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REACH's First Social (6/4)
After our Induction Ceremony at Mrs. Pauline's property, we had a small social over at the Bolay Oviedo location. We primarily used it as a fundraising opportunity this time around, and were able to get a few officers to participate!

Duanwu Festival
During the summer, REACH was invited to the Duanwu Festival. Some of our officers were able to experience the excitement of dragon boat races for the first time. We even participated in one race against one of the teams. Although some of our members have never paddled before, we were all able to win a gold medal! 

Synchrony Diversity Engagement Event
During this event, we were able to present what our organization's mission and what we are all about to Synchrony, who so generously gave us a $2000 grant to help us provide necessities to vulnerable members of our community.

REACH Out at Blue Jacket Park 
We had our annual summer REACH Out in late July during Summer Vacation. We took part in a number of activities,  including tug-of-war, water gun fights, and a lot more!

Financial Literacy Workshop 
Our REACH officers were able to strengthen their financial abilities with the help of HiLite. Thanks to their guidance, our members were able to learn and formulate important financial goals for both the present and the future. We thoroughly enjoyed this event and hope to join more of HiLite’s coaching lessons. 

Moon over Avalon 
For the Moon over Avalon event, we were able to manage a merchandise store, and were able to get some successful profits! We were also able to explore the beautiful lanterns and other vendors throughout the event.

Homeless 1st Initiative 
After months of preparation, our members put together care packages for the homeless. We partnered with Synchrony Financial to distribute the packages all around Lake Eola. Not only did we have the chance to help the homeless, but we were also able to listen to their stories. We are very thankful to have had this enlightening experience and hope to continue this in the following years. 

GWN Dragon Boat Race and Asian Expo 
On November 19th, REACH participated in the GWN Dragon Boat Race. Many of our paddlers were new to the experience but thanks to our amazing coach, C.K. Lau, and our captains, Meira Lee and Jason Hu, we were prepared for race day. Additionally, a couple of our REACH officers volunteered at the Asian Expo. They made informative posters to showcase their research on Vietnam, Japan, Thailand, and other Asian countries!

​Happy new year! 2021 has brought REACH many activities that helped us grow as a team and a community. This newsletter consists of some of the events we have taken a part of or hosted this year. Congratulations to all our officers for a successful year of 2021!

​Presidents - Jerry He & Rebekah Joe
VP Communications - Jocelyn Lam
VP Community Service -Allison Lunandy
VP Internal - Andrea Sison
VP External - Emme Lee
Secretary - Meira Lee
Treasurer - Aimee Nguyen
Public Relations - Serina Kaochari & Edison Cheung
Historian - Ashley Ding
Webmaster - Minhanh Nguyen & Travis Duong
Advisors - Jiya Sishodia & Kaylee Duong

Apopka HS - Colin Poon
Bishop Moore HS - Siena Ramirez, Katrina Tiqui
Cypress Creek HS - Kevin Nguyen
Freedom HS - Rachel Lam, Mercedes Vo, Heather Li, Haruna Ramirez, Hillary Quach, Kathy Tran
Hagerty HS - James Hu
Lake Nona HS - Vandana Manchikanti
Olympia HS - Alvin Li
Seminole HS - Henry Chen
Timber Creek HS - Yvonne Tsao, John Ruiz, Chloe Shull
University HS - Mike Wong, Ibrahim Itani, Alyssa Rae Connelly
Windermere HS - Yvonne Le, Eileen Ng, Toni Arellano
Winter Park HS - Tyson Nguyen, Adelaide Tso
Winter Springs HS - Catherine Li

​June of 2021 - Congratulations to our officers! In our induction ceremony we got to congratulate the class of 2021 who graduated! We are very excited for them to take the next step in their journey. We saw these students grow throughout the time they have spent with REACH and we are very proud of who they came to be. During our induction we were able to meet people whom we only really saw on screens for a while. We also had a chance to see new faces. With the induction meant passing over roles and responsibilities, it was a bittersweet end to term 2020-2021 and looking back 2021-2022 term has been a fantastic ride as well!

​This past year we did not just have 1 but 2 chances to have REACH Out! We had one during the summer and winter, we had the chance to both enjoy the sun with fun water activities and the chilly weather with cookie makings and ornament designs. We also did our annual REACH Out secret santa with our executive board. REACH Outs has helped us create more bonds within our officer circle and also opens new connections with those that wants to be a part of REACH. We hope to see more REACH Outs in the future along with old and new officers alike.

Captains: Emme Lee, Rebekah Joe, & Allison Lunandy
Paddlers: Travis Duong, Catherine Li, Meira Lee, Serina Kaochari, Ashley Ding, Chloe Shull, Vandana Manchikanti, Kaylee Duong, Mike Wong, Eileen Ng, Yvonne Le, Toni Arellano, Alvin Li, Haruna Ramirez, John Aeron Ruiz, Darren Bansil, Jolie Hongsyok, Colin Poon, Duc-Thanh Nguyen, & Jerry He.

​October of 2021 - After 2 years of not being able to race, REACH’s dragon boat team placed 2nd in division B! We would like to thank all of those who came to help and support us. A special shout out to Mr. C.K. Lau, Mrs. Pauline Ho, and Dim Dim Sum for their help and support in order to ensure that our dragon boat team were able to race with as much practice and experience as they could get. REACH also participated in the expo where our officers and volunteers showcased several Asian countries through presentations and performances.

​2021 was full of mentorship and workshops from NAAAP Orlando. We are very thankful for Mr. Newlyn Wing for giving us this opportunity and organizing these workshops. Our REACH officers and members were able to interact with guest speakers that are in different fields of work. We were able to ask questions and seek advice about our future endeavors. Through this workshop we were able to learn about Asian American experiences in leadership and gain valuable wisdom about personal growth.

REACH always looks for ways to give back to the community and help. Every month we volunteer at the sharing center where we usually help with sorting out clothes and groceries for those in need. The Sharing center provides basic amenities and necessities to those in need. This includes but is not limited to showers, hygiene products, and food. If you would like to join volunteering at the Sharing center please do not hesitate to contact us for more details and to visit our website for more information.

March of 2021 - REACH had the chance to stand in solidarity with the Asian community as we honored the lives lost in the Atlanta shooting through the APAC’s vigil at UCF. We hope that everyone continues to stand, grieve, and fight with us by protecting, supporting, and amplifying the voices of the vulnerable.

May 2021 - REACH was awarded the Outstanding Community Service Award for our outreach and service to the Asian American community and beyond. We want to take the Orange County Asian Committee. Huge shoutout to all our REACH officers who helped with the application and members who served over the past 10 years!

Before school started in August a few of our officers painted a utility box in Mills Avenue for the City of Orlando. The designs showcase Asian culture through popular culture, traditional art, and events. The designs were made by Allison Lunandy, Jocelyn Lam, Minhanh Ngyuen, and Andrea Sison. With the help of other volunteers they were able to make this beautiful mural to promote Asian Cultural Heritage and also bring some beauty to Mills Avenue. This is located by Gong Cha so if you are in the area you should definitely check it out!

We wrote a lot of blogs during the year of 2021, from experiences from our events to educational blogs about our culture and representation such as reflections on the dragon boat competition and Asian representation in media. We have discussed topics such as the model minority and Asian’s proximity to whiteness. Our blogs entails its readers to not just an entertaining read but also an educational experience. If you are interested in these check them out!