November 30, 2020 IN: Our Voices, Staff Blog
Give today to help SEARAC uplift and empower our communities
Dear SEARAC supporter,
Today, we’re kicking off our annual end-of-year weeklong fundraising campaign, with a goal of raising $15,000 by this Friday, Dec. 4. Every day this week, we’ll be highlighting the ways our network of SEARAC supporters has fueled our work to uplift the needs and voices of Southeast Asian Americans across the country together with our incredible community-based partners. Through the 2020 Census, the 2020 elections, our communities’ responses to COVID-19, and powerful statements of solidarity with Black lives as we rose up in cities around the country, Southeast Asian Americans are making an indelible impact on our neighborhoods and our nation.
This year marks the 45th anniversary of Southeast Asian refugees arriving in the United States. Our families, friends, and neighbors fled their homes and arrived in this country, starting new lives and building new legacies. Southeast Asian Americans are woven into the rich tapestry of the United States, and our communities’ voices must be heard.
With your support, SEARAC can hold our elected officials accountable for the promises they made on the campaign trail and their responsibility to represent all Americans. Your gift allows us to create more in-language resources, like our 2020 Voter Guide, which translated vital political platform information into Hmong, Khmer, Lao, and Vietnamese so that our communities could make an informed vote.
“Laotian Americans have historically been left out of voter engagement efforts, primarily because of a lack of materials available in our native languages,” shared Sandy Saenbounmy, a board member at the Laotian American National Alliance and our partner in translating the 2020 Voter Guide into Lao. “In-language voter guides have not only been a way to increase voter turnout for our community, but it has helped ensure our voices are heard and that our representatives have our community’s best interests in mind.”Will you donate $75 in honor of 1975, the year that launched the Southeast Asian American legacy, or $45 in honor of 45 years of SEAA resettlement, and help us raise $15,000 by this Friday, Dec. 4th? Together, we can amplify, uplift, and share important information in the languages that our communities speak.
Thank you so much for your support!
In solidarity,
Katrina Dizon Mariategue
Acting Executive Director, SEARAC
PS: The powerful header images featured on all of our end-of-year campaign emails this week highlight the incredible work of our partners across the country supporting SEAA communities. In this header, clockwise from top left: Alliance of Rhode Island Students for Education (ARISE), Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association (CMAA), The Cambodian Family, and Boat People SOS
