Our world is facing the tremendous challenges of the recent natural disasters in the Philippines, Indonesia, Samoa, Vietnam, and India. I’m deeply, deeply appreciative all of the efforts and contributions toward disaster relief causes.

I’d like to thank all of you who have helped in some way, whether it was in the form of donating money, planning events, attending events, or simply spreading the word. As a small token of my appreciation, I’d like to give you a (free) Lumaya song called “Farther,” which is basically about reaching out to make a difference.

You can download the song at: http://tinyurl.com/lumaya-farther
(I also made it free on our MySpace / Nimbit, but this tinyurl link is faster)

If you haven’t already donated online or at an event, I’d like to suggest UNICEF ( http://www.unicef.org ) as one of many good organizations worth supporting in disaster relief efforts.

Again, THANK YOU for caring and for doing all that you do! This is the time…

Glenn

Join CAAM and Youtube star Gabe Bondoc for a special evening at Poleng Lounge! Gabe is a talented young artist who composes original songs with mellow beats and lyrics. Admission to the performance includes admission to Higher Learning, the weekly Thursday hotspot hosted by Poleng Lounge and DJ Mel. Great music, great people, great fun! See you there!

Peformance is on Thursday, October 22, 9PM Meet & Greet and Performance and 10PM Higher Learning, at Poleng Lounge, 1751 Fulton Street, San Francisco. $10 General Admission and FREE FOR CAAM MEMBERS!

CAAM is giving hapihour.org five tickets free to raffle off.  Write on our Facebook page wall that you want a ticket and I’ll give away tickets to the first five wall posts. (You need to respond to my subsequent FB message afterwards so I know how to get the tickets to you.)

So join today! Get in free AND support the leading Asian American media arts organization! We’ll even knock 20% off your membership. To join email membership[at]asianamericanmedia[dot]org.

The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) is a non-profit organization dedicated to presenting stories that convey the richness and diversity of Asian American experiences to the broadest audience possible. We do this by funding, producing, distributing and exhibiting works in film, television and digital media.

Who are these NGOs, and what are their biggest concerns? What role does the government play in regulating, and sometimes suppressing, these organizations? How are NGOs managing the often-conflicting tasks of both policing and partnering with government and business, as well as educating the public? Is the recent crackdown on foreign-funded NGOs like the Open Constitution Initiative the start of a longer-term trend, or is it part of the ebb and flow of government-NGO relations? What does the surge of environmental activism say about the state of China’s civil society today? These are some of the questions our distinguished panel will address.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009
5:30 pm Registration
6:00-7:30 pm Program followed by Reception
The Sierra Club
85 2nd Street, Suite 750
San Francisco

$5 Asia Society/Co-Sponsor Members
$5 Students; $10 Non-Members
To register, please call 415-421-8707 or visit https://secure.acceptiva.com/?cst=215882

KAYA’s launch party and first anniversary, visited by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Congressman Mike Honda, District Attorney Kamala Harris, and other local community leaders, filled the upper floor of Roe restaurant on Monday, September 28, and energized a crowd of young Filipino Americans poised for action. Congressman Mike Honda was also presented with a special honor for his contribution to the Filipino community.

KAYA announced that it is gearing up to play a big role in engaging Filipino Americans statewide in the California 2010 elections. As the organization who volunteered nearly 6,000 collective hours, mobilized over 600 volunteers nationwide, and contacted over 24,000 voters during the 2008 presidential campaign for Barack Obama, KAYA is preparing to take its mobilization efforts to a new level in the coming year.

Dexter Ligot Gordon, chair of KAYA, talked about KAYA’s values and the organization’s vision to make an impact in next year’s elections, including the specific strategies that KAYA will employ to carry out its mission to mobilize the Filipino American community and build partnerships to increase the community’s electoral power. The core of KAYA’s 2010 strategy will be to engage the community in the political process through events that will introduce the candidates to the community and the community to the candidates. KAYA plans to extend an invitation to each campaign that will provide an opportunity for the candidates to engage in a dialogue with the Filipino American community through traditional outreach such as townhall meetings and creative communications such as online multimedia.

KAYA announced this strategy at the launch party on September 28 to a crowd of young Filipino American professionals and community activists who helped to deliver key votes in California, Nevada, and many other states during the 2008 presidential election. The evening’s program included welcoming remarks by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. Mayor Newsom spoke to the need for community activists to “stand up and step in.” He commended KAYA for its work in the 2008 presidential election and for “not just getting involved in a campaign and walking away” but for continuing to make a difference and engaging the community in the “spirit of partnerships, building bridges, and bringing people together.” After an introduction by San Francisco Supervisor Board President David Chiu, District Attorney Harris spoke about why Barack Obama was engaging to those uninvolved with the political process, why the younger generations find hope in grassroots movement, and that there is a big struggle ahead to “make real the promises of our country.”

