Community Service Committee posted on October 15, 2011
On Saturday, October 15, NAAAP members Felix Cheng, Jay Halim, Khoa
Nguyen, Joe Perlatonda, Carol Wan, and Anita Yip volunteered at
Breaking Down Doors, a fundraiser organized by the Jasmine Asian Women
Giving Circle (jasminecircle.org). This event was an unforgettable
afternoon of powerful, stereotype-breaking, and inspirational
performances, and the Jasmine Circle was able to raise more than
$1,000 to support an organization or program that supports Asian and
Asian-descent women and girls.
We helped with everything from greeting attendees, manning the
registration table, and completing prep work to managing stage lights,
engaging attendees in conversation, and cleaning up. The program went
smoothly, starting off with the world premiere of "Forbidden Voices" -
a new play about Asian American Women speaking out on mental illness
and healing. It was a heartbreaking, funny and tender performance
piece on the loss of young adulthood and the cultural stigma of
depression and suicide. This performance was followed by The Genki
Spark, the first and only Asian women's taiko based performance group
in the country. They were fierce and fun, and they displayed
extraordinary strength and pride as Asian women.
At the end of the day, we left knowing that we made a positive
difference in our community.
