Updates: FANHS Pennsylvania / FANHS PA's 14th annual #FAHM party 31! Must read Filipino Executive Council of Greater Philadelphia (FECGP) President Roman Ventura's FAHM message

UPDATED 1 November 2021: FANHS PA's 14th Annual #FAHM program is a success! Many thanks to all who joined FANHS PA's virtual celebration of #FAHM2021. We're happy to see so many organizations represented: FANHS Hampton Roads@FANHShr (Virginia) and FANHS San Francisco Chapters / Philippine Folk Arts Society (PFASI); Asian Americans United - AAU in Philadelphia aaunited.org / Philippine Community of Southern New Jersey (PCSNJ) / St. Augustine Church, Philadelphia ... and more friends and family! Thank-you, all. While we didn't record the event, we have a pdf of slides with working links. Please just tweet @ForCommunities if you'd like a copy. Here's how our FANHS PA Filipino American History Month program flowed:

Let's all take FECGP President Roman Ventura's FAHM message to heart. Roman is the youngest ever FECGP President, a Drexel FISDU alum (yaay!!), and FANHS PA co-organizer. While he writes this for members of the 23 organizations of the Filipino Executive Council of Greater Phildelphia, his message of bayanihan is so relevant to all our communities. We thank-you, Roman.

Dear Community Members, Magandang gabi sa inyong lahat! Today was a beautiful fall day and a great time to begin Filipino American History Month. Why do we especially emphasize "History" rather than heritage as many other titular months are called? It is because we together are writing the history of our people, the Filipino people, our kapamilya. In a Filipino sociology course that I took in college, we discussed the Filipino value of bayanihan (the spirit of communal unity, belonging, and cooperation). It is key for us to work together to ensure that our community thrives as one, especially as the Filipino Americans gathered here in the Greater Philadelphia region. I am proud to be entrusted with your confidence to lead our community and the Filipino Executive Council with all of its member organizations as we forge ahead and pave the way for a bright tomorrow. Our differences only strengthen us as each organization pursues their own goals with the support of its peers. Regardless of any past differences or difficulties, we cannot let ourselves fall into a crab mentality now, lest we doom our organizations to grow old and outdated on islands isolated, worlds apart from one another. Why else would we be part of a larger community, the Filipino Executive Council? Growing up in California I always saw that the Mexican-American community celebrated Cesar Chavez one of the co-founders of the United Farm Workers in Delano, California. But did you know that Filipino manong Larry Itliong was the driver for that organization to exist? I like to think that it was his adherence to the bayanihan spirit that allowed him to see that the only path to success for the greater community was to unite both the Filipino and Mexican farm hands in order to achieve the goals to benefit the organization. In a similar vein, the Filipino Executive Council was enacted to allow the organizations here in the Delaware Valley to unite and gather support for one another. While we may have a shared heritage from a country of islands, it does not mean that we must stay on Islands in our adoptive home here in America. We can be proud of our respective regions and provinces, speak different Filipino languages, cook our special dishes that remind us of home, but at the end of the day we all are Filipino-Americans residing here together. One of the greatest directives of the FECGP is collaboration, and I take this as an opportunity to ensure we can establish a welcoming environment for new organizations join us in our mission the further advance the Filipino-American community here in Philadelphia and its surrounding counties. Only by working together can we improve and build upon that which our predecessors provided to us and that we can only hope we can leave better than we found it for our successors. As the sun sets on today, it is time to be an example. The time is now to make this happen. I hope that you all join me in resoundly committing ourselves to our community, collaboration, and the Council. Let us write our lasting story here, together. Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat! Mabuhay ang Pilipino Americans! Mabuhay ang FECGP! Happy Filipino American History Month, Roman Ventura FECGP President

#FANHS PA supports "Hope and Harmony," Philippine Folk Arts Society, Inc./PFASI's Rondalla Concert, 28 October, 7 pm EST

