Meet Miss Texas America and Her Mom’s Tulong Foundation
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Averie Danielle Bishop, the reigning Miss Texas America, hosted and emceed "Catwalk for a Cause" at the Dallas Richardson Renaissance Hotel on Mother's Day as fundraiser for their mother-daughter Tulong Foundation (Photo by Jocelyn Alvarez Allgood)
The beauty pageant winner, along with her mother, Marevi, established “Tulong Foundation” in 2015, upon their return to the United States after visiting Marevi's village in South Cotabato on Mindanao.
“Averie and I were on a public transportation when we met a school counselor in our village,” Marevi said.
In that conversation, Marevi mentioned how lucky she was and her two children to live a “blessed life” in America. Even after so many years of leaving her homeland, she had not seen any improvement in living conditions. Marevi saw a lot of people struggling and recalled how she was once like them. The petite Filipina recounted that she, too, struggled as a young child in her village in San Jose. Marevi started working as a live-in nanny at 13 years old with a family who paid for her private education until she finished high school.
Left to right: Jil Lasaca, Yvonne Gochangco, Araceli Balais, Marevi Bishop (Averie’s mom) and Miss Texas- Averie Danielle Bishop (Photo by Jil Lasaca).
By serendipity, she married a Texan who brought her to the U.S. But despite having a “blessed life” and providing well for her children, Marevi never forgot her roots. It was then that the concept of Tulong Foundation was created with the mission “to provide education to the underprivileged children in the Philippines. Its slogan: “One student. One family. One village at a time.”
It is the mother and daughter’s hope that with their foundation, they can break the cycle of poverty, shape a better future for the Filipino children, create a peaceful community and build a better world.
“I don’t want any kid to go through what I had experienced,” Marevi said. “And since I’m now here in the U.S, I can share what I have.”
Upon returning to the U.S., Marevi posted their big dreams on Facebook where her Filipino friends in North Texas jumped in and helped to make it become a reality. They sponsored five high school kids in 2015, and the number has grown since then to 28 high school and eight college students.
Clockwise from the Center: The reigning Ms. Texas- Averie Danielle Bishop, Jil Lasaca, Yvonne Gochangco, Araceli Balais, Marevi Bishop (Photo by Jil Lasaca).
In a March 16 article in PeopleNewspapers.com, Averie said, “I grew up in poverty, experienced food insecurity and faced discrimination. My social platform aims to make every child feel at home and teaches them how to grow into their greatest potential, even through challenging adversities.”
In 2022, Jil Lasaca, former chairwoman of Philippine American Chamber of Commerce in North Texas, took the opportunity on her birthday to raise funds for Tulong Foundation in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) area. Their friends donated books and money. Tulong foundation sent more than 1,000 books to establish a bigger library in Marevi’s village. The elected officials in San Jose help run the library. The money sent by the Filipinos in the DFW area not only helped in building the library, officials also hired local folks in painting and decorating the building and bought chairs and tables for the children to enjoy reading and to discover the world at their fingertips.
The foundation has undertaken other projects like teaching the locals sustainable farming skills and providing clean water. It became well known so that Tulong Foundation was chosen to attend the Clinton Global Initiatives in 2017 and 2018.
Lasaca, along with Marevi and Averie make headway to extend the dream beyond the village in South Cotabato.
“This year, me and Averie and Marevi in partnership with Araceli Balais of Joyful Life Saladmaster and Yvonne Gochangco are partnering to build a second library in Leyte,” Lasaca said. “My life mission is to build libraries that will inspire young children to dream big dreams through reading books. There is a tremendous amount of joy when you use your time, resources and life to make an impact on others by empowering them with gift of creativity and critical thinking.”
Yvonne Gochangco, the reigning Mrs. Philippines International 2023, wants “to serve her community by using her voice and inspire the world to do good and serve as a powerful beacon of light leading humanity towards a better future.”
On Mother’s Day, May 8, the mother and daughter (Marevi and Averie) team launched a fundraiser for Tulong called “Catwalk for a Cause” at Renaissance Dallas Richardson Hotel. As the reigning Miss Texas America, Averie invited some of the current Ms. Texas beauty contestants who hoped to be the next Ms. Texas America in June 2023.
Jaci Finch, Miss Austin, walked the catwalk and delighted the audience. When asked why she did it, she responded, “I felt this is an opportunity to build the community using my talent. I am able to volunteer and meet different people.”
The “Santacruzan Beauties,” headed by Lasaca, also walked the runway and showcased their pretty faces and beautiful gowns.
Maricel Mijares, a registered nurse at Dallas Presbyterian Hospital, was just happy to volunteer her time.
“We want to share our wealth with our fellow countrymen especially in the kids’ education and make our country a better place.”
Judith Tan-Pascual, North Texas Asian American president, one of the ladies who showcased her Cinderella-like gown on the catwalk, remarked that “It’s a fantastic learning opportunity and a chance to learn more about the field and be able to work with like- minded people. Most importantly, it’s a way of giving back to the community especially to the ones who are truly in need,” she added, “And a great chance, as well, to make a difference in other people’s lives.”
left to right: Mae Mendoza Gorospe, Miss Texas America- Averie Danielle Bishop, Judith Tan-Pascual and Maricel Mijares
Lasaca recounted her student days at the Jesuit school of Xavier University in Cagayan De Oro where she said she was “fortunate to go to a school with an amazing library with wealth of books!”
“The library was a refuge for knowledge and creativity.” Lasaca recalled. “I was in Grade I when I became the president for book lovers group at Xavier University. The gift of reading is a gift from my parents who valued books as tool for discovery and exploration. My dad would bring old magazines and newspapers from his work and my mom would borrow books from her friends. That molded me and my sisters to become voracious readers.”
Perhaps the Filipinos in the DFW area are “the blessings” that the underprivileged children in the tiny villages in the Philippines are receiving. They want to help children find magic and dream the same dreams they once had. Who knows, a little girl may follow Averie’s’ footsteps and become Miss Texas, too.
Jocelyn Alvarez Allgood is a freelance writer from Sanger, TX. She is also a Clinical Research Project Manager at CHRISTUS Health and a stage actress in North Texas.
