Our
Nonprofit Partnerships
Throughout 2022-2023, our goal during the winter quarter was to continue our engagement with the APIDA community by partnering with various nonprofit organizations and even our first in person partnership! We were able to partner with 6 different organizations, and this coming year (2023-2024) we hope to connect with even more!
Promoting Public Health with the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community
Members collaborated with CBCAC to address smoking cessation, a key issue affecting the health of many members of the APIDA community. We particularly focused on reaching the older generation in Chinatown by creating a pamphlet to encourage people to quit smoking. We worked with CBCAC to then get our pamphlet translated and then distributed it to doctor’s offices, stores, and the Chinatown public library to make the information as accessible as possible.
Reproductive Justice Advocacy with NAPAWF
We worked with the National Asian/Pacific-American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) to gain support for the creation of a Reproductive Justice Committee on Chicago’s City Council. We designed flyers, posters, and social media posts in support of NAPAWF and their RJC project. Throughout winter quarter, our group members conducted weekly tabling sessions in Reynolds and Cobb Hall, gathering petition signatures and educating students about NAPAWF’s mission and values. NAPAWF’s Chicago organizers led workshops on reproductive justice options in Illinois, and taught group members how to best engage potential supporters. In the end, we gained over 250 signatures for the RJC petition, and NAPAWF hopes to work with us again soon.
Organizing the 2nd annual AAPI Restaurants Week with AdvOCAte Greater Chicago
We worked with the National Asian/Pacific-American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) to gain support for the creation of a Reproductive Justice Committee on Chicago’s City Council. We designed flyers, posters, and social media posts in support of NAPAWF and their RJC project. Throughout winter quarter, our group members conducted weekly tabling sessions in Reynolds and Cobb Hall, gathering petition signatures and educating students about NAPAWF’s mission and values. NAPAWF’s Chicago organizers led workshops on reproductive justice options in Illinois, and taught group members how to best engage potential supporters. In the end, we gained over 250 signatures for the RJC petition, and NAPAWF hopes to work with us again soon.
Leading Art Workshops with Project Vision For Middle School Students in Chinatown
We designed and built a curriculum to teach middle school students different artistic skills with Project Vision. Our goal was to teach students about identity and mental health through fun and interactive lessons.We traveled to Chinatown weekly to teach students how to code in Scratch, fold origami, crochet, and even partnered with UChicago’s Ex Dance crew to teach a dance workshop. Our members learned how to build engaging lessons and got first hand experience teaching children.
Research and Civic Engagement with Indo-American Center
Group members worked with Indo-American Center (IAC) as civic engagement interns in order to research, design, edit, print, and distribute a pamphlet relaying information about the 2023 spring mayoral election, which was printed over 500 times. The goal of the project was to encourage voting education and civic engagement amongst the South Asian community in the Chicagoland area. This was executed through the creation of the pamphlet, as well as through in-person canvassing alongside IAC staff members.
Interviewing and Exploring APIDA Artists with Asian Improv Art Midwest
We worked with Asian Improv Arts Midwest (AIRMW), an organization dedicated to advancing and promoting Asian-American cultures through traditional and contemporary cultural arts. Specifically, we contributed to AIRMW’s Asian American Cultural Legacy project, which is an online interview archive of Asian and Asian American artists that are part of the Chicago music landscape, but that have been omitted from the mainstream historical narrative. Group members researched and interviewed mixed-media and performing artists about their backgrounds, inspirations, and how their identities affect their work, then transcribed the conversations for eventual publication.
