Thank you for making 2014 such a great year for ACAS!!!
On behalf of the board, staff, volunteers, service users and allies of ACAS, we would like to thank you for making 2014 such a wonderful year for ACAS.
Asian Community AIDS Services (ACSAS) was formed twenty years ago on December 1, 1994, when Gay Asians Toronto’s Gay Asian AIDS Project, Southeast Asian Service Centre’s Vietnamese AIDS Project, and the Toronto Chinese Health Education Committee’s AIDS Alert Project amalgamated to support East and Southeast Asians living with and affected by HIV. Celebrating our 20th year in existence, ACAS continues to be a leader in providing innovative, community-driven, culturally and linguistically appropriate programming and services to the East and Southeast Asian HIV and LGBTQ communities in the Greater Toronto Area.
This past year, we have continued to make history improving the lives of East and Southeast Asians, especially those from the HIV, LGBTQ, migrant workers communities. A few of our highlights include pioneering #PinkDotTO, the first ever Chinatown Pride March in Asian Heritage Month with our long-time community partner Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter (CCNCTO); presenting at various panels at the World Pride Human Rights Conference and showing our fun and sexy Asian Pride at the World Pride 2014 Parade; celebrating our 20th Anniversary at the CelebrAsian Fundraising Gala and presenting the ACAS 20th Anniversary Patrick Truong Award and Community Builder Award to Derek Yee and Dr. Alan Li; and having raised over $24,800 at the 2014 ACAS ScotiaRun Charity Challenge.
We thank you for all your support and for being part of our community! See you in 2015
ACAS Holiday Volunteer and ScotiaRun Fundraiser Appreciation Party
Although it took place on the same day as the first snow storm of the year, our ACAS Holiday Volunteer Appreciation Party had a great turn out with about 25 participants on December 11, 2014. As a small community-based organization, we cannot have done much of what we do without our dedicated team of volunteer and peers assisting in our various programming and events such as giving healthy sexuality and safer sex workshops as peer educators of the women program, outreaching by our team of sex-positive outreach volunteers at Asian Bathhouse Night, acting as support program buddies and translators to our HIV+ service users, and bettering our communities through leadership and capacity training initiatives as part of Queer Asian Youth.
The evening also saw a special premier of the ACAS Transwomen Public Service Announcement made possible with generous funding from the Community One Foundation. We also took the special opportunity to present certificates to the top fundraisers and fundraising team at the Scotianbank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Half Marathon and 5k Charity Challenge, which helped ACAS raise over $24,800 this year. During the evening, there were fun games, good food, prize draws, and time for everyone to get to know one another. From all the staff members at ACAS, we cannot thank you enough!
It’s a Season of Giving and Thanks!!!
The December holiday season is always a special time for us to get together at ACAS and to treasure the special moments we had together this past year. As such, our Support Program and Men’s Program both had their holiday get-together parties this month!
The ACAS Support Program held its annual holiday party on December 13, 2014. This is a very special time for our support program service users, their partners, and volunteers of the Support Program. As ususal, everyone had a great time at the holiday gift exchange with a special twist!
The ACAS Men’s program had its Karaoke Potluck Party on December 30, 2014. Lots of food, fun, and singing took place. Who knew there were so many talented singers among us at ACAS?! 🙂
Have you gotten your hot, fun and sexy “PLAY” Calendar for the new year yet?
PLAY, the Asian Men Calendar, is a project created to fulfill a need for a tangible medium in which Asian Men can see themselves represented, in all shapes and forms. Specifically, it features gay/bi/trans Asian men, while other Asian male calendars don’t specify sexual orientation. This is a closer more realistic representation of the gay/bi/trans Asian male community that focuses on the diversity of different body types in all males. Gay men been subjected to near impossible standards. This calendar is a representation of the diverse body types found in the community, of all the sorts of interest that Asian men can have, from fetish and BDSM, to junk food to trans-issues as well. We would like to thank the generous support of Spa SX and Asian Xpress for making this project possible.
On December 19, 2014, the team who created the calendar held a special launch at the ACAS office where fans got the opportunity to meet the creators, artists, and models behind the calendar.
Thank you to Aries Cheung, you can watch a special teaser for PLAY! http://youtu.be/sWh4iJndXsg
If you would like to get a copy of the calendar or for more information, please contact:
Brian-Bao Ly
ACAS Men’s Outreach Worker
(416) 963-4300 ∙ gaap@acas.org
A $10 suggested donation is asked to help cover the production cost for the calendar.
We look forward to seeing you in 2015!
Please note that the ACAS Office will be closed until January 4 and will reopen on Monday, January 5, 2015.
