Filipino Heritage Camp/August 1-4/Golden Colorado “A is for Adobo-The Philippines from A to Z”

August 1st -4th, 2013 in Golden, CO

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Sept. 15: Noodles Fundraiser for Heritage Camps!!

For all you Colorado folk who have been touched by adoption do support Heritage Camp for Adoptive Families fundraiser!!! See details below!!

SAVE THE DATE! September 15th Noodles Fundraiser for Heritage Camps!

Contact your friends and neighbors, and download this invitation to a fun dinner at Noodles (locations around the state) to benefit Heritage Camps for Adoptive Families! It’ll be a a fun Saturday night dinner out with the kids, and with all of your friends too!

DOWNLOAD THE INVITE HERE, then print it out! You must have it with you at Noodles on the 15th for HCAF to receive the benefit!

Thank you and mark your calendars NOW

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Parenting As Adoptees

Dear friends, family, colleagues, and members of the adoption community:

We (Adam Chau and Kevin Ost-Vollmers) are excited to announce that the anthology Parenting As Adoptees is now available at Amazon as an e-book (www.amazon.com/Parenting-As-Adoptees-ebook/dp/B008YPLCYQ/). The following well respected adoptees are contributors:

Dr. Bert Ballard, Susan Branco Alvarado, Dr. Stephanie Kripa Cooper-Lewter and her daughter Courtney Cooper-Lewter, Lorial Crowder, Shannon Gibney, Astrid Dabbeni, Mark Hagland, Dr. Hei Kyong Kim, JaeRan Kim, Jennifer Lauck, Mary Mason, Robert O’Connor, John Raible, and Sandy White Hawk.

Through fourteen chapters, the authors of Parenting As Adoptees give readers a glimpse into a pivotal phase in life that touches the experiences of many domestic and international adoptees – that of parenting. The authors intertwine their personal narratives and professional experiences, and the results of their efforts are powerful, insightful, and potentially groundbreaking. As Melanie Chung-Sherman, LCSW, LCPAA, PLLC, notes:

“Rarely has the experience of parenting as an adopted person been laid to bear so candidly and vividly. The authors provide a provocative, touching and, at times visceral and unyielding, invitation into their lives as they unearth and piece together the magnitude of parenting when it is interwoven with their adoption narrative. It is a prolific piece that encapsulates the rawness that adoption can bring from unknown histories, abandonment, grief, and identity reconciliation which ultimately reveals the power of resiliency and self-determination as a universal hallmark in parenting.”

Moreover, despite its topical focus, the book will resonate with individuals within and outside of the adoption community who are not parents. “Parenting As Adoptees,” writes Dr. Indigo Willing, “contributes and sits strongly alongside books by non-adoptees that look at issues to do with ‘the family’, race, ethnicity and migration. As such, this book should appeal to a broad audience interested in these various fields of inquiry.”

Parenting As Adoptees can be downloaded onto your computer, Kindle, and Kindle app supporting tablet/phone (such as iPads, iPhones, Droids, etc.) by going to this link:

www.amazon.com/Parenting-As-Adoptees-ebook/dp/B008YPLCYQ/

In a few weeks, the book will be available at Barnes & Nobles for the Nook. Additionally, this fall we will be publishing a limited edition hardcopy to coincide with a book signing event in Minnesota. Please visit the Parenting As Adoptees website (www.parentingasadoptees.com) for more information. Additional reviews and excerpts from the book can be found there. And to receive regular updates, please “like” the book’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ParentingAsAdoptees.

Thank you for your time. We hope that you check out Parenting As Adoptees, and we would greatly appreciate it if you would share it with other individuals/groups whom you believe would find it of interest.

With warm regards,

Kevin Ost-Vollmers, Land of Gazillion Adoptees

Adam Chau, CQT Media And Publishing

_____________________

Kevin Ost-Vollmers
C: 612.382.8568
W: landofgazillionadoptees.com
W: parentingasadoptees.com

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Help the Korean Unwed Mothers Families’ Association (KUMFA) Raise $7,000

I think about my mother everyday.  Her memory is always with me.  In many ways, she and unwed women like her are the reason why Land of Gazillion Adoptees exists.  Because of this, I fully support the Korean Unwed Mothers Families’ Association (KUMFA) efforts to raise $7,000 for its facility HEATER, which provides care for Korean mothers who keep their children.  Please read on for additional details, “like” the “Fundraiser Page for the Korean Unwed Mothers Families’ Association (KUMFA)”, and consider making a financial contribution today.

