UPDATE 7/25: Event has been moved to Aug. 7 so that we can hold at 111 Minna.  See doctorstohaiti.orgfor the most up-to-date information.

The host committee includes Dave Lu, Kevin Lee, Benjamin Wan and Darlene Lee. Grace and Yuni, aka KC Productions, are organizing this fundraiser to supplement the cost of sending these ten volunteers to Haiti.

RSVP on Facebook.

Five days after the earthquake, JIA was there beginning the work that continues even today. In fact, the president of JIA just left last week for Haiti again, continuing to help Haitians rebuild and recover from the devastating earthquake that demolished Port-au-Prince in January of this year.

It has been over six months now, but let’s not forget the devastation that took place there with over 230,000 lives lost.

Please see the event website (http://www.doctorstohaiti.org) for more information about the event.

$25 donation for admission; any and all additional donations will be appreciated. Your generosity makes a life-changing difference to the lives of many Haitian victims. If you are interested in being a sponsor, please e-mail events@gracekeh.com.

We hope to see you all for this exciting event!

Cross-posted from keithpr.com.

During World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt recruited soldiers of the Philippine Commonwealth Army who were then U.S. nationals into American military service. Approximately 250,000 Filipino soldiers fought alongside the U.S. Army against the Japanese and were promised the same benefits that were given to the U.S. Army soldiers. In 1946, U.S. Congress passed the Rescission Act which stripped the Filipino soldiers of their promised benefits. The Rescission Act said Filipino soldiers “shall not be deemed to have been active military, naval, or air service for the purposes of any law of the United States conferring rights, privileges, or benefits…” For over 60 years, Filipino veterans have fought to get official recognition of their honorable U.S. military service during World War II and to be declared eligible to receive full veterans benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

In February 2009, President Obama signed a law called the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation (FVEC) which set aside $198 million for their benefit. The Department of Veteran Affairs assured them that they would be able to receive the long delayed benefits that had been promised them for serving in World War II. Filipino veterans living in the U.S. would receive $15,000 and Filipino veterans living in the Philippines would receive $9,000.

Many of the Filipino veterans who sent in their applications to the Veterans Affairs office had their applications denied because they were not on a so-called “Missouri List”, a database that was intended to include all of the personnel who served in the U.S. armed forces in the 20th century. This list is an authoritative source of reference but is not an exclusive list of military veterans. On July 12, 1973, a disastrous fire at NPRC destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel files. Of those destroyed, 80 percent were Army personnel who were discharged from November 1, 1912 to January 1, 1960. There were no duplicate copies of the records that were destroyed. As the VA acknowledges, Filipino veterans were dissuaded from putting their name on this list because the Japanese military had access to that information and would find and kill the family members of those veterans who put their name on the List. Despite this historical fact, the VA has denied the applications of all Filipino veterans who are not on the List and have made no effort to develop any alternative mechanism for verifying service in World War II. Many of these Filipino veterans are in their late 80′s and 90′s and the VA’s actions may make it impossible for this country to fulfill the promise it made decades ago to these brave men and women.

According to Pete McCloskey of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, the lead attorney in this case, “As a veteran myself, I know the sacrifices that have been made by these soldiers in both blood and tears. Compounding one injustice made decades ago with new injustices today do not reflect the true spirit of America. Hopefully, this suit will serve as a catalyst to convince the VA to do what is right.”

A copy of the complaint can be found at http://www.cpmlegal.com.

Mark Grafilo
Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy
(650)697-6000
www.cpmlegal.com

Lourdes Tancinco
Tancinco Law Offices
(415)397-0808
www.tancinco.com

Luisa M. Antonio
Veterans Equity Center
415.255.2347
www.vetsequitycenter.org

COTCHETT, PITRE & McCARTHY

TANCINCO LAW OFFICES

The Eva Lowe Fellowship for Social Justice provides a unique opportunity to a new generation of activists and organizers who want to build the power of and improve the lives of the working class Chinese immigrant community. During eight weeks of intensive training, ground work and reflection, Eva Lowe Fellows will learn about and support Chinese immigrant struggles in San Francisco, work to connect the larger API Movement across the country and build lasting relationships with peers, mentors and community members.

Eva Lowe is a longtime progressive community activist who has committed her life to serving the community, she turns 101 this year. Born in Fort Bragg, California in 1909, Eva was the fourth child of five girls. Her mother passed away when she was young and her father was a cook at a lumber mill. Throughout her early life, she and her family went back and forth to China for education and to support the anti-imperialist movement. She was inspired by China’s movement and the women’s rights movement and got involved in many progressive issues.

In 1926 she was a part of her high school’s Chinese Student Association and made “soap box” speeches in Chinatown to condemn foreign aggression in China. In the 1930’s during the Great Depression, Eva became involved with Huaren Shiye Hui (Chinese Unemployed Alliance), a predecessor organization to the Chinese Progressive Association. Returning to China in 1937 during China’s war with Japan, Eva volunteered at the China Defense League for Madame Sun-Yat Sen. In 1941, Eva and her family returned the United States to settle in Oakland and to start a small grocery business. Later her family became well known philanthropists and community leaders. After retirement, she volunteered for over 15 years at the Chinese Culture Center, the Chinese Hospital, and UC Moffitt Hospital. Eva has dedicated her life to social and economic justice and believes that people should actively work to end imperialism and “fight for the underdog” – the poor and working class community.

