Since its launch, CitySavings’ Project #BetterMe has benefitted 2,000 public educators from 200 schools in
various DepEd divisions nationwide. It also highlights this year’s World Mental Health Day theme, “Mental
Health Care for All: Let’s Make it a Reality”.
Driven by its core values of Integrity, Magis, and Ubuntu, City Savings Bank, Inc. (CitySavings) is
committed to developing corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives that address the needs of Filipino
educators.
One of these is Project #BetterMe: Mental Wellness Program for Teachers that the Bank started in 2020 in
response to the Department of Education’s (DepEd) call for more inclusive and wider access to mental
health services and programs.
Project #BetterMe is designed to raise awareness of the importance of mental health by promoting good
mental health practices, encouraging healthy and supportive relationships, correcting the stigma, and
creating a positive and accessible working environment. CitySavings partnered with MentaHealthPH, a
volunteer organization of professionals from various fields who seek to champion and build mentally
healthier communities throughout the country, and with AKVO Applied Psychology Center, a clinic based
in Cebu that has been conducting online counseling and therapy sessions for clients from all across the
globe.
Professional psychologists and psychiatrists serve as the program’s resource specialists who help educators
learn about and understand self-care and, in the process, also take better care of their learners.
Relevant discussions also include strategies in dealing with common stress and conflict at home and work as
well as practical ways to improve one’s mental wellness to develop resilience and positive connections.
Understanding the impact of good mental health practices is critical to creating and sustaining a safe learning
environment and, most especially, in delivering quality education in these challenging times.
Sharon Eviota Gloria, Teacher III from Tagana-an National High School in Surigao del Norte, appreciates
the opportunity to join one of the Project #BetterMe webinars. “Special thanks to CitySavings for your
generosity in facilitating this webinar to teachers in this trying time. It is really a big help to us. Thank you
so much. God bless you!” she shared.
“This is a great initiative from stakeholders like CitySavings that is beneficial for teachers as frontliners,”
added Maria Doris Borja, Teacher III from Porfirio R. Ponayo High School in Camarines Norte.
Informative, inspiring, and timely are words that most, if not all, of the beneficiaries used to describe the
webinars. Since its launch, Project #BetterMe has benefitted 2,000 public educators from 200 schools in
various DepEd divisions nationwide. CitySavings looks forward to reaching out to more DepEd personnel as
City Savings Bank Deposits are insured by PDIC up to P500,000 per depositor
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it continues various online webinars in support of the National Mental Health Month celebration last
October.
