IDLA:  A Night Celebrating Asian American & Pacific Islander Women

 

On Saturday, May 11^th, the City of LA brought its AAPI community together to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month at IDENTITY LA, a concert event hosted by Pacific Bridge Arts Foundation.

We are truly pleased and humbled to be honored at this special event. Click here for the recap.

 

Nadya Okamoto and CPAF’s Board of Directors President, Roselma Samala (3^rd from right), accepting the awards.

This recognition is another example of the great support that our AAPI community has given throughout the years. We are very fortunate to be affiliated with Pacific Bridge Arts Foundation.

We thank them for providing an amazing platform for the AAPI arts & culture community. And congrats to fellow honorees, Awkwafina and Nadya Okamoto!

 

Photo credit: Jon Endow Photography

 

Close to 75 friends and families gathered to celebrate Mother’s Day and the memory of Woo Yeun Tsing, mother of Grace Whitcomb and Hedy Tsung. It was a joyous occasion as Pastor Ed Robinson provided inspirational remarks, CPAF Executive Director Debra Suh spoke about CPAF, and Grace shared fond memories of her mother. Grace is a former CPAF board member whose desire was to honor the memory of her mother by hosting this beautiful memorial brunch fundraiser for CPAF.

 

Grace Whitcomb (left) and Hedy Tsung [Photo credit: David Ng]

Thank you to Grace, Hedy, Dorothy Wong, Maria Avola (volunteer), and CPAF advisory board members: Yvonne Chang, Yasuko Sakamoto, Naomi Uyeda, Gayle Wong, Yvonne Nishio Wong, and Wesley Tanaka for raising over $8,000 for CPAF.

 

 

And thank you to all who supported and donated to our Mother’s Day Campaign, honoring moms everywhere!

Thank you to our volunteers, supporters and sponsors who have contributed to bringing hope this holiday season for the families served by CPAF. With your support, we hosted holiday celebrations for residents and graduates of our emergency and transitional shelter families.

Many thanks to our holiday event volunteers and sponsors who volunteered their time, raised funds and conducted donation drives to sponsor holiday activities, gifts and toys for families – including:

• Blue Shield of California Asian Pacific Employee Network (APEN)
• CPAF Advisory Board members
• Bread of Life Christian Children’s Center
• Hands of Hope Jewelry
• St. Mark’s Church
• West LA United Methodist Church Women’s Group
• APA@NBCUniversal
• Bank of America and NAAAP-OC hosted and organized gift wrapping parties
• Family and Friends of CPAF staff and former staff (“Stocking Stuffers”)
• Family and Friends of CPAF’s 2018 Champion for Change Honoree Debra Nakatomi and Nakatomi & Associates (N&A)
• A CPAF team member’s daughter collected donations for holiday gifts as part of her Bat Mitzvah

We are filled with gratitude – thank you! It means so much to the families we serve to know that community members are thinking of them and wishing them well during the holiday season.

During this holiday season, we at CPAF would like to send our friends and supporters a gentle reminder that the holidays can represent a difficult and vulnerable time for survivors. Let’s try to remember to be compassionate and empathetic when sharing the holiday cheer.

Many survivors associate the holidays with increased stress levels and negative memories. This time of the year can be an emotionally taxing and painful time when survivors visit and spend time with family and friends. Some family members might ask “Where is your partner? How is your spouse doing?” — not aware that the survivor is attempting to flee an abusive relationship.

For undocumented, immigrant, or refugee survivors, the holiday emphasis on family togetherness often magnifies the absence of close family and loved ones. It reminds them of their lack of freedom and inability to travel home for the holidays.

In solidarity with survivors, be mindful and make your holidays wishes/messages informed, understanding, and kind.

