How her mother's death pushed Antonette Taus to put up her non-profit CORA

Antonette Taus has been making waves in the climate and environment circles with her non-profit organization CORA.

It stands for Communities Organized for Resource Allocation but in an episode of "Surprise Guest with Pia Archangel," the one-time showbiz personality said it is also the name of her mom.

You can surmise her mother is a big influence and inspiration in Antonette's pursuit of this unusual path she's on.

She tells the broadcaster how she decided to stay in the US after her mom's death. "She was getting treatment there and I decided to stay there after she passed away. In 2013, we received offers for a quick homecoming feature, for me and my brother," Antonette narrated.

During the homecoming trip, family and friends convinced her and her brother Tom to stay. "I was doing entertainment for a while, shows and a couple of movies but it was interesting because for the first time in a very, very long time, I had this need to be able to do something more," she continued.

While charity work isn't new for Antonette, "this felt different," she said.

She convinced some friends to join her in a monthly practice of giving back — initially a feeding program. But "within one year, it turned into everything it is today," Antonette said.

"When I look back at the reason why I wanted to do that, I really attribute it to the pain that I felt," she continued.

"[The pain] may not be the same for each person but the intensity can be just as grave. I started recognizing pain around me, kahit iba yung pinagdadaanan nila. It was almost like a form of me wanting to ease someone else's pain the way I had also hoped for someone to somehow be there for me," Antonette said.

According to Antonette, CORA is a volunteer group with the initial goal of helping ease the hunger of others. But then one thing led to another. "Nag-cascade yung information. For instance, we learned 1/3 of all the food produced in the world goes to waste. And 1/4 of that 1/3 can end world hunger! Hindi kulang ang mundo sa resources, bakit hindi nakakarating sa mga nangangailangan?" She said, adding food waste is actually the 3rd worst [carbon] emitter in the world, contributing to global warming and climate change.

From there, the questions she confronted grew. "What else can we do to help the environment? We learned about the ocean. Bukod sa hindi pagkakalat, pwede rin tayong tumulong sa paglinis, pagrecover. Namulat na rin kami sa pollution," she said.

At the moment, Cora also hosts coastal cleanups, supports women in various coastal communities who rehabilitate mangrove forests, and work with organizations like USAir and Greenpeace. — LA, GMA News