All placements for the program will be in San Francisco, California. Scholarships ranging from $500 – $2000 are available but students are also encouraged to seek additional and alternative funding sources (include campus work-study programs, scholarships and stipends). All other costs will the responsibility of each Fellow though some assistance may be offered to locate and secure housing. A maximum of four Fellows will be chosen for the 2010 year.

Applications are due by Monday, March 8, 2010 at 5:00 pm. Applications can be filled out online at http://www.evalowe.org. We will announce the Fellowship recipients by March 20, 2010.

Founded in 1972, the Chinese Progressive Association educates, organizes and empowers the low income and working class immigrant Chinese community in San Francisco to build collective power with other oppressed communities to demand better living and working conditions and justice for all people. http://www.cpasf.org

Thanks to Betty Magome for sharing this.

The organization’s selection of APA Family Support Services as its partner of choice aligns with Project by Project’s national theme of “Asian Americans and Health Care” for 2010.

APA Family Support Services promotes healthy families and works to prevent child abuse and domestic violence in Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. The nonprofit addresses a variety of Asian immigrant health issues including health disparity, access, awareness, and education through home visitation, parent support, mental health services, and community advocacy and development. All of nonprofit’s services are designed for San Francisco’s most vulnerable population of children and their families.

“PbP is excited to mobilize and empower Asian American professionals in the SF/Bay Area into being active in their community and making an impact through volunteerism,” says Dean Yao, chapter president. “As a national organization, PbP has a track record of connecting people to issues, and we are looking forward to working with APA to create more channels of community involvement. Our volunteers are dedicated, talented and committed to utilizing their skills and resources to improving the health care needs of Asian Americans.”

PbP’s 2010 partnership campaign will focus on increasing APA’s volunteer base, raising the visibility of its mission through various marketing efforts, and supporting funding for its much needed programs.

“Our core program, In-Home Visitation, one of our early prevention programs, is at risk of losing its main funding source due to the current economic downturn that is driving San Francisco city departments’ budget cuts,” says Amor Santiago, APA Executive Director. “With our partnership this year with PbP, we hope to raise funds and bring greater awareness for the importance of this program.” The families that receive APA In-Home Visitation Services often have no other social support system.

The supplemental funds raised through a partnership with PbP will help ensure that low-income monolingual immigrant families in desperate need of the In-Home Program will receive uninterrupted services despite unstable city funding.

APA believes a partnership with PbP will raise awareness to serious health, social and economic issues. Such issues include lack of health care access due to isolation, culture shock and language barriers, poor nutrition due to poverty, and poor ventilation in substandard living situations. Both PbP and APA hope to inspire API’s to take greater social action and address issues like these affecting our local communities.

Project by Project was founded in New York in 1998, expanded to Southern California in 2001, and SF/Bay Area is the third and newest chapter with additional regions in development. Since PbP was founded, it has partnered with 20 organizations and built a volunteer base of more than 1,500 volunteers nationwide. PbP selects a national theme every year with each chapter choosing a local non-profit organization within that theme with whom to partner. The chapter then tailors a year-long campaign to help its fundraising, community outreach, and public awareness efforts.

For more information about volunteer opportunities and upcoming events with Project by Project and APA Family Support Services, visit http://www.projectbyproject.org and http://www.apasfgh.org.

The goal for these workshop sessions is to advance our community’s political, social, and economic well-being by providing participants with an expanded skill-set and knowledge for effective advocacy and organizing. We are looking for workshops that, as a whole, will:

• Equip participants with concrete and tangible skills that can be applied to their respective fields, such as making linkages between program implementation and policy advocacy.
• Reflect the diversity of the API community, including race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, language and geography.
• Highlight issues impacting the API community, including representation from a wide array of disciplines, fields, populations, and sectors.
• Facilitate linkages among diverse areas to strengthen common goals in public policy advocacy.
• Utilize innovative training methods, including audio-visual presentations, small group discussions, mock trainings, “hands-on” project formats.

If your organization would like to facilitate a workshop at the May 3 – 4, 2010, California Asian Pacific Islander Policy Summit, please complete the attached form. Workshop sessions should last for two hours.

Workshop proposals are due by February 8, 2010. You will be notified via email on whether your workshop has been selected by March 8, 2010. All selected workshop facilitators will receive complimentary conference registration.

Please email or fax completed applications and materials to Andrew T. Medina via fax at (916) 319-3628 or at Andrew.Medina@asm.ca.gov.

During his lifetime, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. worked tirelessly toward a dream of equality. The King Day of Service is a way to transform Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and teachings into community service that helps solve social problems. That service may meet a tangible need, such as cleaning up one of our community treasures.

For this reason, NBC and Assemblymember Paul Fong have chosen Ulistac Natural Area. Ulistac, the last 40 acres of open space in the City of Santa Clara, teaches people of all ages about the Santa Clara Valley’s natural and human history. People often visit Ulistac to learn about native plants and ecology, bird watch, jog, walk their dogs, and to enjoy the outdoors.

Fong and NBC will be conducting this day of service by cleaning up Ulistac Natural Area on Monday, January 18, 2010, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., at Ulistac Natural Area which is located on Lick Mill Blvd., between Hope Dr. and Tasman Dr. in Santa Clara. For more information call the office of Assemblymember Paul Fong at (650) 210-2000 or (408) 277-2003, or visit http://www.asm.ca.gov/fong .

In his fight for civil rights, Dr. King inspired Americans to think beyond themselves, look past differences, and work toward equality. Serving side by side, community service bridges barriers between people and teaches us that in the end, we are more alike than we are different. These ideas of unity, purpose, and the great things that can happen when we work together toward a common goal – are just some of the many reasons we honor Dr. King through service on this special holiday.