(Left to right:) Paul Akio Kawata, John Manzon-Santos,
Marcy A. Frazer and Connie Amarathithada
On May 4, 2000, Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center
(A&PIWC) honored a Japanese American gay man and a national
leader in the HIV/AIDS community, a Transgender Lao immigrant
who is a role model for her peers, and an innovative health
care provider serving the Tenderloin community at its third
annual Community Awards and Silent Auction at The Asian Art
Museum of San Francisco in Golden Gate Park.
National Award Paul Akio Kawata, Executive
Director, National Minority AIDS Council
Presented by Jan Masaoka, Executive Director, CompassPoint
Nonprofit Services and Norm Nickens, Deputy Director for EEO,
Affirmative Action and Cultural Competency, San Francisco
Department of Public Health
Paul is a long-time activist, Japanese-American gay man,
and native of Seattle. For the past 15 years, he has played
a pivotal leadership role in the HIV/AIDS movement in the
United States as Executive Director of the National AIDS Network
(1985-98), and since 1989, of the National Minority AIDS Council
(NMAC). During Paul's tenure, NMAC has become the premier
national organization dedicated to developing leadership within
communities of color to address the challenges of HIV/AIDS.
NMAC has provided one of the strongest and most consistent
voices in our national political debate on the needs of People
of Color and HIV/AIDS. Under Kawata's leadership, NMAC created
the U.S. Conference on AIDS, the largest domestic gathering
of its kind; developed the first treatment education program
for people of color living with HIV/AIDS; and initiated the
first national HIV/AIDS program for women of color. Paul currently
serves on the boards of the Colin Higgins Foundation, the
Management Assistance Group, and the National Gay & Lesbian
Funding Partners. "For all of us, Paul exemplifies vision,
tenacity, and survival," said A&PIWC's Executive
Director John Manzon-Santos.
Grassroots Award Connie Amarathithada, Long-time
Volunteer and Transgender Community Activist
Presented by Rachel Matillano, A&PIWC Associate Director
of Care Services and Crystal Catamco, A&PIWC Transgender
Program Supervisor
Connie has been a dedicated HIV educator for the past eight
years, raising tremendous visibility around the needs of all
the communities with which she identifies -- Transgenders,
People living with HIV, people in recovery, Asians and Pacific
Islanders and other People of Color. As an agency client and
volunteer since 1992, she has shared her story and become
a respected role model to many of her peers. In the words
of one: "Because of Connie, a lot of girls take better
care of themselves." She has worked closely with the
Southeast Asian Community Center, and been a featured speaker
at numerous universities and conferences throughout and beyond
California. Connie has brought critical advocacy messages
to government institutions as well: dialoguing with the San
Francisco Police Department and the Board of Supervisors,
lobbying for increased AIDS funding, consulting with the California
State Office of AIDS, and serving on the original Transgender
Community Advisory Committee to the San Francisco Department
of Public Health.
Ally Award Continuum
Accepted by Marcy A. Fraser, Executive Director
Presented by Hilda M. Jones, Program Manager, HIV Health Services,
San Francisco Department
of Public Health and Mario Diaz, Vice President, Wells Fargo
Continuum serves low-income individuals with HIV/AIDS in
and around San Francisco's Tenderloin district. Now in their
tenth year, Continuum provides innovative health services
to minimize harm, facilitate relationships, prevent institutionalization
and create community. Depending on need and circumstance,
clients can access six comprehensive programs including licensed
adult day healthcare, mobile health care services, food and
nutrition, home care, case management and transitional services
for people being released from jail or prison. Many Continuum
clients have long been cut off from human compassion and empathy.
They are 'outside the system of care' because they have forgotten,
in a larger sense, that caring exists. Today, Continuum remains
the only free standing Adult Day Health Center for people
living with HIV/AIDS in the United States. In close collaboration
with Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center and other
Tenderloin-based allies, client centered services are delivered
with flexibility, compassion and humanity.
Banyan ($5,000+)
Asian Art Museum
Chevron
Gap, Inc.
Acacia ($2,500+)
Catholic
Healthcare West
Bay Area Region
DuPont Pharmaceuticals
Pacific Gas & Electric
Company
Union Bank of
California
Bamboo ($1,000+)
Ignatius Bau and
John Bare
BTG Pharmaceuticals /
Michael Kent
Glaxo Wellcome
Company
Merck & Company, Inc.
Robert H. Miller
Ortho-Biotech
Planned Parenthood
Golden Gate
Providian Financial
Roche Laboratories, Inc.
Peter M. Wierzbicki /
Lincoln Financial
Advisors
Teak ($500+)
Continuum
Dallabrida & Associates
Estate of Mary Nell
Sells Barefield
Family of
Irl Sells Barefield
Ayse M. Kenmore
Darrell W. Lew
Lawrence Manuel &
Company
Cherry ($250+)
Jack L. Care
Dan Chin
Bill Shelley
Lia Shigemura &
Helen Zia
Vance Yoshida
We would like to thank the many generous donors who have contributed
items for our annual Silent Auction. To donate an item for
the auction please call Ron Wong & Associates at 415.355.9988.
