Shen-Yen Lu Foundation 

2020 Annual Grant Video Script TRANSLATED

 Author : Dr. Fo-Ching Lu

 

Hello everyone. I hope you and your families are well and staying safe. 2020 has been a year unlike any other. The U.S. continues to be the epicenter of a global pandemic that has upended our lives, our economies, and our systems of health care and education. Our collective hearts have been broken by the lives lost and by the grave injustices suffered by George Floyd and too many other Black members of our communities. Events this year have shaken our trust in institutions, governments, and leaders. With people fighting to simply survive, mass unemployment, food and housing insecurity, and tragedy upon tragedy, it is easy to lose hope. While no one has the solution to fix everything, we can agree there are opportunities for real change. Right now, we have an opportunity to build a health care system that is accessible to all. If nothing else, the pandemic shows us precisely how we are only as strong the most vulnerable among us. Right now, we have an opportunity to build an education system that correlates to the real-world professions in demand, starting with our youngest learners. Now is the time to show up for our communities, especially those hardest hit by COVID-19. Now is the time to fight for the dignity and respect of immigrants and refugees, and all marginalized people.

In the next few minutes, we’ll be sharing how the Foundation is responding to the COVID-19 public health crisis. Then we’ll report on our grantmaking to date and introduce everyone to our 2020 Lotus Scholars. Throughout the video, our latest grant recipients will be introduced through a series of images. But first and foremost, a huge THANK YOU to our donors and supporters for making this work possible. Thank you all so very much!

SYL Foundation’s COVID-19 Response

Data shows that the COVID-19 public health crisis disproportionately affects people of color at an alarming rate. Those with limited English proficiency, living in multi-generational households, and those who often hold jobs deemed essential are particularly vulnerable to exposure. Communities of color, especially many immigrants and refugees, continue to face barriers to critical information and either lack access to or are left out of federal and local government aid.

SYL Foundation doubled its annual grant-making budget this year to $2 million dollars to assist with the emergency. The Foundation’s Rapid Response Fund was quickly deployed to assist our community partners with urgent needs such as technology access for remote services, tents for outdoor COVID-19 testing, and pandemic health literacy outreach. In the first round of giving, 14 community-based organizations were awarded Emergent Needs Fund grants that addressed some of the disproportionate effects of COVID-19 on immigrant communities.  This funding provided support in four areas: 1) childcare/early education for immigrant families who are essential workers; 2) community health centers providing care to immigrants and refugees; 3) direct cash assistance to immigrant workers, including undocumented workers; and 4) Anti-hate and anti-bias work. The Foundation is proud to be supporting the life-saving work of these amazing organizations.

The second round of the Foundation’s Emergent Needs Fund grants was awarded to 13 organizations, supporting systemic change through advocacy, community organizing, and education. These organizations champion: 1) Health care access for all, including undocumented families; and 2) Immigration reform, including a permanent solution for DACA recipients, many of whom are essential health care workers. Additional grants were disbursed to serve communities hardest hit by COVID-19, especially in the provision of essential education and health access services. 

In addition to financial support, SYL Foundation joined Washington’s philanthropic and community-based organizations in advocating for Governor Inslee to take immediate steps to protect and support immigrant and refugee communities amid the public health crisis. The Foundation also joined Asian American/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy’s call to action to end the violence and bias against Asian American/Pacific Islander communities. 

Together with the Foundation’s generous donors and in partnership with Ling Shen Ching Tze temple and Rainbow Temple, the Foundation distributed about 25,000 medical masks and other personal protective equipment to front line health workers and farmworkers. Lastly, along with our community partners, we sponsored a free drive-thru COVID-19 testing event that reached over 1,000 people from harder-to-reach communities of color.

SYL Foundation’s Work and Impact to Date

Since its creation 12 years ago, the Foundation has partnered with 78 different nonprofit organizations locally and internationally.  Within this past year, our grants helped over 30,000 people, young and old, receive medical, dental, and behavioral health care, and connected over 11,000 students to innovative education programs. Our Emergent Needs Fund also helped provide legal representation and health access to over 17,000 people who would otherwise be without. Given the emergencies arising in 2020, the Foundation is on track to distribute a total of $6 million dollars before year end. The collective power of everyone’s support fuels all this work. On behalf of SYL Foundation and all the people we serve, thank you all so very much!

During the public health emergency, SYL Foundation’s core mission around health and education is more important than ever. We continue to support these essential services so that students are not left behind, but have the necessary tools to continue to learn. We continue to support health access so that people have accurate information and access to testing and treatment. We are proud to support so many community partners carrying on the vital work that is key to our communities’ survival.

