PFLAG San Gabriel Valley API Receives Award at National Convention
PFLAG San Gabriel Valley API members at the We Are the Change convention in Portland, Ore.: (front row, from left) Kate Shim, Marsha Aizumi, Rev John Oda; (second row, from left): HK Suh, Joanne Lee, Harold Kameya (who accepted the award), Sung Tse. Back: Aiden Aizumi.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Members of PFLAG San Gabriel Valley (SGV) Asian Pacific Islander (API) traveled to Portland for We Are the Change, the 2017 PFLAG National Convention, where they received a Chapter Award from PFLAG National.
This award recognizes PFLAG SGV API’s contributions to PFLAG’s threefold mission of support, education and advocacy.
“What an honor it is to be recognized by PFLAG National out of so many chapters doing amazing work,” said PFLAG SGV API President Marsha Aizumi. “This is the result of parents, allies and LGBTQ individuals working together to make the world safer for our children, our families and our LGBTQ community.”
Working with other groups such as Okaeri, the National Queer API Alliance and API Equality Los Angeles, PFLAG SGV API has been able to be a visible face and voice for the Asian and Pacific Islander LGBTQ community They have marched in the Lunar New Year and Pride parades, tabled at events, spoken around the U.S. and Asia for family acceptance, and provided support and education in multiple Asian languages.
In addition to receiving the award, PFLAG SGVAPI members will join hundreds of other PFLAGers from across the country, networking and attending workshops and plenary sessions on a wide array of topics, including building safer schools, supporting transgender and gender-expansive youth, fundraising strategies, dialoguing about LGBTQ people in faith communities, and more.
We Are the Change was held from Oct. 19 to 22.
Founded in 1972 with the simple act of a mother publicly supporting her gay son, PFLAG is the nation’s largest organization uniting families, allies, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. PFLAG is committed to advancing equality through its mission of support, education and advocacy, and has nearly 400 chapters and 200,000 supporters crossing multiple generations of American families in major urban centers, small cities and rural areas in all 50 states. To learn more, visit www.pflag.org.
PFLAG SGV API became the first and only Asian Pacific Islanderfocused chapter within PFLAG’s network in May 2013. It continues to serve the Asian, Southeast Asian, South Asian and Pacific Islander communities with a monthly support group, culturally specific afternoon teas, one-on-one family support, and a network of supportive parents who speak API languages. To learn more, visit www.sangabrielvalleyapipflag.com.