Filipinos in Edmonton trying to raise $3M for a community center

A recent fundraiser for a planned Filipino community center in Edmonton, held at the Corpus Christie Hall in South Edmonton. SCREENGRAB/Global News

EDMONTON, Alberta – Filipinos in this Canadian city packed a recent event at the Corpus Christi Hall in south Edmonton to raise funds for their planned Edmonton Philippine International Centre (EPIC).

Currently, Filipinos who go to five, six events in a year have to go to different places in the city to attend. The community center would provide a fixed venue for such events.

“We are the third-largest minority group in Canada — there is about 75,000 just in Edmonton alone — and so we want a place to gather and uphold our culture and share our culture with the rest of the Edmonton community,” EPIC president Ida Lucila was quoted by Global News Canada.

EPIC is trying to raise $150,000 in one year and then $2 to $3 million in five years, although no specific location has been chosen.