Dear AKASF Members and Friends,
Happy New Year! Wow, 2011 has sure been an eventful year for AKASF! Over the past year, we have collaborated with a number of organizations to continue to build a stronger Korean American/Korean adoptee community here in the Bay Area and beyond.
In April, we helped bring a new publication to the Bay Area that shares an anthology of adoptees stories called More Voices, in which several of our members were featured. In May, we hosted our official relaunch event, and June brought us our second year in partnership with the San Francisco Giants for Korean Heritage Night.
In August, there were several personnel changes to AKASF where many of AKASF’s board members moved to different places in the world as well as moved onto working on new ventures. However, in amidst the various personnel changes, AKASF was able to continue to co-partner on several events throughout the Fall and Winter including AKASF’s joint Fall Fundraiser with the Mixed Roots Foundation at the 3rd Avenue Sports Bar and Grill in San Mateo; Chuseok Children’s Fair in partnership with SFSU’s Asian American Studies department; the Korean American Community Center’s Korea Day Festival and Preshow; the Korean American Chamber of Commerce of Silicon Valley’s holiday dinner; and most recently, the Korean Consulate General and San Francisco Korean Language & Culture Foundation’s K-Pop Contest.
With all of the success of these recent activities, there still is a great need for more people to get involved and help keep the organization going. As you know, AKASF is run by an all volunteer board who have responsibilities to full time jobs, families, school, and personal lives.
As we begin a new year, we are reaching out to all of you to get involved and assist us in lessening the burden of the administrative and legal tasks necessary to run an official nonprofit organization.
Starting January 31, 2012, in efforts to minimize the administrative, fiscal, and legal responsibilities of AKASF, we will make the decision to discontinue the organization’s 501(c)(3) non-profit status in order to keep AKASF operating, but more as a social group. Should this change take place, through our volunteers, our efforts can be better focused on organizing more social events as well as continue to partner with others in planing activities that are more meaningful to all of you.
So, to kick off the new year, AKASF’s 2012 list of New Year’s resolutions includes: getting fit, reading more books, and learning Korean. AKASF invites all of you to help us establish AKASF’s new running and book clubs as well as provide adoptees and their families a way to learn the Korean language for FREE! Classes will be held in partnership with Adroit College.
Also, AKASF will be co-hosting a special Bowling Night with the Mixed Roots Foundation and the Adoptee Mentor Program (AMP) in celebration of Seollal, the Korean Lunar New Year on Thursday, January 26, 2012, which is also recognized as National Mentoring Day.
Please stay tuned for more details on these exciting events and activities...and get involved and help support us as we help support your greater Korean American/Korean adoptee community!
On the behalf of the Board of Directors,
Sincerely,
Kira Donnell
President, AKASF
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