CACF: Coalition for Asian American Children and Families

We’re sending so much gratitude to all of the community members, elected officials, and member and partner organizations that came out on Tuesday to celebrate the power of our communities with us at our 2024 Catalyst for Change Awards Gala. As this year’s gala theme so eloquently states, the support and funds raised from our gala attendees will allow CACF to continue IGNITING ACTION on behalf of AAPI New Yorkers. Your generosity will help us support our growing policy, leadership, and grants and contracts teams as we continue to advocate for AAPI communities across the state. We’re especially grateful to our incredible Catalyst for Change honorees James C. Rhee of the red helicopter and Maya Wiley of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights for their inspiring remarks about their families and their journeys as advocates and changemakers in the United States. Thank you too to our incredible emcees Ernabel Demillo and Vivian Lee for expertly hosting the evening and to our auctioneer Paul Florez-Taylor for leading such a spirited paddle raise and live auction. And, of course, we were so happy to have our ASAP Youth Leaders Ashwyn Lu-Huda and Clarissa Kunizaki expertly moderate a panel discussion with our awardees. Our current Youth Leader cohort was also a major part of the evening, with ASAPer Olivia Kim paying tribute to the power of ASAP and the importance of youth advocacy. Our ASAPers also networked and played a specifically designed AAPI trivia game with our guests throughout the reception. Thank you too to all of the elected officials and staff representatives who came out to celebrate the power of New York’s AAPI communities. We opened our event with Office of the New York State Attorney General Letitia James’ powerful opening remarks during the reception. We are also so glad Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, Assemblymember Steven Raga, Office of the New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, New York City Councilmembers Crystal Hudson, Shekar Krishnan, Linda Lee, and Julie Won, and our AAPI Equity Budget Champions Assemblymember Grace Lee and Senator John Liu were able to join us. Stay tuned for even more photos and videos from the event in the coming days!

Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate the power of IGNITING ACTION with us at CACF’s 2024 Catalyst for Change Awards Gala! The night was energetic, with almost 350 people in attendance to celebrate honorees Maya Wiley and James C. Rhee. We were truly captivated by their heartfelt remarks about their families and journeys as advocates and changemakers, especially during this critical moment for our communities. Despite the many complex obstacles we will be confronted with throughout the next year, we firmly believe that, together, we have laid a foundation at CACF for a transformative future for our families, communities, and, most especially, our youth. Be sure to check out these wonderful photos from the event by photographer Lia Chang! And of course, it’s never too late to make a gift in support of CACF and our movement to create equity for AAPI New Yorkers across the state! Be sure to head to www.cacf.org/donate to do so today!

Congrats to CACF’s Co-Executive Directors Anita Gundanna and Vanessa Leung for being named Downtown Block Stars by PoliticsNY and amNewYork at Schneps Media! CACF is proud to be part of Downtown Manhattan’s thriving nonprofit community. In addition to hosting our ASAP Youth Leaders each week, we also regularly welcome our member and partner organizations for trainings, meetings, and collaborations centered on creating a healthier and more equitable New York for all. Be sure to head here for the full piece: https://lnkd.in/e3ez9Ri9 and here for the complete list: https://lnkd.in/eRnbF8Eh

Congrats to everyone at Sesame Street on the iconic program’s 55th anniversary! As a longtime partner of Sesame Workshop, we were thrilled to collaborate on the special segment below on the importance of uplifting our family histories and stories. Earlier this month we also launched a Racial Literacy Learning Space in partnership with Sesame Workshop, which is a shared learning community for CACF member organizations dedicated to deepening our collective understanding of racial literacy. In addition to sharing Sesame resources and the personal experiences of attendees, this unique learning space focuses on how we can encourage children’s identity development and sense of community and belonging through an AAPI lens.

We can’t wait to celebrate the power of community with you at Monday’s Catalyst for Change Awards Gala! Join CACF as we uplift our Catalyst for Change honorees James C. Rhee and Maya Wiley and the many ways they are IGNITING ACTION to create meaningful change each day. Head here to get your tickets today: https://lnkd.in/evxntvuY

CACF’s Policy Team is thrilled to invite you to our upcoming Inclusive Curriculum Convening on Wednesday, November 20 at 4pm on Zoom. This convening is for community members, students, parents, educators, and community-based organizations interested in learning more about the curriculum advocacy landscape in Albany and the current push by CACF and our partners to advocate for an AANHPI curriculum in New York State’s public schools. Throughout the briefing, you’ll hear from CACF, elected officials, educators, and curriculum advocates as they highlight the historic Senate progress on the AANHPI curriculum bill and share the successes and challenges we’ve seen with other AANHPI curriculum efforts around the country. Join us as we will uplift the need for both an AANHPI curriculum and broader inclusive curriculum to be implemented in every classroom! To RSVP, head to https://bit.ly/ICB24 or the link in our bio.

The latest issue of CACF’s monthly newsletter Constellations just hit inboxes! Head here to get the latest news on our AAPI Community Development Fund awardees, discover more about our new Board members, and more: https://conta.cc/3ClCR6W

We hope you can join us and be in community together on November 18 for CACF’s 2024 Catalyst for Change Awards Gala. One of the highlights of the evening will be an intergenerational fireside chat between our incredible ASAP Youth Leaders and our honorees James C. Rhee and Maya Wiley! This special discussion will touch on the importance of centering kindness in our advocacy, the importance of building diverse coalitions when working towards social change, and the ways Maya and James honor their families’ legacies in the work they do each day. Head here to get your tickets or to find out how you can sponsor what is sure to be an incredible event: https://lnkd.in/evxntvuY

We are hurt, saddened, and anxious after Tuesday’s Presidential election. There will no doubt be many challenges ahead, especially for those in our communities who are most marginalized, with broader implications for everyone in our community. The outcome of the election threatens access to healthcare, reproductive rights, quality education, and many other critical supports and services. Immigrant communities will experience increased and justifiable fears. We have experienced the harms of this administration before, and we know there is strength and healing in our coming together as a diverse and united Asian American and Pacific Islander community across New York. CACF is prepared to fight alongside our community to protect our civil and human rights. Read our full statement here: https://lnkd.in/ehAaGFS3

As #BreastCancerAwarenessMonth comes to a close, we’re urging you to check out this new Bronx Times piece on the importance of funding the CACF co-led Access Health NYC initiative and trusted community-based organizations like SAPNA NYC in order to keep our communities healthy and thriving! As CACF’s Co-Executive Director Anita Gundanna told reporter Emily Swanson, our community-based organizations are uniquely equipped to meet the health needs of AAPI New Yorkers because of the trust they’ve earned in the neighborhoods they serve. “In order to be community-informed, you can’t have a one-size-fits-all model,” Anita explains.