Lotus Scholarship Program 

In 2015, SYL Foundation started the Lotus Scholarship program to help recent immigrant and refugee students in their efforts to earn a college degree.  Each year we are honored to provide scholarships to these remarkable young people who have overcome so many obstacles as they pursue their dreams.  These students have all had difficult journeys; even after arriving in America, most of them had to manage the burdens of poverty and learning a new language while still maintaining a commitment to their schoolwork.  They never let anything stop them. We are inspired by their dedication to learning and their commitment to helping others.  Every year, we hear from the students that one of their primary reasons for pursuing an education is to be able to give back to their communities.

In the past two years, we expanded our Lotus Scholarship program to include a summer workshop to help provide new students with the tools they need for college, and the gift of a laptop so students can engage in remote learning.  We have also seen our first cohorts of college graduates, some of whom will be serving as essential workers in the health care sector.  We could not be more proud of all their accomplishments.  

Thank you, Foundation donors, for supporting these students. We know that they, like us, are so very grateful.

Looking Forward to 2021 and Beyond

The pandemic and enduring racial strife has intensified the pre-existing systemic inequities that pervade almost every aspect of our lives. SYL Foundation is committed to working toward longer-term institutional change, centering solutions created by and for the communities we serve. We will use our voice to advocate for those who are voiceless. Change is hard and it takes time, but each and every one of us can and must do the work of evolving from a mentality of “me” to one of “we,” and move away from a world view focused on “us” versus “them.” We have so much more in common than not, and we are so much stronger together.

Thank you for joining us on this journey and sharing in the belief that all people deserve to be treated with dignity and to have a chance to live freely and safely, no matter where you were born. Thank you for your compassion and for your sense of justice.  SYL Foundation is honored to have your support.  Together, we will continue to stand up for immigrant rights and advance quality health care and education access for all. 

 

 

盧勝彥佈施基金會

2020 年慈善布施活動回顧

文／盧佛青博士

大家好，希望大家一切吉祥如意！2020年是一個與以往不同的一年。美國仍然是全球大流行疫病的中心，這場大流行病顛覆了我們的生活、我們的經濟以及我們的醫療保健和教育體系。我們的集體心靈也因為George Floyd（喬治·弗洛伊德）和我們社區的許多非裔成員，喪失生命和遭受嚴重的不公正待遇，而感到心碎。今年的事件動搖了我們對公家機關、政府以及領導人的信任。隨著人們努力掙扎只為了繼續生存下去，大規模的失業，糧食和房屋失去安全感，以及悲劇接連發生，人們很容易失去希望。雖然沒有人能提出解決所有問題的方法，但我們皆有共識，目前有機會落實真正的改革。現在，我們有機會建立一個人人都能享用的醫療保健系統。撇開其他不談，這場大流行病恰恰凸顯出，原以為強健的我們，卻是如此的脆弱不堪。現在，我們有機會從最年輕的學子開始，建立一個與現實世界的職場需求能相關聯的教育體系。現在是為我們的社區展現的時候，尤其是為那些受到新冠病毒打擊最嚴重的社區發出聲音。現在是為移民和難民，以及所有被邊緣化人群的尊嚴和尊重而奮鬥的時候。

在接下來的幾分鐘裡，我們將分享基金會如何應對新冠病毒的公共衛生危機。接著我們將報告至目前為止的捐助贈款情況，並向大家介紹我們的2020年的「蓮花獎學金」得主。在整個視頻中，我們將通過一系列圖片介紹我們最新的贈款受贈單位。但首先，我們要向所有的捐贈者和支持者表示衷心的感謝，感謝您們使這項工作成真。萬分感激您們!

〈盧勝彥佈施基金會〉回應COVID-19新冠病毒

資料顯示，新冠病毒的公共衛生危機對有色人種產生的影響尤為嚴重，比例驚人。對那些英語水準有限、生活在多代家庭中的人，以及那些經常從事被認為是必要工作的人，特別容易受到影響。有色人種社區，尤其是許多移民和難民，繼續面臨無法獲取重要資訊的障礙，他們不是無法獲得聯邦和地方政府的援助，就是被排除在外。

〈盧勝彥佈施基金會〉今年將其年度撥款預算增加了一倍，達到200萬美元，以協助應對緊急情況。基金會的「快速響應基金」迅速部署就位，以協助我們的社區合作夥伴滿足緊急需求，例如遠程服務的技術支援，用於戶外新冠病毒檢測的帳篷，以及大流行病的健康知識推廣。在第一輪捐贈中，有14個社區組織獲得了「緊急需求基金」贈款，以解決新冠病毒對移民社區所造成尤為嚴重的影響。這筆資金主要用於支持以下四個方面：1）為作為必要勞動者的移民家庭提供托兒/早期教育；2）為移民和難民提供護理的社區保健中心； 3）為移民工作者，包括無證工作者，提供直接現金援助； 4）反仇恨和反偏見工作。基金會深感榮幸能支持這些出色組織進行拯救生命的工作。

