Giving is personal

My family was one of the relatively few Pilipino-American immigrant families and families of color in the small California town where I grew up. The community of extended family we fostered, which meant both relatives and family friends, made for happy and even idyllic times. 

But there were also the almost daily slights and racial and xenophobic slurs --sometimes casual, sometimes menacing-- that at times escalated to threats and physical bullying. I witnessed my Black, brown, and Asian classmates and friends endure the same. My dad fought back with his words and wit, but we accepted the hate and harassment as normal and something we just had to live with and survive. 

This is why being part of APIs RISE Fund's giving circle and participating in our region's Big Day of Giving means so much to me, especially in this moment. This year, the groups we support — EPIC, the Sacramento Asian Pacific Film Festival, Sunny Side Theatre, and CAIR — are fighting hate and racism through film, theater, storytelling, and legal services.

I am filled with hope, inspired to act, and see many paths forward that the amazing community leaders we support are creating.

Join me, my APIs RISE Fund co-leader Christine Tien, and our giving circle team, and give to APIs RISE Fund today.

APIs RISE Fund’s leader, Mona Tawatao (in orange dress) and her sister Haya, both donors to the Fund, with their parents. (California, 1968)