A&PI Wellness Center Announces Queer Asian and Pacific
Islander Youth Scholarship Recipients in Event Tonight at
LGBT Community Center
(San Francisco, July 28 2004)
Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center (A&PI Wellness
Center) tonight announced the winners of its annual Pride
Scholarships at an event held at the San Francisco Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center.
Ten Bay Area youth have been selected to receive a total
of $16,000 in Pride Scholarships. Attending in person to receive
their awards were Jenny Hoang, a student at Laney College;
Ty Lim, a UC Berkeley student; Thanh “Trevor”
Nguyen, a UC Berkeley student; Joelouie Genus, a UC Santa
Cruz student; Sun Tang, a UC Berkeley student; William Ching,
a UC San Diego student; and Annie Sayo, a San Jose State University
student. Molly Leung, a City College of San Francisco student,
and Danny Nguyen, a San Francisco State University student,
also received Pride Scholarships but were unable to attend
tonight’s event. Pride Scholarship recipients are A&PI
Bay Area residents 22 years of age or younger who identify
as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning
and, in their applications, expressed a need for money to
pay for education.
“The goal in awarding Pride Scholarships is to help
eradicate the isolation, invisibility, homophobia and heterosexism
faced by thousands of A&PI queer and questioning youth
in the Bay Area and beyond,” said John Manzon-Santos,
executive director of A&PI Wellness Center. “Proudly
supporting these scholarship recipients sends a powerful and
affirming message to people of all ages and races, straight
and queer, family, supporters: queer A&PI youth are here,
making a statement, going to school, living their lives, and
are working with their straight allies to educate and sensitize
all of us, especially in the A&PI communities.”
The Queer Asian & Pacific Islander Pride Scholarship
was launched in 2000 by A&PI Wellness Center, in partnership
with the Scholarship’s visionary founder, Edward Cheng
Ming Tang, Peninsula Community Foundation, community activists,
and queer A&PI youth. A selection committee including
A&PI lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning
youth and adults reviewed applications and selected scholarship
recipients. Committee members were chosen for their diversity
in backgrounds and life experiences. Factors considered in
scholarship awards include financial need, personal and societal
challenges, creativity and originality, community involvement.
The Pride Scholarship helps to promote A&PI Wellness
Center’s Anti-Stigma Campaign, which targets monolingual
Chinese and Vietnamese people in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Anti-Stigma Campaign was funded by an $180,000 grant from
the Ford Foundation awarded in late 2003.
A&PI Wellness Center’s mission is to educate, support,
empower, and advocate for A&PI communities—particularly
A&PIs living with or at-risk for HIV/AIDS. A&PI Wellness
Center is the oldest non-profit HIV/AIDS services organization
in North America targeting A&PI communities around sexual
health and HIV/AIDS services.
For more information contact:
Sabrina Wu
A&PI Wellness Center
415.292.3420 x315
sabrina@apiwellness.org
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