HI! I am so thrilled to launch our new website! Doesn't it look amazing? I don't know how most people launch foundations, but it feels like our journey has been wild in a very wonderful, life-changing, and exhausting way. We've been working non-stop to try to get to a day like this, and I have to say, while we need more hours in the day, it has not felt like actual work. We've come a long way since our #VeryAsian moment turned into a movement on January 1, 2022.

Someone recently asked me, "Didn't that happen to you last year?" I laughed and responded with, "Try 80 days."

A lot has changed. We launched a mini-campaign, pre-foundation, to raise thousands of dollars for a group we love, the Asian American Journalists Association. That group has directly supported journalists with meeting career goals and arming them with AANHPI superpowers to take back to their newsrooms. But for most of the world, it impacts the journalism we read, hear, and watch. AAJA calls out bad reporting when racist or problematic language is used in mainstream media. AAJA gives news corporations guidance to create more equitable newsrooms. I have been a member of this organization for most of my 20-year career.

After we became a foundation in mid-January, we launched a website, created new merchandise, built a board of directors, created our mission, and started raising money for Stop AAPI Hate. Stop AAPI Hate is an incredible organization that takes data from our community and gives us ideas to create actionable change. We know that anti-Asian hate is a disgusting problem to combat right away, and yet, we've learned from data there are ways to fight back in each of our communities by pushing for language access, protection, data collection, and more.

We've also been keeping busy with partnering with creatives -- from our featured designer Jane Gahng who inspired our pink totes and a t-shirt, to working with graphic designer Myohan Oh for our new branding system. We wouldn't be able to see this day without our influencers, businesses, and community organizers who've helped us along the way-- we will be featuring many of them over time right here. We've also been connecting with writers, community organizers, and small-batch makers around the globe to amplify our very diverse, Asian voices. We are humbled every day by the kindness and generosity of our expansive community.

But wait, there's more.

We are launching a national Asian American book campaign, working with companies and universities to become more equitable, and we're raising money to build a sustainable foundation.

Our hope is that when we come to the table for the next New Year's dinner, we will be able to say with certainty that together we made a #VeryAsianDifference.

You continue to show the world it's time to flip the script on what it means to be #VeryAsian. We are proud of being us, and we are not a monolith. We need to find better ways of telling our unheard stories. If we can be a part of supporting great organizations already doing the hard work, lift up our struggling artists and creatives, helping our youth see themselves in new spaces, and find ways to heal ourselves, we can join in this growing network to carve out safe spaces for us while creating a better and more equitable world.

We believe it's more than time to bring your full humanity to your spaces, and we hope that the Very Asian Foundation can be part of your journey. We will evolve, but we will always be about community, our people. Thank you for being so uniquely you. Thank you for your support. We couldn't be more proud of you and what you've inspired in us.

Michelle Li

Co-Founder, Very Asian Foundation