Below is a short list CPAF compiled to help practice mindfulness this holiday season:

1. Put yourself first. Though we appreciate and encourage sharing the seasonal cheer, be mindful of whether your message is inclusive to those who may have toxic relationships with family members. Remember, we all walk different paths in life, none of which are the same.We encourage everyone to pause and take a break during tough conversations.
2. Be aware of messages you give. As your family is gathered together, give examples of how they can share messages of empathy and kindness. Instead of assuming others have family members they are close with, you can ask “do you usually like to celebrate the holidays?” Educating family and friends of how their messaging can be more inclusive and impactful.
3. Reach out. Should you or someone you know need support, there is help available. Please reach out to us at our 24-hour multilingual crisis hotline at 1-800-339-3940. We want you to know that you are not alone. Don’t forget to practice self-care and healthy love this holiday season.

CAPTION: PBS So Cal’s Bonnie Boswell (center) met with CPAF representatives Michelle Esperanza, Development & External Relations Director (left) and Ellen Hong (right), Community Program Director.

We end CPAF’s Month of Thanks with our deep gratitude for the opportunity to talk about sexual violence in the Asian Pacific Islander community on a recent episode of PBS News Hour Weekend on PBS So Cal.

The news clip aired Sunday, November 18, 2018, and features CPAF Board Member Brittany Morey, who talks about the aftermath and healing from sexual violence, and CPAF Community Program Director Ellen Hong, who states, “We need our community to join with us. Together we can create a climate in which everybody is respected.”

View the video clip, S4 E403: Center for the Pacific Asian Family, here:

Many thanks to Brittany for sharing her experience, and to Ellen and PBSSoCal Executive Producer/Reporter Bonnie Boswell of Bonnie Boswell Reports for shedding light on sexual violence and its impact on the API community.

TAKE ACTION – WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:

• Learn more and speak up about domestic and sexual violence and help end the stigma – learn more on our website here. http://nurturingchange.org/get-help/help-someone-you-know/
• Believe and support survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
  • If you or someone you know needs help, please call CPAF’s 24-hour multilingual crisis hotline at 1-800-339-3940.
  • Most importantly: listen to a survivor’s story without judgment and let them know that this is not their fault.  Abusers use power and control to make their partner feel like they deserve the abuse that they have been enduring. You might be the first person to tell them that no onedeserves violence and abuse.

• Give back to support the work to build communities free of domestic and sexual violence:
  • Donate to CPAF online here:https://cpaf.formstack.com/forms/donations.
  • Volunteer – learn about volunteer opportunities here: http://nurturingchange.org/get-involved/volunteer/.

Thank you for believing and supporting survivors of domestic and sexual violence.

 

Thank you so much for your support on #GivingTuesday – we’ve received more than $1,500 in donations to date. Thank you! We are thankful for the support as we enter the holiday season. After the shopping festivities of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, thank you for participating in giving back to the communities we serve on Giving Tuesday!

#GIvingTuesday kicks off the Season of Giving – there’s still time to donate for our year-end giving campaign to support families and survivors of domestic and sexual violence at holiday time.

Ways to give include:

• Our facebook fundraiser, which will be going on until Friday, November 30^th: https://www.facebook.com/donate/562156090872957/.

• Through our website at nurturingchange.org/donate/.

Thank you for your partnership as we nurture change together.

 

As November winds down, let’s recap your accomplishments from CPAF’s month of gratitude.

You’ve already:

1. Voted CPAF’s mission on November 6 to help bring us closer to ending all forms of violence.
2. Paid it forward on World Kindness Day (November 13) by doing something kind for others, and
3. Raised awareness around male survivorship on International Men’s Day (November 19) while empowering positive male role-models in the community.

Now, we invite you to continue the festivities by participating in a self-care activity.

Celebrate what you’re thankful for by writing a letter to your future self. It’s an opportunity to reflect on the past year while thinking about future goals.

What stands out in your mind from the past year that you’re especially happy about? What goals do you want to achieve in this next year? Contemplating the future will help you take action today in order to meet your goals.

Seal the letter in an envelope, write the current date on the outside, and store it away. Open the envelope one year later and take time to reflect on your past year.

Reading the letter will let you see how your life trajectory has changed, even in just one year’s time, and will provide a different perspective about how much you’ve changed since then. You may be surprised with the responses from past-you!