The First 100 Days, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and Every Day Thereafter

By Elena Ong

Because of what AA NHPIs did on November 4, 2008, CHANGE came to America, CHANGE came to Asian Pacific America.

Because of what AA NHPIs did on January 19, 2009, the Presidential Inaugural Committee’s National Day of Service, HOPE came to America, HOPE came to Asian America, HOPE came to Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander America.

From the First Day of the 2008 Presidential Election, to the First 200 Days of the Obama Administration, AA NHPIs throughout the nation, are answering President Obama’s Call for National Service

By believing in HOPE, because HOPE saves lives.

Every day, as the clock ticks, 6,000 patients diagnosed with myelolyphoma HOPE to LIVE, but only half-a-million AA NHPIs are in the Be the Match Registry, not enough to help everyone who needs a bone marrow transplant, to live. (delete to survive).

By creating SOLUTIONS, to keep HOPE alive.

By forming partnerships with AA NHPI medical leaders, community leaders, elected leaders, and patients, to prevent leukemia, and encourage more AA NHPIs to become bone marrow donors, and collaborating with Yul Kwon, Cook IslandsÂ’ Survivor and Spokesperson for the Be The Match Registry (BTM), Asian Pacific American Medical Students Association (APAMSA), AAPIs for Obama, APIAVote, APAs for Progress (APAP), Asian American Donor Program (AADP), Asians for Miracle Marrow Matches (A3M), Cammy Lee Leukemia Foundation (CLLF), Family Bridges (FB), and South Asian Marrow Association of Recruiters (SAMAR), Hon. Gary Locke, Hon. Fiona Ma, Hon. Jean Quan, Hon. Dee Andrews, Hon. Suja Lowenthal, and Hon. Harold Fong, to bring “The Gift of HOPE” to Asian Pacific America for the 2009 PIC National Day of Service at the Paul Hom Asian Clinic in Sacramento, the MLK Day Parade in Long Beach, the Tet Festival in San Francisco, the Renaissance Plaza in Oakland Chinatown, the APIA Vote Town Hall in Washington, DC, and at “Unity for the Sake of Change” at the Oakland Coliseum.  That weekend, hundreds of AA NHPIs, from NYC to Long Beach, took a simple cheek swab, and registered to become a bone marrow donor, to give “The Gift of HOPE” – a noble act, a noble gift of life, that money cannot buy.  Dozens more “pledged it forward” by agreeing to organize AA NHPI Bone Marrow Awareness Days/Drives/Recruitment Parties.

The result?  Passion.  Momentum.  A Lifelong Commitment Public Service.

The passion and momentum to propel National Service as more than One Day of National Service, but a Lifetime of National Service, not just on one day, but for the future, each and every day.

On Lunar New Year’s APAMSA teamed up with Yul Kwon to launch it’s National Public Service Project, “1,000 Cranes for Hope,” to register 1,000 AA NHPI Bone Marrow Donors by APA Heritage Month.  Hon. Laura Lee worked with APAMSA UCI to host a bone marrow drive at the Cerritos Friendship Festival; APAMSAÂ’s National Bone Marrow Director, Vinca Chow, hosted a “See One, Do One, Teach One” bone marrow drive at Stanford Medical School; Cupertino Mayor Kris Wang organized bone marrow drives at public libraries throughout Cupertino; Jeanette Moy of APIAVote teamed up with OCA NY to organize bone marrow drives with NYC Councilmember John Liu; and National APAMSA launched it’s “1000 Cranes for Hope” You-Tube, featuring Yul Kwon and APAMSA President Shelly Choo, to inspire community leaders and GenerASIAN Next to be the momentum that spearheads APAHM “Be The Match” Parties.