Thank you in advance — KOV

Some Facts About Unwed Mothers in Korea

• Contrary to public perception, 3 in 4 unwed mothers are aged 25 and over and have completed high school or spent some time in college. Their children comprise a mere 1-2 percent of South Korea’s annual live births.
• Maternity facilities operated by adoption agencies have a 37% child-rearing rate compared to 82% for non-agency run facilities. Because most maternity facilities receive government subsidies and are therefore semi-private, they have the authority to refuse or to discontinue services to mothers who are deemed “too troublesome.”
• Although 89% of Korea’s children who are placed for adoption come from unwed mothers, more and more unwed mothers are choosing to rear their children according to recent studies.

__________________________

Image from the New York Times.

The mothers and volunteers of the Korean Unwed Mothers Families’ Association (KUMFA) need your support to raise $7,000 to keep HEATER open.  Please consider sending a monetary gift at the $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, or $1,000 level.

The mothers, volunteers, and friends involved with KUMFA, the efforts of which was featured in the New York Times a few years ago, advocate for the rights of unwed pregnant women, unwed mothers and their children in Korea. KUMFA’s goal is to enable Korean women to have sufficient resources and support to keep their babies if they choose, and thrive in Korean society, rather than feel compelled to place their children for adoption.

As a part of its efforts, KUMFA opened HEATER, a facility that provides care for mothers who keep their children. Each year the facility houses and feeds 24 mothers and their children. Two mothers and their children stay at HEATER for two months at a time. It is a unique place in that, unlike other facilities in Korea, HEATER accepts mothers who are older and/or have children. Some of the children need medical attention.

The mothers, volunteers, and friends of KUMFA need your support to keep HEATER open in 2012. The operating costs for HEATER is $7,000, which covers rent, utilities, food and supplies. KUMFA currently doesn’t have $7,000 in its 2012 budget and so HEATER may have to close its doors if the mothers, volunteers, and friends of the organization are not able to raise the money.

Please consider offering your support to keep HEATER open by donating at the $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, or $1,000 level. Giving is easy. You can PayPal your gift to KUMFA’s e-mail (kumfa.volunteer@gmail.com) or PayPal your gift to KUMFA/HEATER volunteer Shannon Heit’s e-mail (shannon.heit@gmail.com).

The mothers, volunteers, and friends of KUMFA are very thankful for your consideration, and hope that you’ll join them as partners in their efforts to sustain and improve HEATER so that they can best serve Korean mothers and children.

Questions? Please contact the following individuals:

Shannon Heit, KUMFA Volunteer, shannon.heit@gmail.com
Dr. Jennifer Kwon Dobbs, jkwondobbs@gmail.com
Kevin Ost-Vollmers/Land of Gazillion Adoptees, kostvollmers@gmail.com

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October 25-mid November – Our own TiyaDK exhibit at Library of Congress, DC

Hi Everyone!  Please attend my art exhibit and showcase at the Library of Congress.

PLEASE SAVE THE DATE: OCTOBER 25, 2011 (The Art Collection will start at 2pm Oct. 25th, up until mid-November). Please be sure you go to the Jefferson Building – Asian Division Reading Room.

The Library of Congress (LOC) has reached out to me and asked me to be part of a panel discussion on identity issues that arise as adoptees enter their teenage and adult years.  They’ve also asked me to do a “Tiya DK Art Collection,” on adoption, which will include 6-8 new original paintings, numerous drawings and original sketches from when I first started painting as a child. In addition, they requested me to present some writing samples from my manuscript.

Please note, seats are limited to LOC staff and their guests at the panel discussion. However, my art collection will be open to the public (at 2pm). As a request…the LOC would like me to get an idea of how many people from my guest list will be attending the first day of the art opening and also get an approximate head count of who may attend the month-long art show.

