Filipino seniors feted at SF community Christmas party

Philippine Consul General Neil Ferrer and Mrs. Miriam Ferrer join the lolas and lolos in the annual Christmas party for Filipino seniors at the Kalayaan Hall, Philippine Center in San Francisco on 2 December 2022. CONTRIBUTED

SAN FRANCISCO – A holiday staple returned to the Philippine Consulate General as it hosted the annual Christmas party for Filipino and Filipino American seniors on Dec. 2.

Co-hosted with the Pilipino Senior Resource Center (PSRC) and the Bay Area Ateneans, a group of alumni from the Ateneo de Manila University, the celebration feted more than 80 lolas and lolos from the PSRC and the Canon Kip Senior Center.

Philippine Consul General Neil Ferrer and Mrs. Miriam Ferrer led the Consulate in welcoming the Filipino elders to their “second home in the Bay Area.”

Ferrer thanked the PSRC for its service to the community, which was recognized recently by San Francisco’s Asian Pacific Islander (API) Legal Outreach through the conferment of the George Hirabayashi Community Impact Award. He also thanked the Bay Area Ateneans for “staying true” to the Ateneo maxim of being “man and woman for others.”

PSRC Executive Director Gabby Moraleda thanked the Consulate and the Bay Area Ateneans “for making our lolos and lolas feel that they are remembered and loved during this time of the year.”

The Bay Area Ateneans distributed gift cards at the event, and sponsored raffle prizes such as a rice cooker, air fryer and blender. The Department of Tourism Office in San Francisco, and the Farmers Insurance Group also donated prizes for the raffle.

The seniors spent the rest of the celebration enjoying the familiar joys of Filipino food, music and dance.