PASASALAMAT Event: Cebuana Lhuillier expresses gratitude to devoted customers for their decades of support and patronage

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Jewels from Cebuana Lhuillier are more than just pricey accessories for many of their pawning customers. These objects represented the products of their labor, family heirlooms, or priceless investments to many. They also serve as a fast fix, a chance for a better life, or a clean slate in times of need.

Cebuana Lhuillier has been familiar with these tales from its customers for more than 35 years when they enter during their moments of need. More than just offering high appraisal rates, they reassure their clients that their priceless possessions are being cared for properly and securely with the assistance of knowledgeable branch staff. Until the clients return to pick up their pawned pieces, this makes it easier for them to part with the jewels.

Knowing that the objects under their care are worth more than their weight in gold, Cebuana Lhuillier came up with a plan to help some of its most devoted customers find additional significance in the holiday season.

Salamat, Ka-Cebuana

As part of its CSR initiatives, the company has made it its annual tradition to give back to those in need during the Holidays. Usually, these gift-giving activities were held every 6^th of December in celebration of the Feast of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of pawnbrokers and the inspiration behind the legend of Santa Claus.

This year, Cebuana Lhuillier chose the best recipients—its valued clients, many of whom has stayed with the company for years, entrusting some of their most precious items in their times of need. The event, dubbed “Pasasalamat,” gathered more than 200 clients across eight regional locations nationwide in a simultaneous celebration of thanks and love from Cebuana Lhuillier. The gathering proved to be more than a celebration as attendees were feted to a day of fun and prizes, but the end of the program proved to be the most poignant of all when Cebuana Lhuillier, through its operations team, returned all the pawned items of its attendees as a special surprise.

Jean Henri Lhuillier, president and CEO, shared, “Pasasalamat 2022 is our way of giving thanks to our clients for the trust and partnership we have established in the last 35 years. We’ve known their stories—and were blessed to be with them as they chased their dreams and provided better lives for their loved ones. With “Pasasalamat,” we are returning this trust by gifting them with the items they pawned with us. We hope that through this small gesture, Cebuana Lhuillier is able to give further meaning to this season.”

A Season of Joy, Hope, and Giving Thanks

For many of the attendees of the Pasasalamat celebration, the unexpected blessings were more than expressions of gratitude coming from a long-time ally—it brought hope and joy as precious pieces, family heirlooms, and cherished investments find its way back to them.

For Grecilda Torres, a small business owner and client of Cebuana Lhuilier for 26 years, the unexpected return of her pawned items—all rings—brought to tears. “Nakaka-touch isipin na gumawa ng time si Cebuana Lhuillier na ipakita sa amin na importante kami. I am very much grateful and thankful na—yung 26 years naming magkasama, it keeps going lang. My business and the business of Cebuana Lhuillier, magkasama pa din kami. Nagka-doctor na akong anak, pero still, nandito pa din ako with Cebuana. And for that, I am very thankful,” she shares.

Meanwhile, Remigia Mejia, a 79-year-old cancer survivor and loyal client of Cebuana Lhuillier for 30 years, cannot believe that a pendant which her late husband gifted her before they were married has found its way back to her. She shares, “Hindi ko akalain na babalik yung mga alahas ko since pinag-iipunan ko din na matubos sila. Karamihan sa kanila, matatagal na sa akin, including yung pendant na bigay ng asawa ko and yung singsing ng anak ko which I gave her nung nag-debut siya. As much as possible, ayaw ko silang maremata kasi they are very valuable and sentimental pieces para sa akin. Kaya nagpapasalamat ako sa Cebuana Lhuillier for this event and for the many years na hindi nya din ako pinabayaan. Nagtra-trabaho pa lang ako, kasama ko na ang Cebuana Lhuillier and even till now, kami pa din ang magkasama.”

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For Ana Marie Mendoza Rapido, a teacher from Cavite and a Ka-Cebuana since 2012, Cebuana Lhuillier has been a trusted ally during times of emergencies. Through their jewelries, Ana Marie and her siblings were able to sustain the hospitalization and medication of their mother who have been in-and-out of hospitals in the last ten years. “Ang Cebuana po, trusted na namin at lagi naming taga-sagip sa oras ng kagipitan, lalo na nung panahon ng pandemic,” shared Ana Marie who was in tears when she opened the box and saw her pawned item inside.

Grecilda, Remigia, and Ana Marie were just three of the many devoted customers whose continuing confidence in and loyalty to Cebuana Lhuillier proved to be crucial in the business’s ability to maintain its position as the top pawnshop in the nation. With Pasasalamat, the long-standing financial institution was able to acknowledge and convey its gratitude to the numerous people whose continuing support has allowed it to flourish and continues to fuel its ambition to support millions of Filipinos on their quest for a better future.