This is a very exciting opportunity and I’m honored to be part of this special event. I look forward to sharing my world with you. Please RSVP and for those who plan on attending, please don’t forget to sign the guestbook when you’re there so I know who stopped by! Through up the time the art work will be showcasing, I will be at the LOC each weekend (late morning until mid afternoon to greet all my guests and clients).

Thank you in advance for all your support.  You can visit me at www.tiyadk.com and www.tiyadk.moonfruit.com.

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Blog: Transracialeyes – Because of course race and culture matter

The Transracialeyes Eyes blog is run by a diverse group of international/transracial adoptees. The discussions are honest and examine the less comfortable issues that are not often not given a platform. The topics are meant to be challenging and thought provoking so be ready to cringe, breathe a sigh of relief and even shocked.

One of the newest guest bloggers is our own James Beni Wilson who also has his own blog called Pathos of Asian Adoptees. Congratulations!

• What we do

  This site is provided as a resource for those exploring the ideas of transracial and/or international adoption.

   

  Readers can submit a question for consideration and adoptees of color will provide insightful comments.

   

  We’ve decided to not make it a discussion board because we donate our time and have lives to lead, but will be happy to share our perspectives.

   

• If you’re a transracial adoptee who would like to contribute

  you can contact us here.

   

  We ask that posts and comments be substantive and that you make a commitment to be involved and contribute regularly. We are interested in a diverse range of adoptee opinions.

   

• If you’d like to submit a question

  you can contact us here.

   

  Please allow several days for contributors to find time to address your questions and check back often!

   

• If you’d like to comment

  Please post at the General Comments page.

  Our Comment Policy:

  Given the power differential between dominant adopter culture and the adoptee, we attempt at Transracial Eyes to even this playing field. Mimicry of this discourse by adoptees can therefore be seen as compradorist, Uncle-Tomist, and/or kowtowing, and we wish to call this out. We aim to achieve a truly equal dialectic, and our response to such feedback will reflect this goal.

   

  Comments which attack one’s feelings or opinions, or which directly or indirectly judge or belittle contributors will not be tolerated.

   

• If you’d like to send us a SHOUT OUT

  We all like to know our work is valued, so if you’d like to drop us a supportive line, please feel free to visit our Guest Registry page, where comments are open to the general public. We’d love to hear from you and to know our efforts are not wasted. Thanks!

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Filipino Heritage Night with the Mets – Sept 13th!

Group Tickets

FILIPINO HERITAGE NIGHT
Tuesday, September 13, 2011 @ 7:10 p.m.
vs. Washington Nationals

Join the New York Mets in the celebration of the second annual Filipino Heritage Night at Citi Field! Share Filipino Pride with your friends and family in our Filipino Heritage Night seated section. Proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the Bantay Bata Foundation. The Filipino community is always one of the largest and loudest to come out to the ballpark all season, so bring the whole family and get in on the fun!

• Sit together with family and friends in designated Promenade Reserved Infield Seats.
• Enjoy a pre-game program of Filipino Entertainment.
• Each person will receive a Mets Lanyard and Ticket Holder with advance purchase.

Group Tickets FILIPINO HERITAGE NIGHT Tuesday, September 13, 2011 @ 7:10 p.m. vs. Washington Nationals Filipino Night

Join the New York Mets in the celebration of the second annual Filipino Heritage Night at Citi Field! Share Filipino Pride with your friends and family in our Filipino Heritage Night seated section. Proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the Bantay Bata Foundation.

The Filipino community is always one of the largest and loudest to come out to the ballpark all season, so bring the whole family and get in on the fun!

* Sit together with family and friends in designated Promenade Reserved Infield Seats.

* Enjoy a pre-game program of Filipino Entertainment.

* Each person will receive a Mets Lanyard and Ticket Holder with advance purchase.

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ABS-CBN: Oliver Tolentino designs US singer’s costumes

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Asian Pacific Fund: 17 Scholarship programs to help undergraduates and graduate students

Information for Student Applicants

To learn if you are eligible for any of our scholarship programs, register with the followng scholarship engines. We list ALL of our scholarships with the following:

• www.collegetoolkit.com
• www.fastweb.com
• www.scholarships.com

These sites will ask you to register and complete a personal profile. Once you have registered, the site will direct you to all scholarships for which you are eligible, including those administered by the Asian Pacific Fund.

