GAPIMNY

In 2014, GAPIMNY had…

• 53 events (see below)
• 6 stories in the news
• 14 Steering Committee Members
• Dozens of volunteers
• $5,300 spent
• $7,600 raised (membership dues, donations, fundraising)
• And countless queer Asian and Pacific Islanders (API) reached!

As an all volunteer group, we are proud of our involvement in the community.

You can support the queer API community by becoming a

• Paid Member
• Volunteer
• Donor

For 2015, the new 16-member GAPIMNY Steering Committee met for two days to plan the next two years.  We look forward to another exciting year!

Review of 2014

Project Reach, an organization that serves many queer youth, has graciously provided its community space for innumerable GAPIMNY events for many years. Don Kao, a co-founder of GAPIMNY (pictured above), has been with Project Reach in all of its 30 years. They will honor and tenderly roast Don Kao. They are fundraising $60,000 for a new initiative: Social Justice Freedom School.

Thursday, February 5, 2015, 6pm – 9pm
Holy Kao!: An Evening of Celebration and Laughter
Steelcase Showroom
Corner of W 58th St and 8th Ave
RSVP form. Donations.

Have you or someone else close to you been diagnosed with HIV in the last 12 months?

Then you might be eligible to participate in PATH. PATH is a research study for HIV positive gay and bisexual men diagnosed in the last 12 months.

All participants will receive up to $225.

For more information, contact the PATH study at (212) 271-7203.

We’re gearing up for the Year of the Sheep. Help GAPIMNY co-organize the LGBT contingent for the Manhattan and Flushing Lunar New Year Parades. We rely on volunteers like you to continue the tradition of LGBT visibility in our Asian immigrant communities. All are welcome to volunteer.

Event dates:
Flushing: Saturday, February 21, 2015 starting approximately at 11am
Manhattan: Sunday, February 22, 2015 starting at 1pm

If you are interested in volunteering, please email us at gapimny@gapimny.org with the subject line “Lunar New Year 2015″.

The National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA) is seeking a designer to develop an invitation and program book for NQAPIA’s Community Catalyst Awards fundraising dinner to be held in March 2015.

The invitation: simple fold open card in full color.
The program book: multi-page booklet (5.5×8.5) with the program, co-sponsors, speaker bios, and several advertisements in various sizes. Full color front and back cover, black and white inside pages.

Deadlines:
Draft of invitation design due by Jan 5, 2015.
Final invitation by Jan 20, 2015.
Draft of program book design (only program and bios, no ads) by Feb 13, 2015.
2nd draft of program book design with ads by Feb 27, 2015.
Final program book by Mar 13, 2015.

The designer will be recognized in all material and will receive complementary tickets to the dinner.

If interested, please send a portfolio of works to glenn_magpantay@nqapia.org. A committee will select the designer. For more information, call 917-439-3158.

The 2014 GAPIMNY Steering Committee has voted to donate extra funds to three organizations doing amazing work in the community.

GAPIMNY is proud to support:

Poongmul Movement Builders
Poongmul Movement Builders’ mission is to create a safe space for Queer Trans Gender Non-Conforming Asian and Pacific Islander identified community members and allies in which to celebrate our Visibility, Pride, and Empowerment through Poongmul-nori.  Members of Poongmul Movement Builders, some of whom are also members of GAPIMNY  have accompanied GAPIMNY during Lunar New Year parades and Pride Parades.

RAISE! Revolutionizing Asian American Immigrant Stories on the East Coast
RAISE is a pan-Asian undocumented youth-led group on the East Coast. RAISE aims to create safe spaces in our communities while advocating for humane immigration policies. Through political activism, leadership development, community education, and coalition building, we work to reclaim our dignity as pan-Asian undocumented peoples. RAISE organizes on the grassroots level to reimagine justice and demand liberation for immigrants in America.  Some members of RAISE are also members of GAPIMNY.

Queer Detainee Empowerment Project
The Queer Detainee Empowerment Project (QDEP), is an alternative to detention program (ATD) for queer/trans/HIV+ immigrant detainees, undocumented folks, and asylums seekers and their families in New York City. QDEP assists folks in securing structural, health/wellness, legal, and emotional support and services. QDEP works to advocate around the barriers that our members face as well around limitations due to immigration status, race, sexuality, and gender identity.  QDEP is committed to assisting folks in building lives outside of the detention system, to keeping queer families together by demanding an end to deportations, and to queering dialogue and work on immigration justice. Historically, GAPIMNY has worked on immigration as an LGBT issue.  QDEP is doing cutting edge work providing support for the most vulnerable in the immigrant detention system. 

We’re close to the end of an eventful year.

Now it’s time to vote for the 2015 GAPIMNY Steering Committee (SC). The SC manages the day-to-day operations of GAPIMNY and steers the programming of the organization.

Here is the 2015 GAPIMNY SC slate:

Co-Chair: Jason Kwong
Co-Chair: Ryan Shen
Administration Chair: Jason Tseng
Communication Chair: Clement Chan
DowneTime Chairs: Kevin Du and Kevin Park
Finance Chair: Richard Lou
Fundraising Chair: Rafael Flores
Membership Chair: Dennis Chin
Political Chair: John Cheng
Social Chair: Danny Taing
Social Media Chair: Taimour Chaudri

Members-at-Large: Jason Wu, YG Lee, Khanh Le, and Patrick Lin

Only GAPIMNY members can vote. If you have a question about your membership status, email us at gapimny@gapimny.org.

Click here to vote by December 28th 12PM EDT.

GAPIMNY’s holiday party will be with the last Elixir of the year!  We will have some appetizers.  Let us know if you would like to join us for dinner after at RSVP@gapimny.org.

2 for 1 drinks until 9pm

Friday, December 12, 2014, 7pm – 9pm
Boxers HK
742 9th Ave by 50th St

Please join API Project at PFLAG NYC for a special free screening of Kumu Hina, an intimate yet unflinching portrait of a native Hawaiian māhū, or transgender, teacher who inspires a young girl to pursue her dream of leading the school’s all-male hula troupe as she searches for love and a fulfilling romantic relationship in her own life.  Trailer.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014
5:30pm – 6:30pm Reception
6:30pm – 9pm Screening, Musical Performance, and Discussion
Ford Foundation
320 E 43rd St

RSVP at KumuHinaRSVP.eventbrite.com