Location: Calgary, Alberta
In 2016, Erik Duque started Alay Sa Manggagawang Pilipino-Canada, a comedy tour for Filipino immigrants and temporary foreign workers, to bring joy to their lives while they are separated from their families in the Philippines. When this same community was confronted with one of the biggest COVID-19 outbreaks in Alberta, Erik stepped up to support those who had fallen sick or needed to self-isolate.
He reached out to the Alay Sa Manggagawang Pilipino-Canada group for donations to purchase and deliver groceries to those affected by the virus. Jocelyn Ruiz, a Cargill worker and representative of the Filipino community, provided a list of families and workers in need of support. Altogether, Erik and a group of volunteers delivered groceries, which included Filipino food staples and messages of support to over 200 households in High River.