For Immediate Release
December 18, 2012
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Contact: Deborah Wang; dwang@asiaohio.org; 330-645-5805
ASIA Raises Over $42,000 at 2012 Gala and Fundraiser
INDEPENDENCE, OH – Community supporters, sponsors, and volunteers helped Asian Services In Action, Inc. (ASIA) raise over $42,000 at its 2012 Gala and Fundraiser on November 2. Over 120 guests attended the event at the Crowne Plaza Cleveland South for an evening filled with live and silent auctions, cultural performances, and multiethnic catering sourced directly from northeast Ohio’s Asian & Pacific Islander (API) community.
After browsing the silent auction tables during cocktail hour, guests dined on a diverse and delicious spread: Asian greens grown by ASIA’s own HAPI Fresh farmers, Japanese oshitashi and tempura prepared live by Chef Koji Matsumoto, wu dong noodle salad from Burma, lumpia from the Philippines, lamb and vegan curry from Nepal, thousand-flavor sticky rice from Taiwan, spring rolls from Vietnam, and cupcakes prepared in the Hong Kong pastry tradition.
Dinner was followed by an exciting performance by Tyler Powell and Team from The Karate Institute of Mentor, and a rousing live auction led by Bob Hale of Benefit Auction Services. Bids flew across the room for a ride in the Goodyear Blimp, a Bus Stop Forecast Kids slot on WKYC, and an Overnight Getaway to Sauder Village. Once the bidding wars were settled, Mr. Hale also inspired the audience to raise over $9,000 during the Fund-a-Need portion of the evening to benefit ASIA’s HAPI Fresh Program, which provides agricultural job training through farming and management education to refugees from Africa, Bhutan, and Burma.
Prior to Fund-a-Need, guests heard from ASIA Program Assistant Ea Hal, who fled violence in Burma to arrive in Cleveland with his family in 2008. Four years after first attending English and computer skills classes at ASIA, Ea Hal now leads the HAPI Fresh farming initiative, which sold its unique produce at five weekly farmers’ markets throughout Northeast Ohio in 2012. (Click here to see Ea Hal’s story; click here for the gala event webpage.)
The girls of Paj Tawg Tshiab (Blooming Flower Hmong Dance Group), attired in brilliant traditional dress, closed the night with a charming performance of the native dance of the Hmong, an ethnic group from Laos.
ASIA’s 2012 Gala and Fundraiser was generously sponsored by Gilead Sciences; Akron General Medical Center; Ariel International Center, LLC; Bento Express; County of Summit Developmental Disabilities Board; Huntington National Bank; Janet Lee Kemp, MD; KeyBank; Margaret W. Wong & Associates; MetroHealth System; Savile Lane; and Shah Capital Management. ASIA would like to also thank all live and silent auction donors, as well as the volunteers who donated their time and talents to this event. Our deepest gratitude to everyone who contributed financially by bidding, donating, or purchasing Heads-or-Tails and raffle tickets. We could not lift up our families and communities without you.
| Thank You to Our Sponsors! | Janet Lee Kemp, MD |
| Gilead Sciences | KeyBank |
| Akron General Medical Center | Margaret W. Wong & Associates |
| Ariel International Center, LLC | MetroHealth System |
| Bento Express | Savile Lane |
| County of Summit Developmental Disabilities Board | Shah Capital Management |
| Huntington National Bank |
| Table Sponsors | General Donors | Volunteers |
| Alyssa Naragon | Trent & Meghan Brown | Oscar Baaye |
| C.F. & May Chen | Chiou S. & Suio L. Chen | Robert Behrens |
| Cleveland Asian Festival | Susan L.Z. Cheng | Denise Hargrove |
| Davey Resource Group | Steven & Nancy Chuang | Rosemary Hickin |
| Elaine Tso | Jon Fiume | Hanbyeol Jang |
| Nhan Tran | John Grafton | Joelle Lingat |
| Oscar Baaye | Woosong Jun | Kelly Le |
| Unhee Kim | Sandy Lin | |
| Community Catering |
Timothy Ko | Ling Nan |
| Always Gutom, Always Pinoy | Kwang-Cheng & Chung-May Lee | Eunice Park |
| Flavors of India | Peter & Mary L. Lee | Charlie Parker |
| HAPI Fresh Farms (ASIA) | Jennifer Nagrath | Ebony Richmond |
| Tai Wah Chinese Restaurant | Chris & Robin Nau | Dana Silverman |
| Nancy Koo | Yao Shen & Cecilia Huang | Christa Silverman-Cruz |
| Yuemei Liang | The Refugee Response | Ha Tran |
| Yamin Lwin | UHCAN Ohio | Deborah Wang |
| Chef Koji Matsumoto | Visiting Nurse Association of Ohio | Jon Wang |
| Tam Nguyen | Susan Wong | |
| Bao Vue | ||
| Mao Vue | ||
| Rui Zhang |
| Live and Silent Auction Donors | CrossFit Akron | Office of State Senator Shirley Smith |
| 30th St. Café | CrossFit CLE | Pacific Steak & Seafood Buffet |
| Akron Beacon Journal | Curiously Whimsical Design | Peter Chen |
| Alyssa Naragon | Eunice Park | Savile Lane |
| American Greetings | Garden Designs Landscape | Sharley Chang |
| Asian American Bar Association of Ohio | Gavin Scott Salon and Spa | The Cleveland Browns |
| BCG & Company | Gervasi Vineyard | The Cleveland Museum of Natural History |
| Boston Mills/Brandywine Ski Resort | Great Lakes Brewing Company | The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company |
| C.F. & May Chen | Janet Lee Kemp | The J.M. Smucker Company |
| China Gourmet | Laura Fruscella | Webtong.com |
| City of Akron | Li Wah | WKYC Channel 3 |
| Cleveland Cinemas | LoveWhatIDo Photography | |
| Cleveland Public Library | Michael Byun | |
| Creations by Arooj Ashraf | Office of U.S. Rep. Steven LaTourette | |
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Asian Services In Action
Founded in 1995, Asian Services In Action’s mission is to is to empower and advocate for Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders (AAPIs); and to provide AAPIs access to quality, culturally, and linguistically appropriate information and services. Visit www.asiainc-ohio.org to learn more. Follow ASIA on Facebook and Twitter!