Dear Community
Dear Community
Dear Community is a group of accidental activists that ignited in response to anti-Asian hate violence. We found each other in the midst of the pandemic through the shared passion of wanting to protect our community and elders. We are healing our community by curating safe space community events that
Dear Community
Dear Community's mission is to uplift Asian pride and inspire new leaders through community building and activism. Our vision is a proud, empowered, and safe Asian community. Our values are bridging generations, building community, and supporting small businesses. Dear Community is a group of accidental activists that ignited in response to anti-Asian hate violence. We found each other in the midst of the pandemic through the shared passion of wanting to protect our community and elders. We are healing our community by curating safe space community events that foster discourse while generating income for merchants fighting to survive. Our goal is to support Asian small business corridors that have disproportionately suffered from COVID-19 and racism. We are calling to attention the Asian American experience and we work to engage and inspire the community to join the movement.
About the Organization:
Dear Community's mission is to uplift Asian pride and inspire new leaders through community building and activism.
Our vision is a proud, empowered, and safe Asian community.
Our values are bridging generations, building community, and supporting small businesses.
Dear Community is a group of accidental activists that ignited in response to anti-Asian hate violence. We found each other in the midst of the pandemic through the shared passion of wanting to protect our community and elders. We are healing our community by curating safe space community events that foster discourse while generating income for merchants fighting to survive. Our goal is to support Asian small business corridors that have disproportionately suffered from COVID-19 and racism. We are calling to attention the Asian American experience and we work to engage and inspire the community to join the movement.
organizational budget
$100,000 - $500,000
existence for
0-5 Years
Organization benefits AAPIs residing in the following state(s):
National • California • Texas
organizational budget
$100,000 - $500,000
existence for
0-5 Years
Organization benefits AAPIs residing in the following state(s):
National • California • Texas
The Issue:
Asians are traumatized by violence in our community and are internalizing their struggles AGAIN.
At the height of the pandemic in 2021, the rate of violence towards Asians increased significantly. Hate speech turned into hate crimes which meant deathly attacks on Asian communities by non-Asian people. At the start of our Lunar New Year in 2023, our Asian communities were once again struck by painful news. This time, a mass shooting attack on Asian people by the hands of older Asian men. Where we receive our news we also saw Dion Lim, reporter for ABC7 News, announce that she had to take a mental health break as she was affected by what she was reporting. And then we lost David Nguyen, founder of Jackfroot, death by choice -- suicide.
According to UCLA Health, "Overall, Asian Americans are 50% less likely than other racial groups to seek mental health services, says Dr. Ito. In some Asian cultures, mental health challenges are viewed as an individual problem or weakness and talking openly about sadness, disappointment or depression is rarely encouraged."
To say that our community has been through a lot is an understatement. We are still in it. With so much that has gone on a new need has emerged in the Asian community. We need to acknowledge our mental health.
The Solution:
We're building a community of supporters who want to stop Asian hate and uplift Asian pride. We do this by curating events that bring people together in support of local Asian small businesses. Our flagship event Chinatown Fridays is a monthly dinner in Chinatown. We've gone to every restaurant in Chinatown open past 7 (except for large restaurants) almost twice now since our start. We also have a city-wide program H(API) Hour where we choose a theme and an Asian owned bar in San Francisco, this is also a monthly recurring event. In addition to these two recurring programs we also partner with other nonprofit and community based organizations to put on larger events, such as the upcoming Sunset Asian Night Market. Additionally we have a corporate event called What's For Lunch where we bring food from a lesser known Asian small business to a corporation to share our story and explain to people how to get involved in our mission to stop Asian hate. Finally, we are launching a positive Asian mental health program:
Positive Cre(Asians) A Fun Conversation About Mental Health
This program invites different creatives that incorporate mental health healing into their art; artists, performers, comedians, motivational speakers, mental health experts, etc. Activity for this program includes craft making with the creative where the audience can get hands-on experience with how they make their art or practice their art.
The age demographic that Dear Community draws to our events is 20-40. We are in a unique situation because we know that this is the generation that is open to talking about mental health. There's momentum for mental health to be a normal topic in our community if we can encourage this generation to check in with their elders and family to bridge these discussions between the younger and older generation of Asians. Through this program we will share stories from those willing to be brave and vulnerable and also provide tools to the audience that have helped them along their journey, so that our community can share resources, learn, and strengthen together.