The Philippine Folk Arts Society, Inc. (PFASI), featuring the Philadelphia region's premier Philippine rondalla/string ensemble, invites you all to “Hope and Harmony,” PFASI’s 9th annual rondalla concert on October 28, 2021 at 7 pm EST. With “Hope and Harmony” as PFASI’s 2021 theme, one goal of the virtual rondalla concert is for everyone to find hope in uplifting music and the cultural strengths of gathering - even virtually - as a supportive community. For it’s this hope found in culture and community that sustains us amidst ongoing struggles for racial justice, the challenges of health care, rising militarization, and the need for creating harmony in our fragile global home. While the virtual concert is free to viewers, donations are encouraged and will support Pakiglambigit 2021 - the Public Service, Extension, and Covid Outreach Program of the University of the Philippines College of Social Work and Community Development. Register for PFASI’s virtual concert here: pfasirondallaconcert.eventbrite.com FANHS Pennsylvania Chapter (FANHS PA) and the Philippine Folk Arts Society, Inc. (PFASI) have supported each other's work throughout the years. We look forward to seeing you at Hope and Harmony on October 27. UPDATED 29 October 2021 Congratulations to President Dr. Aida Navidad Rivera and everyone at PFASI for another successful PFASI Rondalla Concert, your 9th! Special thanks for so much hard work by the awesome video production team that includes Vivian Oano Murray and Marife Domingo. The whole concert is on YouTube. To celebrate community spirit, this link goes directly to my favorite song, "One Love." With love @ForCommunities, ~Joanie (JoanMay Cordova)

Join FANHS Pennsylvania Chapter's (FANHSpa) 14th annual Filipino American History Month celebration, 31 October, 4-5 pm, EST

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Please join us on 31 October 2021 at 4pm EST. FANHS PA Chapter organizers are planning another fun party - our 14th annual #FilipinoAmericanHistoryMonth event - that will once again combine teaching/learning history with memorable performances in a total celebration of our communities. Previous FANHS events have drawn friends from diverse organizations in the Greater Philadelphia region including yours. (Search the archives on this blog for lots of photos and reports : ) Behind the scenes and on camera, you'll find: *Kim Barroso, FANHS PA President and choir director and liturgist at St. Augustine Church, Philadelphia - will be welcoming all. *Marife Domingo, a community leader/organizer with too many organizations to list ;) is organizing special performances you won't want to miss. *JoanMay Cordova, (aka Tita/Ate'/Auntie Joanie ) - who works @ForCommunities everywhere - will be moderating discussions of video clips that highlight #FAHM2021 activities from various FANHS chapters and other organizations. *Roman Ventura, FISDU alum and current - and youngest ever - President of the Filipino Executive Council of Greater Philadelphia (FECG) will be doing tech.

2015 Flashback: First White House #FilipinoAmericanHistoryMonth celebration, Washington, DC

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Google features link to #FilipinoAmericanHistoryMonth resources!

Many thanks to Google staff (Pin@ypower?!) for choosing to feature #FilipinoAmericanHistoryMonth on Google's homepage. Thanks to @FANHS_national Vice President @KevinNadal for pointing out this great news and sharing the photo and link.

If the link is no longer on Google's homepage, just copy/paste/click this link https://artsandculture.google.com/story/4wXB6NUFZ2t0cQ Here's a sample of the valuable information that you'll find re #FilipinoAmericanHistoryMonth #FAHM2021

#FAHM2021 #Google #FilipinoAmericanHistoryMonth #KevinNadal #DawnBohulanoMabalon

October is #FilipinoAmericanHistoryMonth! For #FAHM2021 activities, see @FANHS_national on all social media and this link http://tinyurl.com/FAHM2021

October is #FilipinoAmericanHistoryMonth! For #FAHM2021 activities, see @FANHS_national on all social media and this link http://tinyurl.com/FAHM2021 plus #FAHM hashtags on all platforms: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc.