The Filipino Community Center, or "FilCom Center", in
Waipahu,
Leeward
Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...
Oahu; sits on a parcel of land gifted by the
AmFac
Amfac, Inc., formerly known as American Factors and originally H. Hackfeld and Company, was a land development company in Hawaii. Founded in 1849 as a retail and sugar business, it was considered one of the so-called Big Five companies in the T ...
Corporation. Its . structure provides some . of usable space.
It has three stories of rental space, offices for social, health care services, entrepreneurial,
business incubation
Business incubator is an organization that helps startup companies and individual entrepreneurs to develop their businesses by providing a fullscale range of services starting with management training and office space and ending with venture ca ...
, and technology center are housed with the FilCom Center. Intergenerational needs, services for the elderly, youth and family are its main focus.
The FilCom Center is the largest
Filipino community center outside the Philippines.
History
In 1991, the Filipino
Chamber of Commerce
A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...
of Hawaii initiated the FilCom Center during Anacleto Alcantara's term as president. The FilCom's first president and vice president were Roland Casamina and Eddie Flores Jr., respectively.
They were responsible for procuring donations to build the community center. Its executive committee consisted of community volunteers. In June 2002, the FilCom center was formally inaugurated.
In 2012, Rose Churma succeeded Geminiano “Toy” Arre as head of the FilCom Center. Under her term, activities and programs that promoted Filipino culture increased. She stepped down two years later, with Arre serving as interim president for a while.
In 2018, when the center was headed by Franz D. Juan, the FilCom center filed for bankruptcy. Later that year, a federal bankruptcy judge approved a business divorce between the FilCom Center and a prominent local catering company.
In 2022, Jeannie Lum was named executive director.
Services
As the largest Filipino community center outside the Philippines, it provides a range of social and educational services, including Ilokano language immersion courses, citizenship classes, cultural music concerts and more.
The center provides also free legal aid. It also hosts festivals, galas, and concerts. During the
COVID-19 pandemic, they provided vaccination and testing clinics.
Donors
The FilCom center is a tax-exempt,
non-profit organization that was built through donations. At the top of its donor list are Harry and Jeannette Weinberg, the City of Honolulu, the Department of Commerce, the State of Hawaii, and the VA Housing and Urban Development.
In 2015, former vice president Flores Jr. donated $15,000 to the Center.
See also
*
Little Manila
References
{{Reflist
External links
eFil: Filipino Digital Archives and History Center of Hawaii
Filipino-American history
Filipino-American culture in Hawaii