Because of unforeseen circumstances beyond the organizers' control the winners of the 2nd Gig Book Storywriting Contest will be announced on 2011 November 30 instead of 2011 September 30.
The Gig Book Storywriting Contest is sponsored by Gig and the Amazing Sampaguita Foundation, Inc. (GASFI). It aims to identify ten winning seafarer children's stories every year. The winning stories are then published as fully illustrated full color children's storybooks, which become part of the Gig Seafarer Children's Stories series.
Gig Seafarer Children's Stories
The Gig Seafarer Children’s Stories series is published by Gig and the Amazing Sampaguita Foundation, Inc. (GASFI), a nonprofit organization founded and headed by Marissa Oca Robles.
GASFI is driven by Marissa’s three passions: honoring the memory and youthful spirit of her son Gig, promoting the reading habit among children and their parents, and serving the needs of Filipino seamen’s families.
The first has to do with turning the loss of a loved one into life-affirming action. When her son died in an accident, Marissa founded GASFI to celebrate his love for books, his tender affection for sampaguita flowers, and his frequent use of the word “amazing” to describe his life and almost everything in it.
The second is about kindling and sustaining a life-long love for reading among children and their families. “Twenty Minutes At Bedtime” is not only GASFI’s slogan, it is also the minimum amount of time, Marissa believes, that parents should set aside everyday to read with their children.
The third is Marissa’s special contribution to her family’s cause: the welfare of Filipino seamen. Her father Captain Gregorio S. Oca laid the cornerstone when he founded the Associated Marine Officers and Seamen’s Union of the Philippines (AMOSUP-PTGWO-ITF). Marissa builds upon it by running seamen’s villages, hospitals, schools, and libraries throughout the country.
When you read and share a book from the Gig Seafarer Children's Stories series, you join an ever-expanding circle that gathers round people and things that warm the cockles of our hearts: our children, books and reading, and the strength and resilience of families---especially where the father is mostly away at sea.
Contact us
Gig Book Storywriting Contest Email: gigbookcontest@gmail.com
Gig and the Amazing Sampaguita Foundation, Inc. (GASFI) Email: gigfoundation@gmail.com
