NAPABA is proud to have been an organizational partner for the Unity March this past Saturday [June 25], the first large mobilization of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) on the National Mall that brought people of all backgrounds together who care about advancing socioeconomic and cultural equity, racial justice, and solidarity. Executive Director Priya Purandare was quoted in the Washingtonian for this historic event. We thank our members who attended and volunteered in the summer heat. Your presence contributed to a larger movement, and we are grateful for all you do! If you missed the event or any remarks, a full livestream of the Unity March is available for viewing here.
Community Service Corps | #NAPABAinAction
The mobilization came at the 40th anniversary of Vincent Chin’s murder, a critical turning point for the AAPI community. Chin’s murder, and the fact that his killers faced no jail time, highlighted the lack of a strong national voice for AAPIs within this country’s legal system. The case galvanized the community to action and this led to NAPABA’S founding in 1988 to give voice to values of justice, equity, and opportunity for AAPIs. Since that time, NAPABA has been strongly committed to civil rights advocacy.
We now stand at another turning point in history with the current rise in hate crimes targeting diverse communities. To take action and harness the power of our membership, we launched the NAPABA Community Service Corps to provide opportunities for NAPABA members to act for impact at the local and national levels. NAPABA Community Service Corps opportunities include hate crimes assistance and election protection efforts to fill the needs of the community.
NAPABA needs your help to form a national infrastructure of members committed to strengthening our communities. Will you join #NAPABAinAction? Learn more here and sign up on the Volunteer Now tab!
On Saturday, April 30, AABANY’s Pro Bono & Community Service Committee formed The Pelican Brief team for the Bronx Zoo’s Run for the Wild, a 5K Run and 3K Family Fun Run/Walk. This year, Run for the Wild is inspired by the beloved and endangered hornbills. The Pelican Brief ran, walked, or crawled to improve their well-being and mental health. The Pelican Brief team was happy to participate and support this great cause, and to network with each other in the process.
AABANY members Kevin Hsi, Thomas Hou, Nelson Mar, and May Wong showed up at 7am to show their support. In first place was Thomas Hou who finished the 5k at 9:06am. In second place was Nelson Mar who ran with a pulled hamstring, with his newborn Esperanza cheering him on from her stroller. Co-chairs, Kevin Hsi of the Government & Public Service Committee, and May Wong of the Pro Bono & Community Service Committee finished around late 9am.
Congratulations to The Pelican Brief who placed 19th out of the top 100 teams and raised $1,085 to support the hornbills! And congratulations to Thomas Hou, who placed 20th out of the top 100 participants and raised $890!
Please join the Pro Bono & Community Service Committee at our next event, the Queens Pro Bono Legal Clinic on Saturday, June 25. At these pro bono clinics, attorneys and staff provide free 30-minute legal information and referral sessions to limited English proficient (LEP) clients who speak Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, and/or Spanish, in matters relating to housing, family, consumer debt, estates, and immigration matters.
NEW YORK – March 31, 2021 – AABANY’s Pro Bono and Community Services Committee (“PBCS”) and the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (“CCBA”) will launch monthly virtual community presentations and clinic sessions beginning April 2021. This is a joint project to serve members of the Asian Pacific American community who have limited English proficiency by providing free “Know Your Rights” presentations about various common legal issues in housing law, elder law, family law, immigration law, and employment law. Each month will focus on one specific area of law that affects the community, along with a Know Your Rights session on anti-Asian hate and harassment at every virtual presentation. We hope to raise awareness of anti-Asian violence, to inform our audience how to report a hate incident, and to provide helpful resources to victims of hate crime.
On Friday, January 17, 2020, thirty AABANY members and friends braved the cold weather to enjoy a mixer at Citifield for the Hello Panda Lantern Festival.
Members were able to walk around the beautifully crafted structures, lit in colorful lights against the black night sky. Members also took a break from the cold and warmed up with hot cocoa and food while networking.
We thank AABANY’s Government Service & Public Interest, Pro Bono and Community Service, Young Lawyers, and Membership Committees for co-sponsoring this event.
AABANY’s Pro Bono Committee organized and held its first ever Brooklyn Pro Bono Clinic was held on Thursday, September 26, 2019 at A Plus Academy located at 6802 8th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY and it was quite the successful event. With a total of 30 volunteers in attendance, including attorneys, interpreters and a benefits counselor, we were able to provide legal assistance and referrals to 27 clients from the New York community.
