Ruffa Gutierrez donates to UNICEF

Ruffa Gutierrez

A heart of gold and compassion for the needy. That's Ruffa Gutierrez, the celebrity beauty queen-actress who turned over about 1.7 million pesos to charitable groups after the huge success of her RRRampa for a Cause.

The bazaar and fashion show was held last September by Ruffa, together with her brothers Richard and Raymond, and their celebrity friends who helped out in the event.

"Last year, we made P1 million which we gave to Unicef and the Philippine Red Cross. So, this year we decided to hati-hatiin yung mga naipon namin, yung na-i-raise naming funds. Make-A-Wish Foundation was P200,000. World Vision was P700,000. UNICEF, P500,000. And then, Asilo de Milagrosa in Cebu is P100,000," Ruffa detailed.

Ruffa said their contribution to Make-A-Wish Foundation of P200,000 will help around 15 to 20 children in their wish-granting programs.

At the UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) headquarters, Ruffa was joined by her brother Richard to donate a check of P 500,000.

Both groups thanked Ruffa and her family for the generous gifts. She replied, "As for me, I believe that me, my brothers, Richard and Raymond and our family, we're just instruments of God. And I don't think that we should be glorified. We're being used as a tool to help others because I wanna use my being a celebrity, especially this year, to help others because God gave me a second chance to make a comeback for a reason. I just wanna enjoy my fame, and I wanna enjoy it in a good way."

"Parang advanced birthday celebration 'to sa UNICEF. I'm just so happy, I'm just so blessed na yun, kasama ko yung family ko dito ngayon. At siyempre, gusto ko pasalamatan lahat ng mga artista from both networks na sumuporta sa event namin to make this all possible. Maraming salamat sa lahat ng kapwa artista. Sana patuloy ang pag-unite natin para makatulong," Richard excitedly said.

"It's really great to be reaching out, to be helping out and to be part of this event," the star of Kamandag said. "I feel so blessed with my family that we were able to raise a lot of funds to help our children. But we are all just instruments of God for this event. He was the One who made this possible. He was the One who gave us inspiration."

"My family, my friends. And here, the people at Unicef. So, I'm very happy. This year, I just wanna continue working hard and give it back. I wanna organize an event this year with the family. Definitely, we're gonna make it happen again," Richard said.