About

ST. SCHOLASTICA’S COLLEGE ALUMNAE FOUNDATION, INC. (SSAFI) is a private, non-stock, non-profit organization of the alumnae of St. Scholastica’s College Manila, formed under the laws of the Philippines. Founded in 1925, it exists primarily to serve the alumnae and collaborates on projects and advocacies in promoting the school and its mission. All graduates of Basic Education (Pre-School, Elementary, High School), College, and Post Graduate units, as well as alumnae who have stayed for at least two (2) years in SSC Manila, are accepted as members of the foundation.

SSAFI began in 1925 as the St. Scholastica’s Alumnae Association (SSAA) with the strong bond between the alumnae organization and the school preserved in the reciprocal arrangement of a Sister acting as Moderator/Advisor in the Alumnae Board and the Alumnae President sitting in the school’s Board of Trustees. The SSAA’s main aim was to foster unity among its members while supporting the school’s policies. The “Sister Willibalda Fund” served the needs of older, retired nuns, acted as a calamity fund for nearby communities, as well as supported SSC scholars.

In 1976, the school’s scholarship fund, SSRDF (St. Scholastica’s Research & Development Fund), was established as an SSAA initiative by Tessie Romulo, Carina Mañalac, and Viging Gonzalez. The late ‘70s ushered in the thrust towards greater social responsibility. In 1983, St. Scholastica’s Alumnae Lifetime Team (SSALT) was established as an apostolate of service for the poor in neighboring Barangays 745 and 746 where 50% of the residents lived below the poverty line. SSALT’s initial projects consisted of livelihood, medical-dental and scholarship programs.

In 1989, Lenn Berroya proposed that the association be converted into a foundation that could issue official receipts for large donations. This ushered in a reformatted organization, more formal in rules and structure, that finally introduced the use of computers. Atty. Tarcisio Diño assisted in the conversion and found out that there was already a foundation incorporated on July 20, 1975 registered under the SEC with incorporators:  Rose Avanceña, Ileana Maramag, Carina Mañalac, Angelita Reyes, Tessie Romulo, and Sr. Theresita Villanueva, OSB. But this had not been followed up, so that in 1990-91, the conversion was considered an Amendment.

The Board Approval for SSAFI was on 11/13/1990 and the Ratification date by the alumnae was 12/11/1990. SEC approved the amendments of the Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws on 7/30/1991 (SEC Registration No. 64836) with the following Trustees on record:
(President) Ma. Concepcion Gamboa Puno
(Secretary) Teresita Carreon Mapua
Leonor Garcia Berroya
Carina Tancinco Mañalac
Teresita Romero Romulo
(Moderator) Sr. M. Placid Abejo, OSB

In 2019, an incident occurred at the February homecoming that birthed a movement called, “SSAFIX” (to Fix SSAFI). Alumnae-led, the protest was sparked by the raising of alumnae dues, without consultation of its members, to a rate double most of other private school alumni associations. The issue was exposed in social media that led to many alumnae here and abroad listening in and sharing their thoughts on the lack of transparency and inclusion in the SSAFI’s management. In the February 2020 elections, the number of alumnae voters doubled. Seven SSAFIX representatives, running on a campaign promise of T.E.A. = Transparency, Engagement of Alumnae, and Alignment with the School, were elected as Trustees, a minority out of 25 Trustees, but certainly a foot in the door. Due to the pandemic that followed in March 2020, no elections were held in 2021 which resulted in there being 17 out of 25 slots open for Trustees in the 2022 election. On Feb. 13, 2022, the 17-member SSAFIX slate, buoyed by a “Hit Refresh” campaign promising professionalism, inclusion, and future-readiness, were all elected to the Board, ushering in a reform-minded, ready-to-engage team. At that first-ever virtual election, amendments long overdue were also ratified by the alumnae as only the second set of Amendments since 1975.