The Brooklyn Pro Bono Clinic has allowed AABANY’s Pro Bono Committee to service a new community in need of pro bono legal services and indicates our efforts to grow and expand these services to more New Yorkers in need. Clients local to Brooklyn were able to attend, but clients traveling from Queens and other surrounding areas also made the trip, with some clients stating that they traveled an hour or more just to receive the help they have been looking for.
The evening started off with a community presentation by AABANY’s Membership Director and GSPI Committee Co-Chair, Beatrice Leong, Esq. which focused on family law, specifically matrimonial & divorce law. The presentation alone provided the answers that one client needed. This client was able to leave the presentation knowing what their next steps were without needing any further legal assistance. The remaining 26 clients were all able to sit down with an attorney, and an interpreter when needed, for a consultation session to receive the legal help and resources they were seeking. Common legal issues at this clinic included family, immigration, and elder law matters.
In just a few years, our Manhattan clinic has assisted hundreds of low-income clients and the new Brooklyn clinic provides us the opportunity to grow those numbers and ensure that many more will be able to receive free legal advice and referrals to high-quality, culturally sensitive, and linguistically competent legal services. In order to continue to provide and expand our pro bono services to other New York communities in need, we continue to ask every member to actively support AABANY’s Pro Bono Clinics.
If you know family members, friends, colleagues or businesses, such as your firm, who would like to support the Pro Bono Clinics, please help us connect with them by contacting Karen Yau at karen.yau@aabany.org. Financial contributions can also be made directly by texting APAPROBONO to 443-21 to make a donation through Give Lively.
Thank you to our volunteers:
Lawyers:
Beatrice Leong May Kay Wong Michelle Yeung Jen Rasay Gina Kim Chai Park Francis Chin Michelle DeSousa-Fiore Kwok Kei Ng Zhixian Liu Pauline Yeung-Ha Judy (Ming Chu) Lee Karen Kithan Yau Asako Aiba
Interpreters:
Ruth Poon Wai Yee Chan Shuping Deng Xiaoxiao Pan Guanlan Shen Bo Hu Meng Zhang Steve Mei Alex Hwang
Intake Coordinators/Interpreters:
Breanna Andree-Couturier Henry Man Jay Tang Gary Chen Xinyi Shen Yuying Zhu
Benefits Counselor:
John Colon, NY Connects
Special thanks to Co-Chairs, Pauline Yeung-Ha, Judy (Ming Chu) Lee, Karen Kithan Yau, and Asako Aiba, and Vice Chairs, Kwok Kei Ng and Zhixian (Jessie) Liu, for coordinating this clinic. Additionally, thank you to the various community leaders and organizations whose help made this clinic possible.
AABANY’s Brooklyn Pro Bono Clinic is conducted in collaboration with: NYS Assemblyman, Peter J. Abbate Jr., NYS Senator, Andrew Gounardes, and NYC Councilman, Justin Brannan. Special thanks to our community sponsors: A+ Academy, Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC), Chinese American Social Services Center (CASS), Homecrest Community Services, Academy of Medical & Public Health Services (AMPHS), Brooklyn Community Improvement Association (BCIA), Parent Child Relationship Association, and the United Chinese Association of Brooklyn (UCA).
The Brooklyn Pro Bono Clinic will be a bi-monthly clinic occurring on the fourth Thursday of every other month, except for November which would be Thanksgiving Day. The next clinic will be held on Thursday, November 21, 2019 from 6:30 pm to 8:30pm. If you are interested in volunteering at future Pro Bono Clinics, please contact Asako Aiba at asako.aiba@aabany.org.
On January 6, 2019, members of the Young Lawyers Committee (YLC) spent the afternoon volunteering at Xavier Mission. Over 1450 hot meals were served to less fortunate New Yorkers. Following the event, a few of the volunteers reflected on their experience over tacos and chips at Tortaria.
The YLC thanks all of the volunteers for their hard work and looks forward to planning another rewarding community service event soon!
During each Convention, NAPABA gives back to the city that has hosted our attendees. This year, NAPABA has partnered with the San Diego Rescue Mission, an organization that is committed to ending homelessness and hunger.
Join Convention-goers as we prepare toiletry kits for San Diego Rescue Mission’s community dinner to be held on Nov. 19, 2016, where 2,000 people from the street will attend for a free turkey dinner. Attendees will also be assembling gifts for the men and women living at San Diego Rescue Mission’s Residential Recovery Programs.
Breakfast will be provided.
For a more complete schedule of all of our Convention programs, view the agenda here.
Early-bird registration for the 2016 NAPABA Convention will close on Aug. 26. NAPABA members save an additional $200 off the non-member rate. Not a member? Become a member today and save!