Notice: The Asian Pacific Fund does not have any legal or business relationship with these search engines. It is our understanding that their service is provided free of cost to students. To apply for one or more of the scholarship programs operated by the Asian Pacific Fund, fill out the online application. Be sure to read the directions on the first page of the application carefully. The directions include information about supporting documents you will need to provide as part of the application.The 2011-12 scholarship application will be available December 2010.Notice:You can only apply for scholarships through the online application. We will not accept applications sent by mail or hand-delivered.

DEADLINES:

• Banatao SAT Prep and College Admissions Counseling Scholarship: February 21, 2011
• Undergraduate and Graduate Scholarships: March 17, 2011
• Yale Asian Community Service Fellowship: March 31, 2011

Please click for detailed information on each scholarship.

• Banatao SAT Prep and College Admissions Counseling Scholarship
• Banatao Family Filipino American Education Fund College Scholarship
• Cagampan: Rachelle Cagampan Nursing Scholarship
• Cameron Lee: Sang Chul Lee and Donald O. Cameron Memorial Scholarship
• Chin: Shui Kuen and Allen Chin Scholarship
• Chu: Jack and Jeanette Chu Scholarship
• Equilar Scholarship Program
• Hsiao Memorial Economics Scholarship
• Human Capital Scholarship Application
• Lapiz Family Scholarship Application
• Philippine International Aid-Wells Fargo Scholarship
• Poon: Lauren C. Poon, MD Scholarship Application
• Seguritan: Frederick and Demi Seguritan Scholarship
• Wong: Helen and L.S. Wong Memorial Scholarship
• Yuchengco: Maria Elena Yuchengco Memorial Journalism Scholarship
• Yale Asian Community Service Fellowship

Banatao SAT Prep and College Admissions Counseling Scholarship (High School Juniors Only)

Background:

• Number of awards: up to 24
• Award worth: $1,500
• Award includes:
  • 40-hour Princeton Review or Kaplan SAT preparatory course, OR
  • private college admissions counseling sessions OR
  • both
• Benefactors: The Family of Dado and Maria Banatao

Eligibility Criteria:

• Grade level: current high school junior (class of 2012)
• Minimum GPA: 2.7
• Interest and/or skills: engineering, math or science
• Ethnic heritage: Filipino heritage (at least 50%)
• Financial need
• Residency: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano or Sonoma counties

Apply here.

Banatao Family Filipino American Education Fund College Scholarship

Background:

• Number of awards: 5
• Amount: $5,000 (annual award)
• Renewable? Yes
• Total award: $20,000
• Benefactors: The Family of Dado and Maria Banatao

Eligibility Criteria:

• Grade level: Incoming freshman enrolled full-time at an accredited four year-college or university in 2011-12
• Minimum GPA: 3.0
• Career: engineering, physical or biological sciences (excluding healthcare professions, such as nurse, physician, etc.)
• Ethnic heritage: Filipino heritage (at least 50%)
• Financial need
• Residency: Northern California counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Merced, Monterey, Napa, Sacramento, San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma or Stanislaus.  Southern California counties: Los Angeles, Orange or San Diego.

Apply here

.

Cagampan: Rachelle Cagampan Nursing Scholarship Application

Background:

• Number of awards: 8
• Amount: $3,000
• Renewable? No
• Benefactor: Rachelle Cagampan, Bay Area College of Nursing

Eligibility Criteria:

• Grade level: Full-time enrollment as a senior (last year of nursing program) at an accredited four year college or university in 2011-2012
• Minimum GPA: 3.0
• Major: Nursing
• Career: Nursing and healthcare fields
• Ethnic heritage: Asian heritage (at least 50%)
• Financial need
• Residency: San Francisco Bay Area

Apply here.

