First Friday NAAAP Mixer of 2011

On January 7, 2011, NAAAP Seattle organized its First Friday mixer of the year at Grand Cru Bar in Bellevue. Sixty people came and six people signed up for new membership. Social Chair Heidi Yu said she was pleased about the turnout. She added there were many new faces.

Helen Lee signed up for membership at the event. She said she wanted to join because, she "wanted to become better connected with other Asian American professionals in our community."

"I was impressed by the number of people that were in attendance, as well as the variety of professions which were represented," added Lee. "Great people, good fun!"

Jenafer Park, the new Community Service chair, conducted a survey about the NAAAP community service program. The 35 survey takers were entered in a drawing to win Starbucks gift cards. The winners included Karen Lin, Lisa Chen, and Jason Chu. The survey results will be used to improve NAAAPS' community service program.

Former Community Service Chair David Eam was elected as Vice President of Internal Affairs in December.

PR/ marketing Chair Julie Pham, Technology Chair Sherwin Tsao, NAAAP members Karen Lin and Mikii Liu, and first-time NAAAP event goer Paul Hopkins volunteered to register attendees.

Heidi Yu plans to organize a Dim Sum brunch sometime this spring at Wild Ginger. If you have any suggestions for mixer venues and social events please email heidi.yu@naaapseattle.org

The next First Friday Mixer will be held in Seattle on February 4, 2011. Please check the NAAAP website for details.

Photos by Mikii Liu.

Filming and food fun at FareStart

NAAAP-Seattle filmed the first of its "Work hard. Play hard. NAAAP hard" commercial series at FareStart in Seattle on September 26. That event also marked NAAAP-Seattle's fourth time volunteering with FareStart in 2010 alone.



NAAAP-Seattle boasts the top-ranked community service program among NAAAP chapters located in the United States.

There were several first-time NAAAP-Seattle volunteers that day.

Passion Julinsey found out about it through Facebook. She said, “Cooking is fun. Being able to give and have fun at the same time is rewarding.”

“I like the teamwork aspect and like to see the concrete results," said Julinsey, pointing to the pile of sandwiches. "An hour ago, these sandwiches weren’t even made.”

Kenny Chen was another first time Farestart/NAAAP volunteer. He found out about the event through a friend.

“I had some free time. I thought I would give it a try. It’s a good opportunity to help out. I will do it again," said Chen.

Jen Park, the NAAAP-Seattle coordinator for Farestart activities, said that there is always a waiting list to get to volunteer with Farestart.

Tokusan Svenson was one lucky volunteer when he was pulled off the waiting list the night before.

“We have a whole army of volunteers to activate and help out the community," said Svenson. "It’s good to have a lot of fun activities that we can pair up with Community Service.

Svenson moved from Boston 10 months ago and he had participated in some NAAAP Boston Activities.

Other NAAAP-Seattle volunteers that day included: John Park, Kevin Chang, Sherwin Tsao, Yan Jue Xiang, Tracy Zhen, and Monica Yuen.

To find out about joining or supporting NAAAP-Seattle "army of volunteers", please contact NAAAP-Seattle Community Service Chair David Eam at ,

NAAAP-Seattle volunteers put their sales skills in high gear for Farestart’s 35th “Guest Chef at the Waterfront”

Among the 1,200 attendees at the sold-out “Guest Chef at the Waterfront” at Bell Harbor Pier 66 on July 14 were seven NAAAP-Volunteers: John and Jen Park, Dan Hoang, Tom Michael, Leigh Momii, NAAAP-Seattle Community Service Chair David Eam and NAAAP-Seattle Membership Chair Kevin Chang. Another NAAAP Volunteer, Mikhaila Gonzales, came the day before to help prep for the event.

This is Farestart’s 35th year holding “Guest Chef at the Waterfront (GCOW),” which raises funds and awareness for Farestart. GCOW allows FareStart to spread the word about its training programs, Guest Chef Night and the importance of helping disadvantaged and homeless people in our community. With the funds raised at this special event, Farestart can increase the number of people its serve and improve the quality of the services it provides.

According to the organizer of this NAAAP-Seattle community service event, Jenafer Park, NAAAP volunteers were responsible for collecting guests information for a free drawing and to get people on Farestart’s mailing list.

“It sounds easier than it actually was,” said Park. “Some of us were greeted with smiles and willingness, while others received snarks here and there. Yet everyone worked tirelessly to get as many people as they could to sign up. All in all, we were successful in getting at least 600 people to sign up (about half of the attendees)!”

Other NAAAPsters, including NAAAP-Seattle Secretary Claire De King, were spotted at the event as attendees.

The volunteers admitted it was difficult to stave off the desire to snack on the smorgasbord of culinary delights that surrounded them. Food vendors included: 35th Street Bistro, Assaggio Ristorante, Basil's Kitchen at the Hilton Bellevue, Brasserie Margaux, Columbia Tower Club, and Crush.

