December 2025, prototype schoolbags reach Sulu
Hernandez Library Launches Denim Donation Drive to Provide 1,300 Schoolbags for Sulu Students | MAKATI CITY, Philippines, October 25, 2026 — Old denim jeans are getting a second life as durable schoolbags for 1,300 elementary students in Sulu through a donation drive organized by the Hernandez Library in Makati City.
The initiative invites the public to donate old denim pants and materials that volunteers and partner sewists will transform into schoolbags for children in nine beneficiary schools in Sulu. The bags will be distributed free of charge to help support students’ access to essential school supplies.
Donations of denim clothing, buttons, school supplies, and child-size raincoats are also being accepted. Only denim clothing and materials can be used for the schoolbag project, while buttons and denim scraps will be repurposed into pencil cases.
Recycled Denim Becomes Practical Schoolbags
Hernandez Library founder Tina Hernandez developed and sewed the schoolbag prototypes from her wheelchair in December 2025.
The design features a compact denim backpack with a neon, silver-backed taffeta top, an umbrella-like material that helps improve visibility. A drawstring closure and reflective material are incorporated to make students more visible when walking along Sulu’s roads, particularly in areas with limited lighting.
More than 300 bags have already been completed by a workshop of women sewists from MIKA in San Pedro, Laguna. The bags are being produced at labor cost only to help ensure that the finished schoolbags can be distributed to students without charge.
The project combines recycling with educational support, turning discarded denim into useful school essentials while providing opportunities for local women sewists to contribute their skills to a community initiative.
Where to Donate Old Denim and School Supplies
The Hernandez Library and its partner organizations are accepting donations at the following locations:
The Hernandez Library
150 Amorsolo St., MG Building, Legaspi Village, Barangay San Lorenzo, Makati City
Monday to Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
UP Vanguard Secretariat Office
Department of Military Science and Tactics, Ylanan corner Magsaysay Streets, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City
Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
MIKA San Pedro Workshop
Beneath the Barangay Narra Basketball Court, San Pedro, Laguna
Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The partner drop-off locations accept denim clothing and materials for the schoolbag project. Buttons are also welcome for making pencil cases from denim scraps. The organizers are additionally seeking school supplies and child-size raincoats through the library’s donation drive.
Continuing Educational Support for Sulu Communities
The denim donation drive builds on the Hernandez Library’s ongoing efforts to support schools in Sulu, which began in December 2023 through partnerships with community organizations and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Delivery of 2171 kg of books and school supplies to Jolo Sulu via C-130 in January 2025.
In January 2025, a total of 2,171 kilograms of donated books and school supplies collected in Metro Manila were transported to schools in Sulu aboard a C-130 aircraft, with assistance from the Department of National Defense (DND) and the AFP.
In June 2025, the initiative also supported the construction and turnover of a new classroom and comfort room at Tuwak Primary School in Patikul, Sulu. Previously operating with only one classroom, the school received the additional facilities with support from Army engineers and local Civil-Military Operations units.
Through the denim donation drive, the Hernandez Library and its partners aim to extend this support by providing practical school essentials to young learners while promoting the reuse of materials that might otherwise go to waste.
The public is encouraged to donate old denim and other requested items to help complete the schoolbag project for the 1,300 elementary students across the nine beneficiary schools in Sulu.
