Monthly Archives: May 2016

On behalf of the ACAS Board, Staff and Volunteers, we would like to thank all the honoured guests, VIPs, performers, attendees, allies, donors, supporters who helped made the ACAS Sweet 16 CelebrAsian Fundraising Gala for Queer Asian Youth a night to remember!     A list of Asian luminaries including political powerhouse, Ryerson University Distinguished Visiting Professor, and long-time equality campaigner Olivia Chow, Trillium Book Award Winner writer Wayson Choy, and video artist, writer, public intellectual and theorist Richard Fung, along with over 300 other guests, attended the Asian Community AIDS Services (ACAS) CelebrAsian Sweet 16 CelebrAsian for Queer Asian Youth (QAY) Fundraising Gala on Friday, May 6, 2016 to celebrate the 16th anniversary of QAY’s community leadership, support and services provided to provide culturally-safe services to LGBTQ youth of East and Southeast Asian heritage in the Greater Toronto Area. Equality Advocate Olivia Chow as Auctioneer for the Oil Painting “Velvet Vault” by Artist Cheng Min, which fetched for $1000.   For the past 21 years, Asian Community AIDS Services (ACAS) has provided vital support to persons living with HIV/AIDS, a safe space for LGBTQ community members, and education and outreach to underserved migrant farmworkers of East and Southeast Asian communities. Noulmook Sutdhibhasilp, ACAS Executive Director remarks, “QAY program is a good investment for the future of youth. From time to time, I meet former QAY participants who express genuine appreciation for the support from this unique program for Asian youth and peers. They let me know the program has allowed them go through their life crisis with strength and pride….that they became who they are because of QAY.” Filipino singer Phee Jay Domingo, serenades to Miss ACAS, community ambassador for Asian Community AIDS Services at the Sweet 16 CelebrAsian Fundraising Gala Since 2000, Queer Asian Youth (QAY), as the youth [...]

We want to thank each and everyone of you for a very successful CelebrAsian Sweet 16 Fundraising Gala for Queer Asian Youth in early May! It has been an extremely busy April at ACAS. Just like our Spring season that came a little late this year,, our April 2016 Month in Review is arriving a little behind schedule --- yet still with all the amazing updates you are looking for!   Spring is a Time for Planting   To welcome Spring, The ACAS Women’s Program got together for a Growth/Nature/Nurture Women’s Social. This year, the program has planned a series of women's social events for this year based on the theme of Growth; Grow your plant (herb gardening) Grow your voice (singing workshop) Grow your food (cooking with grown herbs) Grow your rhythm (dancing workshop) Grow your strength (self defense workshop) Grow your skills (mahjong/Board Gaming) Grow your bonds (relationship related workshop) The workshops build on each other (ie. cooking the herbs in the 3rd social that we grew in the 1st social)! The socials will be on Saturday afternoons and will happen once every six to eight weeks. Our first social, Grow your plant: Herb Gardening took place on Saturday April 30th. The attendees planted herbs such as parsley, mint or basil, learned about ways to take care of the plants and the self, chatted over snacks, and got to take their potted herb home for nurture and growth! Everyone is encouraged to share tips and pics of the growth of your plant on the event's facebook page~☆ As you can see in the photo above, our first "Growth" Series Social Event was a great success! Investing in our Youth   QAY is starting a new individual peer counseling sessions!   Register for confidential and non-judgmental peer support by & [...]