Dreaming Big: Pain is Temporary, Quitting is Forever

My father came to America with a few hundred dollars and taught us to dream big. He always wanted me to enter the political field, but instead I became a comedian. He passed away two years ago but I know he is proud that I still made it to the White House as a "Champion of Change." 

In 2000, I founded a Korean American talent show called Kollaboration and poured my blood, sweat and tears into it. Some people said it wouldn’t last. We are now in our 12th year. Kollaboration draws over 20,000 people annually in 13 cities and counting.

The reason why the show exploded was because we have humble, passionate leaders in each city who volunteer their time out of love to make it happen. One of the most powerful forces in the world is a team that works toward a common goal and doesn't quit until they've succeeded. One of the main reasons why Kollaboration went to another level was a team member that I met in 2004. I met my one of my close friends, Roy Choi, who solidified our organization as 501(c)3 non profit organization and guided the direction of the movement, from Korean American, to Asian Asian American, which was one of the best things that could have happened. Kollaboration's mission is empowerment  through entertainment and is now widely recognized as "game changer" in the Asian Pacific Islander movement.   

Striving for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Visibility in our Asian American Communities

The Asian Pride Project (APP) is honored to be selected as a White House Champion of Change.

APP is a multimedia platform that aims: to foster greater visibility, pride, acceptance, unity and harmony for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Asians & Pacific Islander (API) people in our families, cultural communities and beyond -- no matter where we are.  We believe in the power of sharing, connecting, and relating to give API families and communities the support they need when struggling with the challenges of our sexual and gender identities in the API cultural context.

This project was borne out of a hope to create opportunities for connection and communication through written stories, letters, essays, poetry, graphics, video clips, photos and art. In 2009, a small group of activists discussed the lack of resources and support for Asian & Pacific Islander (API) family members of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. While many members were "out" to friends, few were "out" to their families, a common experience of Asian and Asian Americans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. A combination of societal stigma and the lack of culturally-relevant, language-specific resources for our families to use made the struggle for acceptance even more difficult for families struggling to accept their "out" children.

Re-mark-able

For the Win is a guest blog series featuring the remarkable initiatives that young Americans are advancing to win the future for their communities. Each week we highlight a new young person and learn about their inspiring work through their own words. Submit your story to appear in the For the Win guest blog series.

Evan Ducker attends John A. Coleman Catholic High School in Kingston, N.Y. He created and self-published the children’s book, Buddy Booby's Birthmark, based on his personal experience living with a facial vascular birthmark. Evan is a member of the 2011 PARADE All-America High School Service Team, an award recognizing outstanding young service leaders presented by Parade Magazine in partnership with generationOn, the global youth enterprise of Points of Light.

According to published medical journals, many children with birthmarks develop psychological and self-esteem issues as well as suffer from depression and anxiety (especially in social situations). Additional research showed, children with noticeable birthmarks “suffer a significant degree of social stigmatization and have lowered levels of self-esteem,” causing an “adverse effect on social development.”

I have a facial port wine stain, and I don't think kids’ lives should be adversely affected, just because they’re born with a mark on their skin.

Throughout history, birthmarks (and the people who have them) have been portrayed in literature as hideous, evil, ugly, ashamed, lonely, and other primarily negative connotations. Even the medical community needs more education about birthmarks – as evidenced by a recent statistic from the Minnesota Vascular and Birthmark Center stating “over 60 percent of all vascular birthmarks are misdiagnosed”  (vascularbirthmark.com). Some insurance companies are ignorant to the fact that birthmarks are not cosmetic issues. They are medical issues that pose no public threat, but can pose tremendous challenges (both physically and emotionally) for the children who have them – particularly if there's no common understanding or tolerance.