This National Heroes’ Day, SM Supermalls salutes the ParaHERO tricycle and school bus drivers under SM’s Shop For Me program in the south metro area. Servicing residents in communities around SM City BF Paranaque, SM City Sucat, SM Center Las Pinas, SM City Bicutan, and SM Hypermarket Sucat-Lopez, these everyday heroes deliver everything from essential items such as groceries and medicines, food from our favorite restaurants, to appliances and furniture, so we can stay home and be safe during the pandemic.
Initially launched as a tricycle ride-hailing platform for residents in Paranaque’s villages and barangays, during the pandemic ParaHERO has pivoted to an innovative mobile shopping and delivery service called Shop For Me, in partnership with SM City BF Paranaque. More than that, the service has since grown to serve more shoppers, while providing a means of livelihood for tricycle and school bus drivers.
“We thank SM Supermalls for their trust in us and for joining us in helping out our displaced drivers in the community,” says ParaHERO president & CEO Nino Duque. “Through SM, we are in a unique position to help the drivers who are out of work and the public who wants to safely purchase their daily needs, and that is a responsibility we cannot ignore.”
ParaHERO driver Peter Bryan Tangalan sees this as an opportunity to help themselves and others, especially those who are unable to leave their homes, “I am able to earn enough money to feed my family, but most importantly, I am able to help and be of service to people”.
With reduced public transportation and most people on work-from-home arrangements, tricycle drivers Leutinie Aniversario and Joseph Malicdem are grateful for this opportunity to be able to earn for their families.
School bus drivers have also benefited from the program. As a single parent to two kids, school bus operator Catherine Lee Alcanzare recalls that “when the school issued the official announcement that it will only be conducting online schooling for the entire school year, I felt my heart drop. Being a school bus operator has been my source of livelihood for the past 15 years.” When ParaHERO started to service bulk and large-item purchases, she now has an opportunity to put her bus drivers behind the wheel again so they, too, can start earning an income.
With Shop For Me, customers can shop at SM from the comfort of their homes through an online form. ParaHERO connects this request to a driver to fulfill the shopping errand at the mall and deliver it straight to the customer’s door.
Shop For Me is one of SM’s programs aimed at providing convenience and safety for its customers, while supporting communities whose livelihoods and employment have been impacted by the pandemic.
