The I Want to Share (IWTS) foundation marked the Christmas season with its annual party at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), bringing together young cancer patients from the pediatric hematology oncology unit for an afternoon of food, gifts, and financial assistance for families navigating long-term treatment. For many of the children, who often spend months in and out of the hospital, the gathering offered a pause from the routines of chemotherapy and confinement. Each family received transportation support, with additional cash assistance for the children, part of the foundation’s continuing effort to ease the hidden costs of public hospital care.
Sheila Romero with cancer patient Glyzel San Pedro, 8, and the IWTS members
Founded by entrepreneur Sheila Romero, also its president, I Want to Share has focused its work on children with cancer, particularly those treated at PGH, where limited funding often leaves critical gaps in care. Proceeds from the foundation’s annual gala have gone directly into patient support and hospital infrastructure, including consultations, second opinions, medicines, and treatments not readily available within the public system. Among the largest projects now underway is the construction of a bone marrow transplant wing, expected to be completed within four months. A leukemia ward, part of the hospital’s Cancer Institute, is scheduled to open in January. Though modest in size, with three beds, the foundation hopes future expansions will depend only on the space PGH is able to allocate.
IWTS helped to spruce up the a ward for children with infectious diseases at PGH.
Other views of the renovated ward
Aside from treatment facilities, the foundation has also focused on the emotional and psychological environment of care. In 2024, I Want to Share turned over a newly redesigned pediatric infectious ward at PGH, transforming what had been a dim and gloomy space into a happier unit filled with light, color, and hanging cloud installations. The redesign was led by an artist known for creating trompe l’oeil murals for Starbucks locations. The walls were repainted to create a more uplifting atmosphere for children staying in the ward, often for a week or more while preparing for surgery.
Another cornerstone of the foundation’s work has been early detection. Last November, I Want to Share began training barangay health workers, doctors, and nurses in Bacoor, Cavite, and Santa Rosa, Laguna for its Childhood Cancer Helpline initiative. The program uses a manual adapted from the Pan American Health Organization, translated into Tagalog, to guide frontline health workers through initial, face-to-face screening procedures. While medical terminology remains technical, the process aims to help identify warning signs earlier, when survival rates are higher and the risk of treatment abandonment is lower. Additional partnerships with local government units are planned to roll out in January, following a period of evaluation and refinement.
At the heart of the foundation’s fundraising efforts is the biennial I Want to Share Gala, which has become both a financial engine and a symbolic centerpiece of its mission
At the heart of the foundation’s fundraising efforts is the biennial I Want to Share Gala, which has become both a financial engine and a symbolic centerpiece of its mission. A highlight is a fashion show featuring children—the cancer patients. Typically involving about 25 participants, the segment allows the children to dress up, walk the runway, and experience an evening designed around celebration rather than illness. Designer Lulu Tan-Gan has already committed to support the 2027 gala, as the foundation looks ahead to its next cycle of projects.
Yiouri Augousti (back), Lulu Tan Gan, Ria Augousti
This year, the foundation also received contributions from Yiouri and Ria Augousti, founders of the Paris-based design house R & Y Augousti, known for their work with traditional artisans and handcrafted furniture. Yiouri donated care packs for the Christmas party, while Ria personally crocheted 55 beanies for children in the hospital’s wards, many undergoing chemotherapy.
Ria Augousti’s beanies for cancer patients
She revived a skill long dormant in conversations with her sister, who had knitted years earlier. What started as a hobby became a regular practice, oriented toward comfort. Her work expanded from neck warmers to beanies, using local cotton. Plans are afoot to make this project an annual initiative for children with cancer. She describes the act of making as meditative, and hopes in the coming years to involve more women’s groups in similar efforts. She sees the craft not as a commercial venture, but as her way of giving back
Magic show with the kids
The foundation is preparing for strategic planning in January to determine how proceeds from its recent galas will be allocated, with a continued focus on supporting PGH, which remains chronically underfunded. Alongside the gala, I Want to Share will stage its second fun run, to be held on Ayala Avenue during Carless Sunday in the summer, aimed at engaging younger participants in cancer awareness and blood donation advocacy. Romero’s daughter, Milka, has joined the board of directors to help involve a new generation in organizing events and sustaining the foundation’s work. For Romero and the foundation’s collaborators, the goal is continuity, ensuring that the support offered to young cancer patients today will endure well into the future.
Care packs from Yiouri Augousti
Rosita Moreña and Princess Ann, who has glioblastoma (GBM), a very aggressive, fast-growing brain cancer
