Elena Ong, the National Coordinator of “The Gift of Hope,” brings us this message, urging everyone to conduct a bone marrow donation drive at your next APA community event. If you register your “1,000 Cranes for Hope” drive at www.usaservice.org by March 1, 2009, your group might even get a chance to get a phone call from Yul Kwon, Cook Islands Survivor. Please read on for more details.

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Did you participate in the National Day of Service this past Martin Luther King, Jr. Day? Kayomi Wada, Service Learning Coordinator at the University of Washington Tacoma, shares her experience organizing a service project for MLK Day. Kayomi was one of the first to respond to our call for AAPIs to participate in the National Day of Service, and her project, The Giving Garden, was a tremendous success.

“As a fourth-generation Japanese American, whose family made their living in the New World farming, I have held onto the belief that some sort of agricultural acumen would transfer down the decades if I were to sow some seeds. After the death of innocent houseplants and various herbs hanging perilously out my apartment windowsill, I decided it was time to actually put some research into the endeavor. Of course, this remained on my to-do list, as I recalled how easily I thought gardening should have come. Perhaps my strongest push toward creating the garden had less to do with my farming heritage, and more to do with the patriotic line in my family, my grandfather served in the WWII even though his family was interned, how could I not answer President Obama’s call to service? I never was into the war thing, but community service? Sign me up!

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HOPE Comes to Asian Pacific America:  Join “A Thousand Cranes for Hope” this APA Heritage Month

Dear Friends,

A huge, huge mahalo to everyone for being part of the National Day of Service Project, “The Gift of HOPE!”   

The Gift of Hope’s Washington, D.C. event, and national tie-in, would not have been possible without the leadership of Vida Benevides, ED of APIAVote and President Obama’s AAPI team!

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Every time our nation has faced crisis, our national experience has shown Americans rise to the challenge. While government has an important role to play in helping rekindle our economy and addressing the problems our country faces, President-elect Obama believes each of us, as Americans, has a responsibility to do what we can for our communities and fellow citizens. The United States is once again at a crossroads and that is why the President-elect hopes to use the occasion of his Inauguration to rally our nation to commit to service in our communities.

This Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Asian Americans for Obama is joining with President-elect Obama in making this call to service to our activists and every American across the country to reignite the nation’s spirit of volunteerism and community service. This new effort, Renew America Together, is not just about stepping up to serve for a single day, but rather to make a continued commitment to serving our communities throughout the year. Together, with our next President, we are asking that you and your family, friends and neighbors sign-up to volunteer on January, 19, 2009 right now.

To get active in your community, please visit:

www.USAService.org

This new, interactive website enables Americans in every state in the nation to find a volunteer opportunity in their neighborhood, or to create and host an event on their own. Please click on the link above and sign-up to volunteer today. Together, we can begin to Renew America.

As a part of the President Elect’s Renew America Together campaign — the nationwide effort to foster a new dedication to volunteerism and community service on MLK Day and throughout the year — the Obama team is teaming up with YouTube to sponsor a video competition.

The goal: For individuals and organizations to create a three-minute or less YouTube video designed to tell the story of what they plan to do on MLK Day. The videos could be dramatic, heartfelt, comical, or narrative — whatever best captures the spirit of the Renewing America Together campaign.

Individuals or organizations who want to submit a video should follow the step-by-step “how to post a YouTube video” instructions below the fold. All submissions should be posted to the Renewing America Together channel no later than January 14th, 2009. Three winners will be selected. The winning videos will be posted on www.USAService.org, and the creator of the single best video will get a personal phone call from First Lady Michelle Obama.

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Day of Service and Donations at Union Rescue Mission
(Day of Service - January 19)

Volunteer with Asian American Action Fund on President-Elect Obama’s National Day of Service by joining us at Union Rescue Mission in Downtown, Los Angeles.

AAA-Fund will be serving food and collecting donations for the mission.

Food service volunteers needed: 15
Donations and donors: Unlimited!*

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Building A Giving Garden

The University of Washington Tacoma is an urban campus located in downtown Tacoma, and is eager to give back to its community. This project is the construction of four raised bed gardens which will grow organic vegetables to be harvested and donated to Tacoma’s Good Neighbor Café, a facility providing breakfast and dinner to homeless and low-income individuals. The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation has provided grant money to fund the project, including all supplies for the volunteer as well as snacks and beverages.

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Asian American LEAD and MD AAPIs for Obama MLK Volunteer Day

Event will take place at 11141 Georgia Ave., Suite 515, Wheaton, MD 20902 from 1 - 3pm.

Homeless shelters in D.C. are in need of packages that contain sanitary and health care items. Volunteers are needed to donate the individual-sized toiletries and to package them to be delivered to homeless shelters. The items we need can be seen from the following links:

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Dear Democrat,

Today, 55 Californians are gathering in the Assembly Chambers of our State Capitol to cast their Electoral College votes for Barack Obama. The energy from this historical moment resonated not only in Sacramento, but also all across our nation as we now prepare to celebrate the historic inauguration of our 44th President.

California Democrats from every corner of the state are packing their bags and traveling to our nation’s capital to participate in the festivities. If you are one of the many Californians traveling to Washington, DC , to be a part of history, you definitely cannot miss the California Democratic Party’s 2009 Inaugural Celebration. Enjoy the inauguration with your fellow Californians in Washington, D.C. by purchasing a ticket to our January 18, 2009 California Bash in Washington, D.C.

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Happy holidays everyone! Great news! In order to accommodate as many organizations’ schedule that is affected by the holiday rush last week and this week, the Presidential Inaugural Committee’s final deadline for community organizations to submit their MLK Day of Service events for inclusion the launch of the PIC National Day of Service website has been changed to this Friday, January 2nd.

January 19, 2009, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the day before President-Elect Barack Obama’s inauguration, has been designated as a National Day of Service. The Presidential Inauguration Committee is working hard to promote participation in community service by people all across the country; both President-Elect Obama and Vice President-Elect Joe Biden will be participating in service events themselves. The Obama-Biden campaign and transition team have made an unprecedented effort to reach out to and include the AAPI community. Now it’s time for us to demonstrate our commitment to our communities and give back through service.

Asian Americans for Obama has been asking our grassroots network to organize community service events in your area. Examples of events include: volunteering at an AAPI domestic violence shelter, rebuilding homes damaged in recent natural disasters, organizing a free legal or health clinic, collecting school supplies for underprivileged children, or even a bake sale to raise funds for a charity. Organize an event today and send the following information to events@asianamericansforobama.com:

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