Mark Grafilo, KAYA’s San Francisco Chapter Director reiterated KAYA’s mission and vision for the future before asking the attendees to make a promise to help their community by getting involved. He then presented Congressman Honda with an engraved karaoke Magic Mic. “You have lived the life of service,” said Grafilo to Congressman Honda before presenting the award. Grafilo celebrated Honda’s work in fighting for the Filipino community and standing up for Filipino veterans, health care, and immigration reform. Congressman Honda accepted the award to a lively applause and spoke to fighting for immigration reform, reuniting families, and being inclusive.

“This is a time of great need,” said Congressman Honda. “Question authority. The politicians are not there for you; they’re there to fulfill the constitution. We should be people conscious. Do the right thing…and we all know what that is.”

For more information about KAYA: Filipino Americans for Progress and to join the KAYA leadership team or volunteer, visit http://www.kayagrassroots.org.

Gina passed away from a heart attack in late September.  Read more about her on Jeff Chang’s blog.

We will gather at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th street 2nd floor, in the Pacific Renaissance Plaza. If you are interested in sharing your memories or music, please contact us by Friday, October 16. You can contribute photos or other small items to the Community Altar, or an appetizer for the reception. We also encourage you to bring cranes to add to our 1,000 cranes installation in honor of Gina’s legacy.  For more information, contact apex@kpfa.org or 510-848-6767 x 464.  Visit http://www.firstvoicemap.org to post your comments or thoughts.

This is a fundraiser benefiting OACC’s cultural arts programs and services. “1969” commemorates the 40th anniversary of the UC Berkeley Third World Strike for ethnic studies on the UC Berkeley campus. It followed on the heels of a similar strike at San Francisco State University the year before. Both were historic examples of student self-determination that inspired activism on campuses nation-wide. Wong’s brother was a participant in the Third World Strike and the composition is dedicated in part to him.

Co-presented by Asian Improv aRts, tickets are $50 - $100 for general admission and $10 for students and seniors. They are available for sale through Brown Paper Tickets and at the door.

In addition to the performance, there will be a short panel discussion about the history of the Strike and an exhibition of photos documenting the strike and its legacy.

Get into the holiday spirit by attending the largest holiday chocolate festival in the Bay Area. The event will feature artisanal chocolates for sample and purchase from more than 30 of the Bay Area’s finest chocolate makers and vendors, including: NeoCocoa, XOX Truffles, Jade Chocolates, The Xocolate Bar, Madecasse, Bridge Brands Chocoloate, Coco Delice, Dolce Bella Chocolates, Rushburn Toffee, Saratoga Chocolates and Snake and Butterfly Chocolate.

The SF Firefighters will be on hand to collect new unwrapped toys for their annual Toy Program. Please help them brighten the day of deserving children this holiday season.

Tickets are $17.50 per adult through Oct. 23 and go up after that. You can purchase tickets at http://holidaychocshow.eventbee.com or via Paypal (send payment to Les at les_tso@yahoo.com).

Find this event on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=138651925874

Contact Les Tso at les_tso@yahoo.com or (510) 913-4107 with any questions.

The event is from 6-9 p.m. at Lot 46, 46 Geary St. in San Francisco. Due to limited space at Lot 46, organizers are encouraging attendees to purchase advance admissions online for $20 per person, plus a nominal processing fee. Advance admission holders will be on a VIP list and will be able to avoid the general admission entry line. Donations of $20, or any amount, will also be accepted at the door. Organizers regret that they will not be able to accept in-kind donations at the event.

The event will be hosted by Aimee Allison, host of KPFA’s Morning Show with featured DJs Chief Xcel of Blackalicious, DJ Big Rich, DJ Romeo and peformances by Kristine Sinajon, Gabe Bondoc and Patrick Landeza.

The massive flooding in Metropolitan Manila in the Philippines has claimed hundreds of lives and displaced over 700,000 people, in what is considered the worst such calamity in the region’s history. The impact of this unfortunate event will be felt for many months ahead and the country will need a lot of help from the global community in rehabilitation efforts as well as in dealing with resulting food & basic supply shortages and the spread of disease.

The organizers of this benefit also stand in solidarity with the typhoon victims in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, as well as those who were most recently affected by the tsunami and earthquake in American Samoa, Samoa and Indonesia.

“We encourage all those who can to equally support the various relief efforts being organized by other community groups in the Bay Area and elsewhere to assist our unfortunate brothers and sisters in the Asia-Pacific region,” said event chair Keesa Ocampo, Community Relations Assistant at ABS-CBN International - North America.

The “Benefit for Victims of Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy)” is supported by a number of elected officials serving as honorary co-hosts, including U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, Congresswoman Jackie Speier, Board of Equalization Chair Betty Yee, Senator Leland Yee, Assemblymember Fiona Ma, Assemblymember Jerry Hill, SF. Mayor Gavin Newsom, S.F. District Attorney Kamala Harris, S.F. Assessor Phil Ting, S.F. Board of Supervisors President David Chiu, S.F. Board of Education Vice-President Jane Kim, S.F. Board of Education Member Hydra Mendoza and S.F. City College Board Member Steve Ngo. Philippine Consul General to San Francisco Marciano Paynor, Jr. is also an honorary co-host.