Chin: Shui Kuen and Allen Chin Scholarship

Background:

• Number of awards: up to 2
• Amount: $1,000
• Renewable? No, however past recipients may apply
• Established in honor of Shui Kuen and Allen Chin

Eligibility Criteria:

• Grade level: Incoming freshman or current, full-time undergraduate in 2011-12
• Self or parent currently or formerly employed at an Asian-owned or Asian cuisine restaurant,
• Community advocacy and social justice work on behalf of Asian American, immigrant, gay and lesbian and other progressive causes
• Minimum GPA: 3.0
• Financial need
• Status: U.S. citizenship or permanent residency
• Note: past scholarship recipients are eligible to apply

Apply here

.

Chu: Jack and Jeanette Chu Scholarship

Background:

• Number of awards: 2
• Amount: $2,500
• Renewable? Yes
• Total award: $5,000

Eligibility:

• Grade level: Incoming junior or junior transfer at UC Berkeley in 2011-2012
• Major: Business Administration at Haas School of Business
• Career: Business
• Ethnic heritage: Asian heritage (at least 50%), preference given to student of Chinese heritage
• Financial need
• Minimum GPA: 3.0
• Preference given to students who have lived in Central America
• Preference given to students with record of community service

Apply here.

Equilar Scholarship

• http://www.equilar.com
• Not accepting applications in 2011.

Hsiao Memorial Economics Scholarship

Background:

• Number of awards: 1
• Amount: $1,000
• Renewable? No
• Established in honor of Liang-Lin Hsiao who was a professor of economics at Indiana State University

Eligibility Criteria:

• Grade level: Graduate student attending US based college or university in 2011-2012
• Minimum GPA: 3.0
• Degree: Economics
• Career: preference given to students pursuing a career in academia
• Ethnic heritage: Asian heritage (at least 50%), preference to students of Chinese descent
• Residency: U.S. citizenship, resident or foreign national

Apply here.

Human Capital Scholarship Application

Background:

• Number of awards: 2
• Amount: $1,500
• Renewable? No

Eligibility Criteria:

• Incoming freshman enrolled full-time in 2011-12
• Minimum GPA: 2.7
• First generation in the family to attend college
• Attending any University of California campus
• Major: preference given to liberal arts
• Financial need
• Ethnic heritage: African American, Asian American, Latino American or other heritage from an underrepresented group

Apply here

.

Lapiz Family Scholarship Application

Background:

• Number of awards: 2
• Amount: $1,000
• Renewals possible
• Established in honor of Apolonio and Arcadia Lapiz, who were farm workers

Eligibility Criteria:

• Grade level: Incoming freshman or current, full-time undergraduate in 2011-12
• University: University of California (any campus, preference given to Davis and Santa Cruz)
• Minimum GPA: 3.0
• Farm worker or child of farm or migrant worker
• Financial need
• Any ethnic or racial background
• Residency: US citizenship or permanent residency

Apply here.

Philippine International Aid-Wells Fargo Scholarship

Background:

• Number of awards: 3
• Amount: $1,500
• Renewable? Yes, for one year

Eligibility:

• Ethnic heritage: Filipino (at least 25%)
• Grade level: Incoming freshman at an accredited four-year college or university in 2011-12
• College/university: located in California
• Minimum GPA: 2.75
• Financial need
• Status: U.S. citizenship or permanent residency
• Residency: San Francisco Bay Area, including Sacramento and Monterey counties

Apply here.

Poon: Lauren C. Poon, MD Scholarship Application

Background:

• Number of awards: 1
• Amount: $1,000
• Renewable? No
• Established in memory of Dr. Lauren C. Poon, physician, who grew up in the Castro Valley community.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Grade level: incoming freshman enrolled full-time at a four-year college or university in 2011-2012
• Minimum GPA: 3.5
• Career: medicine or public health
• High School Graduate: Castro Valley High, Redwood Alternative High, any high school in Alameda, Hayward, Oakland, San Leandro or San Lorenzo, CA
• Community service
• Ethnic heritage: Asian heritage (at least 50%)
• Financial need

Apply here

.

Sang Chul Lee and Donald O. Cameron Memorial Scholarship

• Applications not accepted in 2011.

