Excitement and gratitude filled the air as Long Beach’s Filipino Migrant Center, a nonprofit that supports local Filipino and immigrant communities, celebrated 15 years of service this weekend.
Hundreds attended the anniversary gala on Saturday, Oct. 25, at the Centre at Sycamore Plaza in Lakewood to celebrate the nonprofit’s milestone as it continues expanding services and programs, leading worker campaign victories, and opening the doors to their community center in West Long Beach for more community programming, organizers said.
This year’s theme for the event was “Magkaisa at Lumaban: Rooted in Justice, Rising for Change.” Attendees enjoyed a delicious meal, shared stories and listened to music.
“I think considering everything that has happened, and even just in this year alone, we are excited and looking forward to having the community come together,” Romeo Hebron, executive director of the Filipino Migrant Center, said in an interview ahead of the event.
“I think the community really needs each other right now,” he added. “That’s why this celebration isn’t just for us as an organization, but it’s really for the people in the community who also need spaces to laugh, to eat together, to dance and it’s just needed right now.”
Attendees converse and dine as they listen to various speakers and performers during the Filipino Migrant Center’s 15th Anniversary Gala in Lakewood on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Roger Rigor, a former member of the Filipino disco band VST & Company, performs a song during the Filipino Migrant Center’s 15th Anniversary Gala in Lakewood on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Joseph Navales, director of the civils rights advocacy group Asian Americans Advancing Southern California, gets his photo taken as he receives a service award from the Filipino Migrant Center during their 15th Anniversary Gala in Lakewood on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Joselle De Los Reyes, direct services coordinator for the Filipino Migrant Center, gives a speech during the Center’s 15th Anniversary Gala in Lakewood on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
A woman receives a yellow flower as a gift for telling her story as an immigrant during the Filipino Migrant Center’s 15th Anniversary Gala in Lakewood on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Joseph Navales, director of the civils rights advocacy group Asian Americans Advancing Southern California, speaks to attendees as he receives a service award from the Filipino Migrant Center during their 15th Anniversary Gala in Lakewood on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Attendees holding yellow flowers take a group photo together during the Filipino Migrant Center’s 15th Anniversary Gala in Lakewood on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Roger Rigor, a former member of the Filipino disco band VST & Company, performs a song during the Filipino Migrant Center’s 15th Anniversary Gala in Lakewood on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
A man holds a yellow flower, given to various attendees who had shared their immigration stories, during the Filipino Migrant Center’s 15th Anniversary Gala in Lakewood on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Attendees listen to speakers during the Filipino Migrant Center’s 15th Anniversary Gala in Lakewood on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Rows of displays on a table showcase the various stories of workers, volunteers and those who used the services of the Filipino Migrant Center during the Center’s 15th Anniversary Gala in Lakewood on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Jerwin Nolasco leads a group of Filipino Migrant Center workers as they sing and dance for attendees during the Center’s 15th Anniversary Gala in Lakewood on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
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Attendees converse and dine as they listen to various speakers and performers during the Filipino Migrant Center’s 15th Anniversary Gala in Lakewood on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Founded in 2010, the Filipino Migrant Center has been dedicated to addressing the needs of Filipinos in Long Beach and South Bay cities, and has since expanded to serve throughout the region, according to its website. The Filipino immigrant-led organization aims to educate, organize and mobilize low-income, working-class Filipino families.
The organization believes that people who are most affected and impacted by social injustices should lead in developing long-term strategies to change systems of inequality, according to its website. Through programs and services, the Filipino Migrant Center supports the leadership and empowerment of low-income youth, low-wage workers, immigrant women and families so they can effectively engage in improving the conditions of their health, schools, workplaces, neighborhoods and environment.
In recent years, the nonprofit has learned to adapt to the current needs of the community, Hebron said.
The Filipino Migrant Center has been active in campaigns to defend migrants, end wage theft, stop anti-Asian hate, and protect immigrant and workers’ rights. With the help of the community and the nonprofit’s rapid response efforts, it was able to support victims of the LA wildfires through their emergency services fund and community-driven donation drives, according to its website.
This event was the first gala since 2019 that the nonprofit has hosted, Hebron said. In 2020, the group celebrated its 10th anniversary with a virtual gala because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the years following, the format changed to outdoor community events, such as block parties and resource fairs, as well as an adobo cook-off fundraiser.
Regardless of the formant, the feedback the Filipino Migrant Center hears is that anniversary events feel like “one big Filipino family party,” which is how it felt on Saturday, organizers said. More than 450 people were in attendance.
“I’m excited and thankful that we’ve been able to get to this point,” Hebron said. “I know that the last four or five years have been very challenging for many people, including nonprofit organizations, but for us to also be able to thrive, I think, speaks to the power of community and the organizing that we do on the ground. It really shows in the hundreds of people who will be coming out to support us and celebrate with us.”
The gala featured an awards ceremony recognizing community members and foundations who have supported the Filipino Migrant Center’s work and the Filipino community. There were also youth performances and a highly anticipated performance by Roger Rigot of VST & Company – a well-known band from the 1970s whose music remains popular among Filipinos.
All funds raised will go toward the nonprofit’s services and programs – such as youth and senior programs – as the organization continues growing its capacity to serve the Filipino community across the region, organizers said. Some of the money will also help fund the emergency services fund, which will go directly back into the hands of community members who have lost work or are losing income because of the ongoing federal immigration enforcement.
If people were not able to attend this year’s anniversary celebration, Hebron said, other ways to support the nonprofit are by making a donation to tinyurl.com/supportfmc or by volunteering and/or attending different community events hosted by the nonprofit.
Looking forward, the Filipino Migrant Center wants to continue expanding its reach.
“Even though we do serve all of Southern California, our base is really in Long Beach and the South Bay,” Hebron said, “but we want to be able to open more offices, more community centers in different parts of SoCal and really become even more known in the community as a trusted organization.”