Teach APPI fundraiser raises more than half a million dollars

Well, last night, a huge fundraiser for Teach AAPI, a non-profit working towards making sure Asian American and Pacific Islander stories are represented in education. Their fifth annual gala raised more than half a million dollars. I was honored to co-emcee with actress Kara Wang there. And all of that money will go towards schools nationwide, providing immersive AAPI programming from books to activities to workshops to professional development. And it benefits kids. Kids in grades K through 12. Teach AAPI was sparked during the dark days of the pandemic where Asian American communities and kids were dealing with a lot of hate. During COVID, our two kids experienced microaggressions over Zoom school. We need to stop this cycle, but we need to stop it in a positive and enduring way. We are the only organization out there that is providing the kind of comprehensive. End-to-end support to students, to educators, and to schools nationwide. We found it was through teachers, it was through education that I'm up here on stage with you today. And I think it's very important for us, and hopefully for everyone in this audience, to pay it forward and recognize that we are all in this room because of someone who helped us along the way. Education was the great equalizer. It was those teachers, it was those opportunities that they afforded us in terms of... Caring, spending extra time with us, when we're able to provide an incredible education, we create a level playing field for everyone, no matter whether you have a lot or little. As you heard Kenlyn talk about right there, the importance of teachers and education. It's the lessons kids are learning that's key. And Teach AAPI wants to ensure lessons are inclusive and incorporate the diverse cultures of the AAPI experience. So partner schools, take a look at this. They get these boxes, and each one represents a different culture in the AAPI community. So this one's about Hawaii, and they learn about all the different things in terms of the culture, the geography. This one is a volcano-making kit. So how fun for kids to get involved, do an activity, learn about Hawaii. And so innovative, immersive. It's so great. So a lot of kids love this. How many different boxes do they have? So many. There's a Diwali one there. There's just... From all over, and it's just to really be inclusive of all these stories and the geography of what is AAPI. I was looking at the organization, this is so fascinating and really cool, kind of just like making sure kids and teachers know that Asian American history is American history and it's American culture, and that's so cool. And I was talking about my own experience as a Japanese American, my grandfather being incarcerated during the war in those Japanese internment camps, and the fact is when I was There was very little taught in school about that. It was one paragraph or one page in a history book. And that shouldn't be the case when it comes to AAPI stories. So Teach AAPI is doing so much to make sure that these stories are told in schools in a fun way, as you can see. No, I love that. Just make other cultures normal. It's one of those things where it's like a kid may bring food at lunch, and it's different than yours. And it can change it from that child being embarrassed to that child being the cool kid. Right. Embracing it. You know what I mean? That's right. I make onigiri for my daughter, Japanese rice balls, and now she's at a point where she's sharing it with her friends because they want it instead of just the ham sandwich. Yeah, exactly. It's great. It's very funny because I never, okay, the first time I had a peanut butter jelly sandwich, I think I was like a senior in high school. I never grew up eating it because my lunch was always like, you know, exotic for people. So people are like, how did you not grow up eating peanut butter and jelly sandwich? And I'm like, I just didn't. You know, it was a different... I'd rather have your food than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I know, that's how it works, right? But listen, we mentioned you were there, and you look so good, so we've got to give it to you. Oh, hey, you styled me, okay? This is your dress, your shoes, everything. You look good, Sandra. Thank you. You wore that dress well. It's been sitting in my closet for, I think I told you, four years. You might not get it back. With the tag on. Yeah, I know. You might not get it back. Yeah. I was desperate. I was like, girl, give me all your dress. I don't know what to wear. That's a good dress. Thank you. I'm saying thank you. We have another cool event to tell you all about.