CAPA - February 2022 Newsletter

February 2022 Newsletter

My hope for you is that this newsletter finds you and your family healthy, safe, and managing to the best of your ability what are truly extraordinary days for us all.

As a philanthropic service organization, our bottom line is not about profit. Yet like most businesses, we must stay attuned to a complex combination of social, financial and political factors.

Some changes are clear, such as the switch to a virtual environment for all our programming in 2021 and a desire to move back into the physical space safely, this year. Some other changes are evident, such as the steady and momentous growth in the number of seniors, who represent an increasing percentage of the total population, and the necessity to court the next generation - our youth - through our programming and through continuing to remain relevant.

Other changes can be harder to predict, like the uncertainty of funding from year to year coupled with the economic crisis that can trigger a spike in the need for community services just as financial support stagnates or disappears.

From cyclical shifts to emergency calls for aid, we must be ready. This is why the CAPA board has taken so much care in planning events for you this year, juggling the needs and safety of our community and planning events that will attract an audience that is our future.

You will see several of our strategic goals come to life in the pages of this newsletter. One of our signature events, the Splendor of the East, will be held in the Fall this year, as opposed to the Spring and will be an outdoor event. After two decades of doing it one way, we are experimenting with something fresh, bold and new! One of our other signature events, the Leadership Summit, will remain virtual and will now be hosted during the Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month of May. We are working through the details of this event, as we speak.

This year, we are partnering with the Asian Indian Women's Organization (AIWA) to bring you an event on March 20th, in celebration of International Women's Day, that explores Breaking the Bias to celebrate women's achievement, raise awareness against bias, and take action for equality.

To each and every one of YOU, thank you for being part of our community through your patronage and continued support.

I hope to see you at our events this year!

Splendor of the East 2022

CAPA is so excited to bring our Splendor of the East performance back to the live stage! This year, experience the SOE as it’s never been done before – an OUTDOOR cultural extravaganza to be held in the SUMMER of 2022! More details to come, but start gathering your musical instruments, dancers, and performers and prepare to take part in CAPA’s signature event!

Stop Asian Hate,

but Only When It’s Trendy

Written by Anshi Pacha, CAPA Youth Chair

Hello! Happy New Year!

Are you ready for a year of new beginnings? The year that is absolutely going to be yours? The year that’s going to be like none other, and not in the “unprecedented times” way? The year where everything’s going to be ok again? The year where nothing important will burn down, where COVID will miraculously disappear and turn into nothing more than a “haha remember back when we wore masks”, and where Asian hate crimes will be nothing more than an unfortunate distant memory?

Actually, on second thought, I don’t think any of that will be happening… except for the new beginnings and the year being yours, I believe in all of you, that will happen. Manifest it! And also kind of the bit about Asian hate crimes, not to say that they aren’t still happening, but more that they’re not being talked about anymore.

My parents spend a not-insignificant amount of time telling me that I spend too much time on my phone, which, as I check my average screen time per day, may not be entirely untrue. But, believe it or not, there is an upside to the insane amount of time I spend on Instagram. If I spend 30 seconds scrolling through the memes in my saved posts, I can tell you with near-perfect accuracy when people, at least in Southeast Michigan stopped posting about Stop Asian Hate. This number is uh… shocking, especially considering the fact that there absolutely hasn’t been a drastic decline in Asian hate. So, drum roll please… it has been… 37 weeks.

As I said before, the need for the movement hasn’t died. One of my friends, Michael Needham experienced something in December that prompted an impassioned discussion about the fact that media coverage has dissipated. He told me something that resonated greatly within me, “We need to stop treating racial injustices as a trend. Following the attacks in Atlanta, there was a lot of #stopasianhate [posts] and now it’s rare that you’ll see [any]. We can’t let this happen because it makes the issues seem trivial and nonexistent when people have to live in fear if there will actually be a tomorrow so if [people are] going to post about [they need to] post it out of support for the movement and not out of the need to be socially accepted,” and quite frankly, I couldn’t agree more. The fact that there have been thousands of anti-Asian incidents since 2020, and while I’ve learned over the past year that just posting about hate crimes won’t solve anything, we need gross systemic change, the fact that basic human decency through speaking out about racial hate is something that has turned into a way to get social clout is nothing short of disgusting.

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EVENTS COMING UP

PACCM's 39'th ANNIVERSARY

IS COMMUNITY's FRONT AND CENTER SPRING EVENT

SOUTHFIELD, MI- Out of an abundance of caution stemming from safety concerns over the current covid posture, PACCM's Valentine's Celebration originally scheduled on February 12, 2022 had been moved to April 2, 2022. The event will be held at the same venue at the Somerset Inn in Troy.

The principal motivation for the event is to generate contributions from various sources to include corporate sponsors, donations from community organizations, advertisers and private donors . Funds raised are appropriated for the Center's yearly operations to continue with its community services and fund the educational needs of the school. PACCM had fallen on hard times due to the current state of great disruption. More so now than ever, times are crucial to recover lost income from the 2 year pandemic quandary.

This year's theme is "Now and Forever" (Ngayon at Kailan Man) appropriately chosen to reflect the ongoing love and support of PACCM by many in these unprecedented times . People in the community come together to celebrate this special event to encourage appreciation of PACCM which has been the source of service, educational and cultural connections among members. It's a great opportunity to lend support through their monetary donations.

The event will showcase the school children's achievements through a presentation of their cultural performances. There will also be felicitations and greetings from Government officials and community leaders. The entertainment program will feature a variety of aesthetic ensemble and a segment will honor and recognize the contributions and services of dedicated and hardworking board members. An added attraction is the annual celebration of wedding celebrants. According to Event Chairperson Ryan Rosario, this year's celebration will be organized differently in that the usual 5 year interval in wedding commemorations will not be utilized to offset the lost opportunities for couples who were unable to participate in the past 2 years. A separate announcement detailing the process through which interested couples can learn more about the wedding celebration for 2022 will be sent out in a timely manner. Please watch your emails.

PACCM is home to Paaralang Pilipino where children learn their language, history and culture through song , dance and music. It also caters to the needs of the youth and seniors and it's the venue of choice for various projects, workshops, services and social functions by the majority of community organizations.

Come and join us for a great Spring Ball turnout !