The event committee, led by Keesa Ocampo, also includes: Audie Vergara, Eric Casher, Erin Haney, Fred Calindas, Gen Jopanda, Glenn Fajardo, Keith Kamisugi, Kyle Wong, London Breed, Masood Ordikhani, Matt Haney, Meena Harris, Rene Astudillo, Rhean Fajardo, Terrine Baluyut, Vidhya Prabhakaran and Malia Cohen.

Community organization partners for the event include: ABS-CBN Foundation-USA, Asian American Bar Association, Asian American Journalists Association, SF Chapter, Asian Business League, Bay Area Asian Pacific American Legislative Staffers, Bliss Entertainment, Chinese for Affirmative Action, Citizen Hope, Clubworks, DineForChange, Drink for a Cause, Fil-Am Chamber of Commerce Santa Clara, Filipina Women’s Network, Filipino American Arts Exposition, Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of San Francisco, Filipino Bar Association of Northern California, hapihour.org, Inspire Hope Institute, Kaya: Filipino Americans for Progress, Manilatown Heritage Foundation, National Federation of Filipino-American Associations, Philippine American Press Club USA, Philippine Consulate General - San Francisco, San Francisco Fil-Am Jazz Festival Community, San Francisco-Manila Sister City Committee, Soulciety.org and Young Filipino Professionals Association.

Proceeds from the event will be donated to ABS-CBN Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Visit http://hapihour.org/ondoy to purchase tickets online, a link to the Facebook event listing and updated information.

Please join us for an evening of fine Asian food and wine, silent auction, raffle and entertainment at Wu Yee Children’s Services’ annual event, the Butterfly Social, on September 17 at Ana Mandara.  The event will bring together over 150 community, government and business leaders.  All proceeds from the event will support Wu Yee’s mission to create opportunities for children to be healthy, for families to thrive and for communities to be strong.

When: Thursday, September 17, 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Where: Ana Mandara in Ghirardelli Square
871 Beach Street (at Polk Street)

To purchase tickets and make donations:
http://www.acteva.com/go/butterfly

The committee members are former AAJA president Mae Cheng, current treasurer Candace Heckman, former vice president for broadcast Randall Yip, veteran journalism recruiter Joe Grimm and nonprofit communications director Keith Kamisugi.

The responsibility of choosing a new executive director belongs to each of us. We invite your ideas about how the position should be structured, how AAJA should be run and, of course, your ideas about who might fill this vital role. This critical juncture is the right time for you to stand up and lean into the process. Please send your ideas to aajasearch@gmail.com.

“This group brings together diverse perspectives, values and experiences of AAJA’s members,” said National President Sharon Chan. “Thank you to all of them for taking on this task.”

The committee’s work will begin immediately following the AAJA National Convention in Boston this week.

Mae Cheng is a former AAJA and UNITY president and is executive editor of amNewYork , a Newsday publication. As AAJA president, Cheng led the organization through transformative change, establishing the AAJA National Endowment. Cheng is also a McCormick Foundation Change Leadership Fellow named by the Poynter Institute. She was the AAJA National Convention Chair in New York in 2000.

Randall Yip has served as AAJA’s vice president for broadcast and led efforts to increase the number of Asian American men in broadcast journalism, launching an Asian American Male Broadcasters task force and mentor program. He works as a senior producer at ABC7/KGO-TV in San Francisco. Yip was the winner of ELP’s Outstanding Leadership Award in 2006 and AAJA’s Member of the Year in 2005.

Candace Heckman is AAJA’s treasurer. A former breaking news editor at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Heckman is a multiplatform journalist with first-hand experience of how to serve AAJA members in the midst of seismic shifts in the journalism landscape. Based in Seattle, Heckman is a graduate of AAJA’s Executive Leadership Program and the Maynard Institute’s Media Academy at Nieman Foundation.

Keith Kamisugi is an AAJA associate member and director of communications at the Equal Justice Society. Kamisugi worked as a public relations consultant for the national office and numerous AAJA conventions and led the communications team at the 2004 UNITY convention. He serves on several nonprofit boards, including Chinese for Affirmative Action, Asian Law Caucus, SF Japantown Foundation and APA for Progress and on the advisory board for Netroots Nation. He received AAJA’s Member of the Year Award in 2004.

Joe Grimm is an AAJA member and visiting editor-in-residence at Michigan State University. A former newsroom recruiter at the Detroit Free Press, Grimm has mentored hundreds of journalists in his career, and received AAJA’s Leadership in Diversity Award in 2005. An early innovator in recruiting online, Grimm now runs the Ask the Recruiter blog at the Poynter Institute and has been inducted into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame.