Chien-Mei Chang
Joanne Wan
We aim to achieve two visions: (1) Community-based: To be sought after by non-profit organizations looking for assistance in the planning of all activities involving Asian-American communities; as well as (2) Volunteer-based: To be an added-value resource for our volunteers in hopes to develop their leadership and professional skills; to encourage a fulfilling volunteer experience at each event.
Throughout the year, our committee holds monthly meetings to discuss past and upcoming events. We also have at least one event per month. The most recent meeting or event is shown on the Upcoming Events section of the main NAAAP Boston website.
In our monthly meetings, as a committee, we brainstorm and come up with events that will be beneficial for NAAAP Boston volunteers. Our committee is always open to ideas and activities that can utilize our members’ professional skills for community needs. We also seek to provide on-going volunteer opportunities to fit our members’ interests. Whether you are a new NAAAP Boston participant (member or non-member) or an interested non-profit representative, we invite you to join our monthly committee meetings – Feel free to check the main website for the next monthly meeting (usually the 2nd to last Wednesday of the month).
Throughout the year, our Community Service Committee forms and maintains relationships with Asian American community-based non profits. The following are a list of non-profits that we have worked with in the past (below in alphabetic order):
1. Asian American Civic Association (AACA)
2. Asian American Resource Workshop (AARW)
3. Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence (ATASK)
4. Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC)
5. Chinese Golden Age Center
6. Chinese Progressive Association (CPA)
7. Cradles 2 Crayons
8. Gund Kwok Asian Women Lion & Dragon Dance Troupe
9. Habitat for Humanity
10. Hepatitis B Initiative (HBI)
11. Massachusetts Compulsive Gambling
12. Meh Wah Village for Elderly
13. National Marrow Donor Program, along with the Dana Farber Cancer Institute
14. New England Medical Center (NEMC)
15. Northeast Asian Development (NEAD)
16. Project Bread
17. Quincy Asian Resources initiatives (QARI)
18. Ricesticks and Tea
19. Special Olympics Massachusetts
20. The Volunteer Family
21. WGBH Boston
22. Wide Horizons for Children (WHFC)
23. Young Men’s Christian Association (Boston Chinatown Wang YMCA)
PAST SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITY SERVICE EVENTS
(note: Check out the Recaps for description and photos – simply copy & paste the URL into your Internet browser)
Helping out Non Profit Association Causes
BCNC Oak Street Fair
This is a community event for children and families for informative resources and fun within the Boston Chinatown community. For the past two years, about 40 volunteers help in all aspects of the fair from helping translate in Cantonese or Mandarin for different table organizations, helping pass out information, helping grill food, making cotton candy, making balloon animals for kids, and documenting the fair.
See Recap at: http://www.naaapboston.org/EventRecap.do?id=3800
Bone Marrow Drive – National Marrow Donor Program ; drive conducted by the Dana Farber Cancer Institute
The event helped test 19 people and our volunteers also were educated about the bone marrow donor process and testing procedures.
See Recap at: http://www.naaapboston.org/EventRecap.do?id=4226
Cradles 2 Crayons (C2C)
NAAAP Boston partnered with The Volunteers Family (TVF) and Cradles 2 Crayons (C2C) for the holiday season. C2C provides basic necessities to needy children in Massachusetts. NAAAP Boston organized a “Clothing Drive” at one of our networking events. Our volunteers also went to the warehouse and helped fulfill orders for over 300 children in desperate need (clothing, toys, books).
See Recap at: http://www.naaapboston.org/EventRecap.do?id=4133
China Culture Camp & Korea Culture Camp – Wide Horizons for Children
10-17 volunteers were “camp counselors” for the Korea Culture Camp and the China Culture Camps – both hosted by the non-profit, Wide Horizons for Children (the largest, private non-profit adoption and child welfare agency in New England, among the largest in the US.) NAAAP Boston has worked with the Wide Horizons for Children with their China Culture Camps for the past two years. With both Camps, our volunteers engaged with the children and teens about their birth-culture, working with children in cultural workshops and with teenagers to discuss and engage in pop culture activities and topics.
See Recap at: http://www.naaapboston.org/EventRecap.do?id=4316
Preparing meals for the terminally ill - Community Servings
Volunteers helped prepare and package meals for the critically ill by volunteering in the kitchen of the non-profit, Community Servings (dedicated to providing free home-delivered meals throughout eastern Massachusetts to people homebound with acute life-threatening illnesses, who are unable to shop or cook for themselves. Each day Community Servings prepares and packages over 700 meals a day!) NAAAP members chopped vegetables for home-made salsa and prepared turkey patties for the meals. The group was able to see the whole process of preparing, packing, and sealing meals and were even treated to a taste of what was being prepared.
See Recap at: http://www.naaapboston.org/EventRecap.do?id=4970
Ricesticks and Tea (Asian Food Pantry)
Every second Saturday of the month, the Ricesticks and Tea organization helps provide Asian food to low-income families within Boston Chinatown area, which are mostly first generation immigrants who have limited English language skills. Each month about five volunteers help with registration (signing in and verifying identification to receive food), as well as help bag and deliver food. During the holidays, our volunteers also help provide presents and singing of carols to the low-income families. In addition to the ongoing volunteering, one of our volunteers joined the Ricesticks and Tea organization to help with the program’s fundraising and ongoing activities.
Wang YMCA Christmas – Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA)
This event caters to the underprivileged children and families (estimated 600 participants) of the local Boston community. NAAAP Boston has been involved in running this event every year. In 2006, we formed a joint team with Ernst & Young-ASIA group. Over 40 volunteers from both organizations came together and coordinated the setup and operation of the 23rd Annual Chinatown YMCA Christmas holiday party. Our volunteers helped with managing games, managing food and crowd control.
See Recap at: http://www.naaapboston.org/EventRecap.do?id=4099
2006 WGBH Ice Cream FunFest
WGBH organized this Ice cream FunFest as their thanks for people's support of WGBH TV and Radio all year. About 9 NAAAP volunteers split into two teams to help them scoop and distribute ice creams. Besides ice cream, there were live music, entertainment, kids playzones, and indoor studio tours with kids' favorite TV characters. Few also helped in running the kids' activities.
See Recap at: http://www.naaapboston.org/EventRecap.do?id=3796
Team Based Events:
LIVERight 5k Walk/Run – Hepatitis B Initiative
Our team of 16 walkers/runners participated to raise awareness about Hepatitis B and Liver Cancer. NAAAP Boston worked with the Hepatitis B Initiative, a nonprofit, student run organization that aims to mobilize students to help communities prevent Hepatitis B and its consequences amongst at-risk groups, particularly Asian American and Pacific Islanders. The NAAAP Boston team was able to raise a total of $663 through being a team-member and obtaining donations from friends/family.
See Recap at: http://www.naaapboston.org/EventRecap.do?id=4380
Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger
NAAAP Boston’s team of 18 walkers together walked for Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger and raised $7000 to fight hunger! The walk was a 20-mile route, which threads through Boston, Brookline, Watertown, and Cambridge. It was a beautiful day for a walk, and it was a beautiful day for hope.
See Recap at: http://www.naaapboston.org/EventRecap.do?id=3178
Habitat for Humanity
NAAAP volunteers helped build a housing unit within the surrounding Boston area. Similar to the previous year, volunteers formed teams and helped with painting and installing siding.
See Recap at: http://www.naaapboston.org/EventRecap.do?id=3574
Event Dedicated to the NAAAP Boston Community Service Volunteers
For the past couple of years, NAAAP Boston Community Service started to host Volunteer Appreciation parties to appreciate, recognize and thank our volunteers who generously provide their time, effort and help at our various Community Service events. About 40 people attend the events to celebrate their volunteer efforts. At the last recognition party (June 2007), we had 4 volunteer testimonials that were spoken to tell about their experiences and how their time and efforts within community service made an impact to them. The Community Service Committee also recognized 10 individuals who demonstrated outstanding performance and dedication in the community.
See Recaps at:
November 2005:
http://www.naaapboston.org/EventRecap.do?id=2777
June 2007:
http://www.naaapboston.org/EventRecap.do?id=4758
CONTACT INFORMATION
Feel free to contact our co-chairs, either way is okay –
(1) simply send an email to both co-chairs at the same time: Community@naaapboston.org
(2) If you’d like to send a specific question to either co-chair, click on the hyperlinks to the top left of this page by clicking one of our names.