Visayas and Mindanao.

The KfW will also extend a grant of 500,000 euros for technical assistance to the LBP.

The CLEECP is expected to generate 722 jobs, the ICC said.

“The project may not have a significant impact in creating new jobs… the more significant impact of CLEECP is in terms of energy savings/energy efficiency and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions,” it said.

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The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) is offering pensioners with disability and those beyond retirement age an opportunity to avail of a pension loan using their eCard Plus at GSIS Wireless Automated Processing System (GW@PS) kiosk installed in all GSIS offices and selected government agencies.

Under the GSIS Pension Loan Program, pensioners may borrow up to six times the amount of their monthly pension. However, the total amount should not exceed PhP 100,000.00 at 8 percent annual interest rate.

The monthly amortization on the loan can be paid in 12 months or 24 months through automatic deduction from the regular monthly pension. After all payments are made the pensioners can avail of the loan again.

This is definitely good news to pensioners who are in dire need of funds to infuse into their retirement business ventures. With the economic slowdown both here and abroad, the funds can also be used to generate opportunities for senior citizens to pursue additional small-scale business endeavors.

To access the facility in any GW@PS kiosk, the pensioner must place the eCard Plus on the card reader and select 'pension loan' from the list of available loan programs under the loan menu. A tentative computation of the loan proceeds, together with the monthly amortization, will be displayed on the kiosk's touch screen. After agreeing to the loan computation, the pensioner must confirm the transaction by validating any of his or her fingerprints.

The pensioner can also access the facility by accomplishing the required application form and filing it in the servicing GSIS office.

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At present, the cost of operating a laundry business depends largely on the operational expenses like supplies, rent, utilities and wages. It involves a lot of balancing act of lowering the cost and increasing sales to keep the business afloat. However, with economic downturns and market uncertainties, laundry business is evolving into a dynamic opportunity while maintaining its high rate of success for today’s investors.

Despite the continued fluctuation and instability of the Philippine currency, there is one thing that remained certain: Everyone has to wash clothes! With companies downsizing and people looking to create new identities for themselves, the idea of opening or transforming a typical laundry business into a coin-operated one emerges as an enticing option.

The fact that old-school laundry owners viewed this as a passive business has allowed the new era of laundry owners to blow the top off and create a wonderful, thriving business that has not even come close to peaking. The opportunity is just waiting out there for someone to cash in.

Unlike the usual laundry businesses where workers sit and wait for someone to walk through the door, the coin-operated laundry business has become a 'go-get-you' business. Meaning that there is no shortage of people who wash clothes, because it is one of the basic necessities of life.

If a prospective entrepreneur wants to buy an existing ordinary laundry shop, there is a need to be realistic and willingness to look at the business as what it could potentially develop into, which, hopefully, is the perfect laundry in the buyer's own eyes.

There is always room for improvement when a new owner of a laundry business shop takes over. This is one of the reasons why buying an up-and-running laundry shops is a better opportunity compared to opening a new one. Every location out there, with very few exceptions, is not being operated at even close to 100 percent of its full potential, and that means there is still a lot of room to make a lot more money by turning it around and go on to have a financially rewarding experience.

Washing Machines

One of the first things to improve and purchase are washing machines. If the prospective entrepreneur wants the lowest price on machines, then he or she should expect minimal support. However, if the entrepreneur wants someone to watch his or her back and make sure that they are managing their business and keeping it on the right track, then they are not going to get the cheapest price.

Some of the possible sources of coin-operated washing machines aside from appliance centers are eBay.ph and sulit.com.ph. However, many distributors on these sites seem to only want to sell their machines which could cost at least PhP 100,000 each. Hence, it is important to do a little research so as not be oversold by anyone. The key here is trust! Do research and check the credentials of distributors and brokers before deciding who is the most qualified and who has the best reputation.

There are plenty of good people in the distribution business, but this is a manufacturer-driven industry. This is the reason why trusting a distributor with a lot of experience in the industry and a successful track record with its customers should be key to determining which is best.

Building a business takes time, and the distributor should help guide and not try to jam the buyer with new washers and dryers all at once.

Investment Cost

When large amount of money is involved, due diligence is required. For example, a prospective entrepreneur wants to buy an existing ordinary laundry shop for PhP 400,000.00 and the bank wants 30 percent as a down payment plus some outside collateral. If it is assumed further that the entrepreneur has the money to put as down payment and the equity to do the deal. There is still a need to be careful because there is much more involved with getting the deal done. There is a great potential of committing a mistake of not having enough capital and turning the business upside down.

The bank is only one part of the deal, and although that is a big part of making it happen, there is still a lot more money needed to pull the deal together before the business can be successful. Listed below are many of the different points that will require additional cash:

• A rent deposit, which may include up to three months worth in some cases.
• Utility deposits — in many cases, the price charge by both Meralco or Electric Cooperatives and Water District Offices will vary depending on the location.
• Coin changer, which may require somewhere between PhP 5,000 to PhP 10,000 per week.
• Soaps and supplies - This is required if the shop owner is planning to sell over-the-counter goods.
• Some cash set aside for marketing, and coming out of the box.<.li>
• Most laundries do not have security cameras, and it is highly recommend to get one.
• Legal fees, which depends on how complicated things get.
• There might be be some closing costs and/or bank fees, which will vary on each deal.
• Miscellaneous expenses, which can include mops, buckets, cleaning supplies, paint to spruce up the place, stereo or MP3 players, television, sofa sets and more. This normally range between PhP 30,000 to PhP 50,000 one-time investment cost.

Doing the math will give a prospective entrepreneur a clearer picture of how much money is still needed to buy an existing coin laundry business.

It is not advisable to make a deal if the prospective entrepreneur is not financially sound otherwise the dream of owning a coin laundry might turn out to be a financial nightmare.

Possible Income

With both the average family and business establishments washing between 15 to 25 kilos a week, it is easy to see just how much a coin-operated laundry business can gross in the same period. If the business is catering to about 50 customers a week at PhP 50 per 5 kilos (each machine can wash at most 5 kilos in one setting), the business can gross between PhP 7,500 and PhP 12,500 on washers and the same amount could also be generated if customers also use dryers.

This is excluding the possibility of a full-blown, over-the-counter vending and service program, and items such as food, bags, phone cards, Internet terminals and bulk sales products (such as big boxes of soap and large bottles of bleach). There are also drop-off service and commercial accounts to go after. All of this, in some cases, could mean an additional cash flow of up to 30 percent of the gross income.

An ordinary laundry shop may offer as low as PhP 25 per kilo, but the coin-operated laundry shops offer PhP 20 per kilo for both washing and drying plus the added feature that the customer is now assured that their clothes will not get lost. For the owner of a coin-operated laundry shop, saving can be generated terms of wages since the company can employ only 1 person to maintain the whole operation.

Known Issues

• Unlike the ordinary laundry shops, coin-operated laundry businesses requires larger space, at least 100 square meters.
• Only a few establishments in the Philippines are doing this kind of business and could mean not enough references can be made to develop a comparative business plan.

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