Once declared “Warwick’s youngest philanthropist,” Joey Alisch continues to give back.

Joey began his charitable journey in 2006 at the age of 9, inspired by a Disney Channel contest encouraging kids to volunteer. At first, he collected common toiletries like soap and toothpaste to donate to children in the Philippines where his mother, Alma, is from. While delivering the items, however, he learned his cousin’s school library on the island of Mindoro was completely empty. He immediately decided to continue collecting with a new item in mind: books. Thanks to Joey, more than 10,000 books were sent to the Philippines between 2008 and 2021, when he co-founded the Books for Pinoys Foundation with Alma to support the continuation of his efforts. (“Pinoy” is a colloquial word that refers to someone from the Philippines.)

Now age 26, Joey has set his sights on an even more ambitious goal: building a library from the ground up.

The library would be built on land inherited from Alma’s father in Tambis, Palompon, on the island of Leyte. Once the library is built, the family plans to donate it to the local government, making it a public library. Currently, Palompon has no public library, and Alma says that while certain private libraries have appeared in the past, they have been short-lived. Giving the municipality a public library will give residents access to a free source of literature for years to come.

Joey isn’t the first in the family line to dedicate himself to helping others. His mother says “it’s in the blood.” Alma, who left the Philippines in 1988 to study at the University of Rhode Island, says she became involved in community volunteer work as soon as she arrived. What’s more, she’s been working with the Philippines-based Fransiscan Apostolic Sisters since 1997, raising about $10,000 a year to fund a hospital, the Fr. Gerry Filippetto Memorial Foundation Hospital, in the islands’ Cagayan Valley. Her grandfather, Pedro Brocoy, fought alongside American troops during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in World War II, losing his foot in combat. Later, he became mayor of Palompon and donated an elementary school, Tambis Elementary, to the town. Alma’s inherited land sits directly beside the school, so students will have easy access to the planned library’s resources—a generation-spanning contribution to the people of Leyte.

To build the library, Books for Pinoys aims to raise $100,000 by November 11. They’ve raised about $20,000 so far. To raise the money, they’re selling raffle tickets with a grand prize of a brand-new Honda Civic or $25,000 in cash, in addition to three smaller cash prizes. Winners will be announced at a black-tie gala held on the 11th at the Renaissance Providence Downtown Hotel. The gala will offer dinner at $125 per person, and feature live music performed by Otan Vargas and the D’Amico Entertainment String Quartet, as well as a silent auction of art from Filipino artist Elito Circa, known for using his own blood as a pigment. Raffle participants need not be present at the gala to win. In addition to raising money, Books for Pinoys is accepting book donations to be placed on the shelves of the library once it’s built.

Books for Pinoys has always been a family affair. Until the foundation was formed in 2021, the book collection efforts were managed entirely by Joey, Alma, Joey’s brother, Billy, and their father, Steve. With their work so deeply rooted in family, however, life could get in the way. Steve suffered a heart attack the summer after Joey graduated from Bishop Hendricken, and Joey put his charitable operations on hold to care for him. “Life came to a halt for me and my family,” Joey says. Steve passed 19 months later, and after a few years, hard times returned with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the Philippines is “not as resource rich in medical supplies” as the United States, Joey says there were stricter regulations around entering the country, making it “difficult to make meaningful progress.” Books for Pinoys officially resumed operations—and officially became a foundation—when Joey began medical school at Brown University.

Now, as a full-time medical student, running the foundation isn’t always easy. “Admittedly, it has been difficult to balance,” says Joey, citing the long hours of studying and hospital work required for his medical degree. He says the support of his family and the rest of the Books for Pinoys team helps the foundation continue.

Books for Pinoys has a number of volunteers in various places across the globe, a detail which Joey says “makes every person important.” Some are based in the Philippines and facilitate communication with the islands. Two New York volunteers, Chris Lingad and Wilma Lopez-Lingad, serve a public affairs and secretarial role, respectively, but also provide outreach to their state. In fact, the foundation is raising funds in five states—Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. Alma has been working hard to make connections with Filipino organizations all over. She recently drove to an event held by the Ilocano-American Association in Long Island—during a tornado watch. “By the time I got there, [they were] so shocked that I showed up… Now they’re inviting me to meet more Filipino leaders in New York and New Jersey.”

Currently, Joey is working on his studies at Brown University. He hopes to become a doctor—the sixth in the family. Alma, whose father was a doctor and worked tirelessly to send all ten of his children to college, says she always hoped to be able to give back to her home country. As far back as the ‘80s, a URI application essay asked why she wanted to attend the school: “I said, ‘Whatever I learn in America, I want to bring it back to the Philippines.’” One marriage, two children, and one nonprofit later, she couldn’t have imagined how completely that dream would be realized.

Raffle tickets can be purchased during business hours at Pinoy Lane Food Mart on Quaker Lane, at Pinoy Republic & Sons in Worcester, Massachusetts, or over the phone by calling (401) 391-6710. They will also be sold at the Warwick Mall Community Booth outside JCPenney on September 16 and 23, when book donations will be accepted as well.