Make a Difference

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Since our founding, Little Manila Rising (LMR) has been a champion for Social Justice & Cultural History.

  • 2002 - The Little Manila Foundation successfully urges the City of Stockton to designate the Little Manila area as an historic site.

    2003 - The City of Stockton designates the Gleason Park Commercial Area (an 8 square block area) a redevelopment zone. Little Manila Historic Site (LMHS) is one of the blocks.

    2003 - LMHS is designated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as One of the Eleven Most Endangered Historic Sites in America. The situation of LMHS becomes national and international news.

    2003 - The Little Manila Foundation (LMF) rallies the community together to put together their own redevelopment proposal with smart growth principals, respect for property owners, and preserves the LMHS to counter the proposed strip mall development.

    2003 - Bowing to community, national, and international pressure, the City of Stockton ceases development of the Gleason Park Commercial Area.

    2004 - LMF begins Fight the Blight, a community clean-up campaign, in the Little Manila area.

    2006 - LMF makes a music video with director Patricio Ginelsa and the Grammy Award winning group, the Black Eyed Peas for their song "Bebot" which is set in Little Manila.

    2007 - The California Preservation Foundation presents LMF their President's Award.

    2008 - Dr. Dawn Mabalon, Rico Reyes, the Filipino American National Historic Society Stockton Chapter, and LMF publish the book "Filipinos in Stockton."

    2008 - Stockton's Cultural Heritage Board presents LMF with the Charles Weber Award for our efforts in historic preservation.

    2008 - LMF brings the Obie Award winning off-Broadway play "The Romance of Magno Rubio" (based on Carlos Bulosan's short story) to Stockton's Bob Hope Theatre.

    2009 - The Little Manila After School Program begins at Edison High School teaching Filipino American history.

    2010 - LMF creates a mini-museum at Taylor School to teach Taylor and Marshall School students about Filipino American history.

    2010 - Filipino television network, ABS-CBN presents LMF with their Geny Lopez Jr. Pilipino Heroes Award.

    2013 - Dr. Dawn Mabalon releases her book "Little Manila Is In the Heart."

    2014 - The Little Manila Dance Collective is created to revive Filipino traditional dance in Stockton.

    2015 - The Little Manila Center is opened. The center is comprised of the Antonio Somera Gallery and the Larry Itliong Justice & Equity Room.

But did you know LMR is now also a leading voice for Environmental Justice and Health Equity?

  • DAWN: The Decreasing Asthma Within Neighborhoods (DAWN) program carries Dr. Mabalon’s name and continues her work toward community advancement. The DAWN team takes steps to provide asthma mitigation services in people’s homes and supports residents with social justice engagement and advocacy.

    ECHO: The Equity for COVID and Health Outcomes (ECHO) team serves primarily as a COVID-19 response unit, increasing vaccine and testing sites, providing health education, and fostering partner-building.

    Healing PUSO: Through Healing Pilipinx Uplifting Self & Others (Healing PUSO), we work to build a world in which the systemic barriers to mental health for our community are dismantled and people have the knowledge and agency to normalize and prioritize their mental health needs.

    Skywatch: We provide air quality sensors to Citizen Scientists who will have them installed on business and/or personal property. The goal is to create a larger map of sensors in San Joaquin County to better understand pollution patterns and the impacts on public health.

    Urban Forestry: As a part of the Transformative Climate Communities (TCC), we train South Stockton community members and provide them with pathways to urban greening and conservation careers, offering mentorship and curricula, experience in the field, and pipelines that connect our Urban Greening Team with prospective employers.

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Make a tax-deductible donation of any amount to Little Manila Rising today.

Thank you!