October 2015 has proven to be an especially important and busy month for ACAS. Read on to find out why…
ACAS 2015 Annual General Meeting
The ACAS 2015 Annual General Meeting took place on Friday, October 23, 2015. We would like to especially thank our outgoing board members Giovanni Temansja, Joel Tran Bansil, Agnes Tong, Emily Hao, and Gerson Mobo for their time and commitment to our organization this past year. Highlights of the evening included a tribute to ACAS co-founder, the late Dr. Kirby Hsu, by fellow ACAS co-founder Dr. Alan Li. The evening also saw the recognition of our most dedicated volunteers and Team CelebrAsian who helped us raised over $10,000 this past year. We would also like to welcome our new vibrant team of Board of Directors.
ACAS raises $24,172 at the 2015 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Half Marathon and 5k Charity Challenge!
Thanks to our team of 32 runners and walkers and our generous donors, ACAS has surpassed our $20,000 fundraising goal and raised a total of $24,172!!! With seven teams competing to raise the highest amount of funds this year, Team CelebrAsian once again raised the most amount of money two years in a row, with a total of $10.400! Our fastest runners at this year’s 5k race are Henry Luyombya with a time of 22’46”, and Anthony Ku Ong with a time of 23’14”. Our fastest staff runner is Christian Hui with a time of 25’17”. On behalf of the ACAS board and staff team, we would like to thank you for supporting ACAS. Your contributions ensure that we can continue to provide quality services for East and Southeast Asians living with HIV as well as LGBTQ youths in the Greater Toronto Area.
Dine for ACAS at Fabulous Feast – Thai Edition!
Dine for ACAS: Fabulous Feast – Thai Edition was a special culinary event that took place on October 10, 2015, to help ACAS raise funds for ACAS ScotiaRun Charity Challenge. The menu included various delicious Thai dishes including Green curry, Som Tum (papaya salad), Vermicelli salad, Thai Esarn sausage, Son in law eggs and an array of Thai desserts. We would like to thank all the supporters who came to feast for a great cause, as well as the fabulous team who put the event together:
- Patchmon Thai dessert, Kat, Nuan, Tammy, Duang, and Daniel for donating food.
- Darwin for flower arrangement and decoration.
- Tammy, Fendi, and Noulmook for cooking.
- Ronnie, Mike, and Richard for coordinating.
Support Program presents the last macro Health Promotion Workshop of the year
The Support Program is delighted to welcome back Dr. Alice Tsang, pharmacist for the Immune Deficiency clinic at Toronto General Hospital to present on the topic of HIV and Drug Interactions on Friday, October 30, 2015. We would like to thank Thai Room restaurant at 243 Carlton Street for providing us with a space and a delicious a three course meal at the event.
Our Youth Matters!
Check out our new Queer Asian Youth Coming Out Resources for Youth and Parents!
After working with an advisory of queer Asian youth and parents, the QAY Coming Out Resources for Youth and Parents are finally out! Read the parents/families version and the youth version in 8 different languages: Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Thai, and English!
Read them here: http://issuu.com/asiancommunityaidsservices
Telling Our Own Story: Queer Asian Youth Writing Project Kick-Off
On October 26, our Queer Asian Youth Program held a kick-off orientation for our Telling Our Own Story: Queer Asian Youth Writing Project! 10 youth will have an opportunity to be mentored by three amazing queer or queer-positive Asian writers to publish their stories.
We are thankful to receive the support from the following writers/mentors:
- Kym Nacita: Kym is a Calgary-based spoken word artist and workshop facilitator. Her time in Calgary is spent organizing art shows such as #POCSUPREMACY and Taking Back What’s Ours which gives a platform for queer/trans black, indigenous, people of colour (QTBIPOC) to share their work. She also facilitated a workshop series for QTBIPOCs on reclaiming our voices through poetry and writing.
- Rain Chan: Rain is a Hong-Kong-born Chinese Canadian currently living on colonized land known as Turtle Island. Most recently, Rain was awarded second place for her play The Virus at Pat the Dog Theatre Creation 24-playwriting contest. Rain’s writing has been published in Project 40 Collective, Pink Ink, and Venus. Aside from writing and performing, Rain enjoys training in qigong and has won two medals at the Toronto Health Qigong Tournament.
- Carrianne Leung: Carrianne is an LGBTQ-positive ally who was also a past Board President and of Asian Community AIDS Services. She is a fiction writer and educator who lives in Toronto, and holds a Ph.D. in Sociology and Equity Studies from OISE/University of Toronto. Carrianne works at the Ontario College of Art and Design University, and is a co-editor, with of Critical Inquiries: A Reader in Studies of Canada. Her debut novel, The Wondrous Woo was shortlisted for the Toronto Book Awards 2015.
October is about Play!
ACAS Women’s Program hosts Evening of Improv Social!
The ACAS Women’s Program hosted an evening of Improv social on October 21, 2015. This is the first event hosted by our new Women’s Education and Outreach Coordinator Inex B Incubury. From the feedback received, it was truly a fun night where attendees had fun while letting their creativity shine through!
Rice In Motion Presents: Cosplay 101 + Boardgames!
Rice In Motion, a sports and recreation program for Queer Asian Youth, hosted a fun night of Cosplay and Boardgames on October 22, 2015. Our vibrant group of youth learned practical tips on how to play Cosplay from an experienced cosplayer from the US via Skype followed by a fun evening of board games.
HUMPDAY: October
The ACAS Men’s Program SLAM presents HumpDay: October, a Gay Asian Social night on the last Wednesday of every month! Each month’s HumpDay will be something fun and different, but always a potluck. This month, the group went back in time to the 90’s and watched the acclaimed Taiwanese film, The Wedding Banquet.
October is Halloween Month!
QAY Asian Horror Movie Night
On October 24, 2015, Queer Asian Youth held an Asian Horror Movies night to get everyone in the mood for Halloween! The spooky evening featured a double-screening of ‘A Tale of Two Sisters’ and ‘Ring (Original)’. We also heard some really scary ghost stories were shared that evening…
Did everyone have a good time trick or treating?
ACAS and QAY had its annual Halloween Outreach on Church Street on October 31, 2015. Not only were our group of volunteers and staff dressed up in fabulous costume but they had an awesome fun night helping the community by passing out condoms and lube packages with candies to all the revellers on the street!
That’s all for October! See you next month as we wrap November to welcome the Holiday Season!
