Dear AIISF family, friends, and supporters.
On behalf of the entire Board and Staff at AIISF, I want to express our deep appreciation to all of you who joined us last week for our 2020 Virtual Gala and Immigrant Heritage Awards. Although we could not be together in person, the evening truly was an opportunity for us all to come together virtually to “Celebrate Our Dreams and Imagine Our Future” and to recognize this year’s honorees: Cecilia Chiang, Diosdado P. Banatao, Jonathan Leong, and Casey Dexter-Lee. Thank you to everyone who made a donation to the gala either by joining us as a sponsor, purchasing a ticket, and/or contributing to our donation drive.
With your generous support, we have raised over $170,000 in donations and pledges towards our goal of $210,000 for the gala. Those of you who watched the virtual gala will recognize that this number is different from the much higher total that you saw that night. Unfortunately, there was a glitch in the donation thermometer that incorrectly displayed the total amount raised.
For those of you who did not have the opportunity to tune in, I shared a short story about how as a young child, I watched a cashier yell at my mother because she thought that my mother couldn’t speak English. I am sure that each of us has multiple stories that we could tell about how we or our family members have been made to feel different, unfairly treated, or disrespected. Over the past 40-plus years, there have been significant efforts to document and share these histories and stories related to immigration through Angel Island and the Pacific Coast. There are still many more stories that are waiting to be heard.
I’m a firm believer that by telling our stories, whether they are stories of injustices endured or whether they highlight our resiliencies and contributions, we recognize and honor our families and ancestors. If you believe this too, then please consider supporting AIISF so that we can hopefully still meet our fundraising goal for the virtual gala.
Thank you for your continued support. Wishing you all health and safety!
Ed Tepporn
AIISF Executive Director