All items will be auctioned off at our a thursday in may
2000 gala which will be held Thursday, May 4, 2000 at
the Asian Art Museum
in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Doors open and bidding
begins at 6:00p and contributes until 7:25p -- items will
be on display and can be collected by the winning bidder at
the end of the evening upon payment.
Hotels / Resorts / Vacations
Spruce Grove Cabins www.sprucegrovetahoe.com
South Lake Tahoe, 1.800.777.0914
Enjoy a 2 nights stay in your very own cabin and enjoy the
views of South Lake Tahoe.
A Special Place For All Women -- Two night stay in your choice
of the Tisher or Geneva Cabin.
San Francisco Marriott www.marriott.com
55 Fourth Street, San Francisco 94103, 415.896.1600
Enjoy this one evening get-a-way for two at the San Francisco
Marriott located across the street from the Moscone Convention
Center and within walking distance of Yerba Buena Gardens,
the Financial District, Chinatown, and Union Square shopping.
Napa Valley Wine Train: A Gourmet Dining Excursion www.winetrain.com
1275 McKinstry St., Napa 94559, 1.800.427.4124
A round-trip brunch, lunch or dinner for two aboard "One of
the World's Most Magnificent Trains" through the scenic Napa
Valley.
Two Disneyland passports to this grandmother of American themeparks
where you can explore Tomorrowland, Mickey's Toontown, Critter
County or the new Trazan's Treehouse.
The perfect solution for a unique dining experience. Enjoy
a champagne brunch, lunch or dinner dance for two abroad an
elegant Hornblower yacht. Choose from one of the following
port locations in California, which includes San Francisco,
Marina del Rey, Newport Beach, San Diego, Lake Tahoe.
Cafe Riggio Restaurant
4112 Geary Blvd. at 5th Avenue, San Francisco, 415.221.2114
Eclectic Italian restaurant.
Carta Restaurant www.cartasf.com
1760 Market Street, San Francisco, 415.863.3516
Theater / Entertainment / Museums
/ Classes
American Conservatory Theater www.act-sfbay.org
30 Grant Avenue, San Francisco, 415.834.3200
One of the nation's leading resident professional theaters
and the recipient of a Tony Award for outstanding theater
performance and training. A certificate for two to an A.C.T.
Preview performance of your choice. Productions include: The
Three Penny Opera, Wrong Mountain, The Invention of Love and
more.
At Pier 39 there's something for everyone...shopping, dining
and entertainment! San Francisco's Number One Attraction.
Enjoy a fun-filled day for four at Pier 39. This FUN PACK
features VIP tickets to Cinemax Theatre, Blue & Gold Fleet,
Turbo Ride, Venetian Carousel, Arcade Tokens and more.
California Canoe & Kayak www.calkayak.com
Jack London Square, Oakland , 800.988.9804
Choose your rental: a recreational boat, plastic sea kayak
or sit-on-top, then explore the off shore.
California Academy of Sciences www.calacademy.org
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco 94118, 415.750.7145
Earth, Ocean, Space -- all in one place! Home of the Steinhart
Aquarium, the Morrison Planetarium, and the Natural History
Museum.
Oakland A'S
For the A's fan -- find four ticket vouchers to an Oakland
A's game.
Dance!!! Dance!!! Dance!!! A four-week Group Class series
in Ballroom, Latin, or Swing Dancing for Two.
Intersection for the Arts www.theintersection.org
446 Valencia Street, San Francisco, 415.626.ARTS
Two pairs of tickets for Adrienne Kennedy's "Funnyhouse of
a Negro" directed by Margo Hall.
Discovery Museum www.badm.org.
Fort Baker, 557 McReynolds Road, Sausalito, 415.289.7268
Discover the Discovery Museum with this Guest Pass for 5.
Tante Marie's Cooking School
271 Francisco Street, San Francisco, 415.788.6699
"The French cuisine despite its reputation for quality and
artistry, is basically simple." -- Tante Marie circa 1920
French Cookbook. Five Afternoon Demonstrations.
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts www.yerbabuenaarts.org
701 Mission at 3rd, San Francisco, 415.978.ARTS
Galleries Family Pass- for you or your whole family. In the
heart of an exciting new downtown neighborhood near the Sony
Meteron and the SFMOMA.
One of the oldest and most respected theatre companies in
the country devoted to the production of new plays by American
playwrights. Two theatre tickets to one Magic Theatre Subscription
Production.
Osento Bathhouse for Women osento.com/
955 Valencia Street, San Francisco, 415.282.6333
Accepted by Marcy A. Fraser, Executive Director