One volunteer confessed, “I want to be the other side next year, as an attendee!”

Although GCOW was new to all of the NAAAP-Seattle volunteers, Farestart is no stranger to NAAAP. GCOW marked the third time this year that NAAAP-Seattle has organized a community service event for Farestart.

GCOW was Park’s first time taking the lead on an event for NAAAP.

Park added, “I really appreciate that David Eam, the Community Chair, gave me this opportunity to organize. I would do it again in a heartbeat and look forward to hopefully organizing more events in the future.”

NAAAP-Seattle community service events are ideal for busy professionals who want to volunteer when they do have some spare time but who do not have time to seek out volunteer opportunities on their own.

A chance to volunteer for “Guest Chef on the Waterfront” drew Tom Michael to his first NAAAP-Seattle event.

“I really enjoyed feeling good by doing good,” said Michael. “The opportunity to volunteer for a worthy cause and meeting NAAAP members at the same time was an experience I hope to repeat again in the near future.”

Farestart Volunteer Coordinator Carlene Deits told the NAAAP-Seattle volunteers, “Guest Chef on the Waterfront (GCOW) this week was a terrific success for FareStart! The joy of our guests, chefs and winemakers that came out at this event was a direct result of the energy, time and love you put in!”

“Thank you for volunteering at FareStart’s 2010 Guest Chef on the Waterfront! I hope you will consider joining us again next year,” said Deits.

Hammering away for Habitat for Humanity

Thirteen NAAAP-Seattle volunteers came from far and wide- Lynnwood, Kirkland, Bellevue, Seattle-and sacrificed an entire sunny day to volunteer at the West Seattle Habitat For Humanity site.

On June 12, NAAAP-Seattle partnered Habitat Young Professionals (HYP)-Seattle. With guidance from the Vajra Allan of HYP, the volunteers were divided into three different teams, working on two houses.

Tasks included prepping and cleaning the interior; installing building paper and house wrapping; and painting the undersiding of the eaves.

“We got to challenge ourselves by trying new things - whether it be putting on Tyvek insulation or using a different kind of staple gun,” said Theresa Ip Froehlich, the coordinator for this NAAAP-Seattle event.

The Energy level was high! Everyone was willing to participate. Not even two malfunctioning vacuum cleaners and plumes of dust prevent the volunteers from getting the work done. Tasks were assigned according to experience and comfort level.

So, volunteer Seng Jiunn said, “I did nothing but push the cart around!”

“The ladies, Samantha [Fu] and Claire [Xiao] are the ones that really step up the game,” added Seng. “I think we got everything done in about 2-3 hours time. Just amazing.”

The event was a truly collaborative effort. NAAAP-Seattle volunteers even prepared the delicious sandwiches for lunch. As they ate, they discussed with HYP the impact of Habitat for Humanity. NAAAP-Seattle has been coordinating volunteer opportunities with Habitat for Humanity for years.

“The most fun part was seeing the tangible results of our physical labor, visualizing a family moving in when they take possession of the house, and working together with others as a team,” said Theresa.

By the end of the long day, Vajra exclaimed, “We got a lot of work done!"

“The Habitat staff supervisor said that our accomplishment far exceeded his expectation,” Theresa noted.

To find out more about volunteering with NAAAP-Seattle, please email Community Service Chair, David Eam, at david.eam@naaapseattle.org.

Feeding the hungry through Farestart, Part II

On May 29, NAAAP-Seattle volunteers made their second appearance this spring at the Farestart kitchen.

Nine volunteers spent much of their Saturday preparing sack lunches and hot meals for food that will get distributed to childcare centers, including Head Start programs, and homeless shelters around the Seattle area.

NAAAP-Seattle member Jenafer Park said she found the work very rewarding, “knowing that we were helping put together meals that would feed about 2000 people.”

In the Farestart kitchen, Jenafer was accompanied by husband, John Park.

“We enjoyed meeting the people that were being trained through the Farestart program,” Jenafer said. “We got to see first-hand that Farestart makes a difference in their lives. It was an enjoyable and amazing experience overall.”

"Volunteering at Farestart was a very well rewarding and heart warming experience," said Nelson Siu, a veteran NAAAP-Seattle volunteer. "Knowing the food you helped prepare will be delivered to some needy person on the street that afternoon brings a sense of satisfaction that is hard to top."

NAAAP-Seattle Community Service Chair David Eam reported that all the volunteers said they “really enjoyed the activity and would return again.”

If you have a few spare hours and want to contribute to your community, consider volunteering in one of NAAAP-Seattle’s numerous community service opportunities. Coming up are opportunities to volunteer at CISC’s 38th Friendship dinner on June 12 and Habitat for Humanity, also on June 12.

Want to lead a community service project? Please contact David Eam at david.eam@naaapseattle.org