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HOME > ABOUT US > ANNUAL CAMPAIGN
Annual CampaignThe Asian Pacific Fund is honoring author Amy Tan at its annual gala on October 3, 2009. 2008 The following program was presented at the 12th Annual Asian Pacific Fund Gala on November 13, 2008.
Program Update
Program Update
Hello everybody. I’ve been a member of the Asian Pacific Fund Board since 2006 and we’ve found that the gala is always an excellent opportunity for us to report to our supporters and friends on our work over the past year. It’s work that’s made possible with your support. Tonight we’re going to highlight a couple of projects: work we’ve done on childhood obesity among Asians—it’s a bigger problem than most people think. But first, I want to share with you a program that we’re very proud of—one that teaches young people of all races about Asian immigrants and Asian heroes. As you probably know, most schools DO NOT include any lesson plans about Asian cultures or the Asian American experience. Well, the national retailer Target took note of this problem… and teamed up with Scholastic, the world’s largest distributor of children’s books. They asked us—the Asian Pacific Fund-- to develop new classroom materials that became known as the Dream in Color project. Those materials were released this year during Asian American heritage month. More than two-thirds of Asian Americans are immigrants. So, if you will take a look at the screen you will see a labeled map of Asia, look familiar? We’re going to see how much you all know about where Asian Americans, came from. And remember—these fun facts were chosen for 5th grade students. It’s just a fact, not a judgment… in case you get any wrong. First question, what are the five largest Asian ethnic groups in the United States?
Second question, Japan is the size of which U.S. state?
Lastly, Buzkashi is the national sport of which country?
And the answers are. . . drum roll please. A, B and A. The answer to the first question is A. The five largest Asian ethnic groups in the U.S. are Asian Indian, Filipino, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean. As for the second question, Japan is the size of our home state, California! And lastly, Buzkashi is the national sport of Afghanistan. We hope you all got an A! Here’s another component of the program. We created an activity that introduces school children to Asian Americans who have made outstanding contributions. We wanted all students to know there are lots of Asian American heroes to look up to. So that’s one example of our work in education. In terms of health, this year the Fund chose to address childhood obesity in Asians. It’s a problem that is not getting enough public attention. So, please look again at the screen , and the two silhouette figures. The figure on the left is a 12-year old Caucasian boy who is 5’2’’ and weighs 150 pounds. The figure on the right is a 12-year old Asian boy who is also 5’2’’… but weighs less, 125 pounds. Yet despite the 25-pound difference between them, both have the SAME likelihood of getting type 2 diabetes. The point here is that Asian children face serious health risks even when they’re only slightly overweight. The scary thing is that many doctors don’t take this into account because they’re still using standard height and weight charts that don’t apply to Asians. Well, what can be done? You’ve heard the tips-- eat healthier and do more physical exercise. So how do Asians measure up? About one-third of Asian American kids do not eat their daily recommended portion of fruits and vegetables. In fact, 45 percent of Asian kids eat fast food on a daily basis… compared to only 33 percent of white kids. Also, studies show Asian high school boys have the lowest participation rate in after-school sports, while Asian girls have the second lowest participation rate, right behind Hispanic girls their same age. The information is so alarming, we wanted to respond on as many fronts as possible: like raising awareness in the general population by mounting a media campaign. You’ll see helpful reports on Asian childhood obesity featured in these multi-lingual publications by early next year. We’re looking at sponsoring a session for doctors and health care professionals at the National Childhood Obesity Conference next year. We also worked on this health problem with the various agencies that have received grants from the Fund. We ran workshops that targeted everything from teaching kids to cook healthy Asian food… to putting on a health fair in Oakland. You can find more information about these and other projects we’ve spearheaded in our annual publications. They’ll be in your gift bags. Or, you can always visit our website, www.asianpacificfund.org. Over the next year, we’ll make additional investments in this area, using resources from our annual campaign and from this gala.
Chang-Lin Tien Educational Leadership Awards
BOB: Thank you Thuy I wonder how well most of us would do in school these days? Speaking of school, many of us know that Asian students do pretty well getting in to American colleges, but not very many of us know how few Asians have risen to top leadership positions at those same colleges and universities. A founding director of the Asian Pacific Fund was the late Chang-Lin Tien who was greatly admired by many of us. He was best known as the chancellor of UC Berkeley and he quickly became prominent worldwide. As a major civic leader in the Bay Area, he was an inspiration to all of us.. Three years ago, Emerald Yeh and I decided to chair a special effort. EMERALD: Yes, Bob. After Dr. Tien’s untimely death, the Fund started the Chang-Lin Tien Leadership Awards to keep his legacy alive. The awards encourage Asian Americans to aspire to the highest leadership positions in universities and they give recognition to talented leaders. Two $10,000 cash awards are presented to individuals who have demonstrated notable scholarly contributions and leadership potential at a four-year college or university. In fact, one recipient Steve Kang is now Chancellor of UC Merced. Now in its third year, the program was expanded to from a state to a national program, and we’ve appreciated the close involvement of Dr. Tien’s family as we shaped this program. I want to acknowledge the presence this evening of Chang-Lin Tien’s older daughter, Dr. Phyllis Tien and her husband Dr. Scott Smith, and of Dr. Tien’s beloved wife, Di-hwa. BOB: To ensure the Tien award is permanent, our goal was to have an endowed fund. So, onto the good news! Haha-- Emerald, I’m so used to your delivering the news, now it’s my turn. Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to inform you that we have recently reached our goal of one million dollars to endow the Chang-Lin Tien Educational Leadership Awards. On behalf of the Fund, I’d like to thank the many donors who helped us reach this important goal to keep Dr. Tien’s legacy of Asian American leadership alive. EMERALD: Thank you, Bob. Leadership in business and community is something the Fund has long recognized. Tonight we are honoring Vinod Khosla, an outstanding example of both.
Closing Remarks
Hello my name is Gail Kong, and I’m the Executive Director of the Asian Pacific Fund. Thank you to Lance Lew, Director of Community Relations and to Vicky Nguyen both of NBC Bay Area for helping us this evening, and especially to our two board journalists, Emerald Yeh and Thuy Vu. Before making closing remarks I also extend big thanks to our staff, Associate Director Sophie Tan and Program Coordinators Sheetal Dhir and Francescan Dinglasan and intern Lizzy Raffin who have worked especially hard to make this event successful. . .and to our volunteers, including members of my own family! We would like to invite you all to take home the lovely flower arrangements that were created by Lance Lew. The events of the past two months—some might say that past several years, have made us think more carefully about our future, especially about our global future. And I know these worries are very real for each of us. I’ve been at the Fund for nearly 15 years, and I often hear people say that they never thought they would have such comfortable lives, here in the beautiful Bay Area. And I agree. I feel exactly the same. No matter what happens in the coming months and years immediately ahead, we can be sure there will many people who need your help, people who need our help. The Asian Pacific Fund will be there, because, as you have heard this evening, many of the needs that are unique to the Asian community are missed by government or missed by other institutions and organizations. We will also continue our work toward building an endowed foundation, as we want the Asian Pacific Fund to be a permanent resource for Asian philanthropy and for Asian leadership. There are many ways to work with the Fund. Some donors have ideas they want to discuss and we help start a program for them. Others like the convenience of supporting the Asian community through the Fund’s annual campaign, leaving all the details to us. Whatever path you choose, we hope you’ll consider supporting the Fund this year. This concludes our program. Thank you very much. Prior Years To see reports from prior years, please click here. |
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