基金會的第二輪「緊急需求基金」贈款授予了13個組織，通過宣傳、社區組織和教育，來支持系統性的改革。這些組織護持：1）讓所有人，包括無證家庭，都能獲得醫療服務；2）移民改革，包括為DACA身分人士提供永久的解決方案，其中有許多人是必要的衛生保健工作者。此外，還發放了額外的贈款，以協助受新冠病毒打擊最嚴重的社區，特別是用在提供基本教育和醫療服務方面。

除了財務支援外，〈盧勝彥佈施基金會〉還與華盛頓的慈善和社區組織聯合，向Inslee州長提議，在公共衛生危機中，能立即採取必要措施，以保護與幫助移民和難民社區。基金會也加入了亞裔美國人/太平洋島民的慈善行動，呼籲停止針對亞裔美國人/太平洋島民社區的暴力和偏見。

基金會結合了發心的贊助者，並與〈西雅圖雷藏寺〉和〈彩虹雷藏寺〉攜手合作，總共分發了超過25,000個醫療口罩和其他個人防護設備，給身在第一線的衛生人員，以及農場工人。最後，我們與社區的合作夥伴，一起主辦了一場免費的免下車新冠病毒檢測活動，該活動吸引了超過1,000多人來自較難接觸到的有色人種社區參加。

〈盧勝彥佈施基金會〉至今的工作與影響

基金會成立12年以來，已經與78個不同的本地和國際非營利組織建立了合作關係。 在過去的一年裡，我們的贈款幫助了30,000多名男女老少，獲得醫療、牙科和心理保健，並將11,000多名學生與創新教育專案聯繫起來。我們的「緊急需求基金」還幫助17,000多位求助無門的人，獲得了法律代表和健康服務。考量到2020年出現的緊急狀況，基金會預估從成立至今年底所發放出的贈款，將累積到總計600萬美元的金額。這個極為可觀的成就，其動能來自每位支持基金會的人，匯集成為一股巨大的集體力量。在此，我代表〈盧勝彥佈施基金會〉以及我們服務的所有人，向大家表達衷心的感謝。

在公共衛生的緊急期間，〈盧勝彥佈施基金會〉主導健康和教育兩大核心使命，比以往任何時候都更加重要。我們將繼續支持這些必要的服務，使學生們不但不會被忽略，而且能擁有繼續學習的必要工具。我們將繼續支援提供健康服務，使人們能獲取測試和治療的正確資訊與管道。我們極感榮幸能支援這麼多的社區夥伴，開展至關重要的工作，成為我們社區生存的關鍵。

蓮花獎學金計劃 

2015年，〈盧勝彥佈施基金會〉啟動了蓮花獎學金計劃，幫助新移民和難民學生努力取得大學學位。每年，我們都很榮幸為這些傑出的年輕人提供獎學金，他們在追求夢想的過程中，克服了許多障礙。這些學生都曾有過一段艱難的旅程；即使到了美國，他們大多數人也必須設法應付貧困和學習新語言的負擔，同時還得持續完成學業。他們卻從未停止力求上進。他們對學習的執著，以及立志幫助他人的承諾，讓我們深受鼓舞。每年，我們都從學生那裡得知，他們追求教育的主要原因之一，就是能夠回饋社區。

在過去兩年裡，我們擴充了「蓮花獎學金」計劃裡所涵蓋的範圍，其中包括開設一個暑期研習班，協助提供新生上大學所需的工具，並贈送一台筆記型電腦，讓學生可以進行遠端學習。我們也目睹了我們的第一批大學畢業生，其中有好幾位將成為衛生保健領域的必要工作者。我們為他們的成就感到無比的驕傲。

感謝基金會的贊助者對這些學生的支持。我們知道，他們和我們一樣，內心充滿感激。

展望2021年及以後

此次的流行病，加上持續不斷的種族衝突，更加惡化了先前存在的系統性不平等，這種不平等幾乎充斥在我們生活的每一個層面。〈盧勝彥佈施基金會〉致力於實現長期的制度改革，以我們所服務的社區為中心，提供解決方案。我們將用自己的聲音，代替那些沒有聲音的人發言。改革是困難的，也需要時間，我們每個人不但要能改變，更要努力做到，把"小我"的心轉變為"大我"的心，並且把世間喜好區分"我們" 和 "他們"的觀念漸漸去除。要知道，我們的共同點，遠遠多過我們的差異，若能同心協力，我們會比現在更強大的多。

感謝有您陪同基金會走過這段旅程，我們堅信所有人都應該受到有尊嚴的對待，無論在哪裡出生，都有機會能自由、安全地生活。感謝您的慈悲心和正義感。〈盧勝彥佈施基金會〉很榮幸能有您的支持。我們將共同努力，繼續捍衛移民的權利，並為所有人提供優質的醫療保健和教育機會。