Seguritan: Frederick and Demi Seguritan Scholarship

Background:

• Number of awards: 1
• Amount: $5,000 (annual award)
• Renewable? Yes
• Total award: $20,000
• Benefactors: Frederick and Demi Seguritan

Eligibility Criteria:

• Grade level: Incoming freshman enrolled full-time at an accredited four year-college or university in 2011-12
• Interest: passion for business (not required to be business major)
• Minimum GPA: 3.0
• Financial need
• Residency: San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin, Solano, Contra Costa, Alameda or Santa Clara county in California
• Community service
• Ethnic heritage: Asian

Apply here.

Wong: Helen and L.S. Wong Memorial Scholarship

Background:

• Number of awards: 1-3
• Amount: $1,000-3,000
• Renewable: Yes, for up to four years  $500 – $1,000
• Total each award: $2,500 – 6,000
• To honor Helen and L.S. Wong, residents of the Fairfield-Suisun community

Eligibility Criteria:

• Grade level: Incoming freshman enrolled full-time at an accredited four year-college/university or a community college in 2011-12
• Minimum GPA: 2.8
• Graduate of high school in the Fairfield-Suisun communities
• incoming community college students should have a strong commitment to transfer to a four-year institution
• Financial need
• Ethnic heritage: Asian heritage (at least 50%)
• Status: US citizenship or permanent residency

Apply here.

Yuchengco: Maria Elena Yuchengco Memorial Journalism Scholarship

Background:

• Number of awards: 1-3
• Amount: $1,000-3,000
• Renewable? No
• Established in honor of Maria Elena Yuchengco, who graduated summa cum laude from University of San Francisco and was instrumental in the founding of Filipinas Magazine.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Grade level: Incoming freshman or current, full-time undergraduate at an accredited four-year college or university in 2011-12
• Major or Career: journalism
• Minimum GPA: 3.0
• Ethnic heritage: Filipino (at least 50%)
• Financial need
• Status: U.S. citizenship or permanent residency
• Residency: San Francisco Bay Area

Apply here

.

Yale Asian Community Service Fellowship

General Information:

• Two $2,500 fellowship grants are available for Yale students who will intern for 10 weeks[1] at a non-profit organization that serves Asians (in the U.S. or Canada). The host organization must be tax-exempt and have at least one paid full-time employee.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Yale undergraduate or recent graduate
• Asian ethnic heritage (at least 50%)
• Financial need

Apply here.

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Adoptive Families Magazine: Positive Adoption Language

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©1992–2003 Adoptive Families Magazine. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited.
Reprinted from OURS Magazine, May/June 1992 www.adoptivefamilies.com
Positive Adoption Language
The way we talk—and the words we choose—say a lot about what we think and value.  When we use
positive adoption language, we say that adoption is a way to build a family just as birth is.  Both are important, but one is not more important than the other. Choose the following positive adoption language instead of the negative talk that helps perpetuate the myth that adoption is second best.  By using positive adoption language, you’ll reflect the true nature of adoption, free of innuendo.

Words not only convey facts, they also evoke feelings.  When a TV movie talks about a “custody battle” between “real parents” and “other parents,” society gets the wrong impression that only birthparents are real parents and that adoptive parents aren’t real parents.  Members of society may also wrongly conclude that all adoptions are “battles.”

Positive adoption language can stop the spread of misconceptions such as these.  By using positive adoption language, we educate others about adoption.  We choose emotionally “correct” words over emotionally-laden words.  We speak and write in positive adoption language with the hopes of impacting others so that this language will someday become the norm.

Positive Language                           Negative Language
Birthparent                                       Real parent
Biological parent                             Natural parent
Birth child                                        Own child
My child Adopted child;                Own child
Born to unmarried parents           Illegitimate
Terminate parental rights             Give up
Make an adoption plan                  Give away
To parent                                          To keep
Waiting child                                   Adoptable child; available child
Biological or birthfather               Real father
Making contact with                      Reunion
Parent                                               Adoptive parent
Intercountry adoption                  Foreign adoption
Adoption triad                                Adoption triangle
Permission to sign a release        Disclosure
Search                                              Track down parents
Child placed for adoption            An unwanted child
Court termination                         Child taken away
Child with special needs              Handicapped child
Child from abroad                         Foreign child
Was adopted                                   Is adopted

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