QUEER A&PI SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS ACHIEVE NEW HEIGHTS WITH RECORD NUMBER TO BE HONORED AT AUG. 22 A&PI WELLNESS CENTER GALA RECEPTION

15 youth to receive $16,000 in scholarships from fund created by Edward Cheng Ming Tang

MONDAY, AUG. 14, 2006 – San Francisco, Calif. -- The largest group of queer Asian and Pacific Islander (A&PI) youth ever to receive scholarship money from the Queer A&PI Pride Scholarship fund will be recognized at a special reception and art show, slated for Tues, Aug. 22, 2005, at 6 p.m. Fifteen Bay Area youth will receive a total of $16,000 in awards from the scholarship fund, sponsored by A&PI Wellness Center. The event will be held at the Center at 730 Polk St. in San Francisco.

“The ceremony will honor not only the academic and creative accomplishments of the scholarship winners, but their strength and courage in coming out,” said A&PI Wellness Center executive director John Manzon-Santos. “The scholarships send an important message of support not only for the winners, but all A&PI LGBTQs, especially around the issues of sexual identity and health, including the stigma of HIV/AIDS,” he said. The ongoing fight against HIV-related stigma in A&PI communities is exemplified by the Banyan Tree Project, a ground-breaking, multi-year campaign to foster acceptance and promote attitudes that insure the health and dignity of A&PIs at risk for, or living with HIV/AIDS. The project is led by A&PI Wellness Center in partnership with a variety of organizations, companies and individuals across the nation and in the Pacific.

The Queer A&PI Pride Scholarship was launched in 2000 by A&PI Wellness Center, in partnership with the scholarship’s visionary founder, Edward Cheng Ming Tang, Peninsula Community Foundation, community activists and queer A&PI youth. Each year a total of $16,000 is awarded to a group of A&PI LGBTQ-identified youth who are 22 and under.

A selection committee including A&PI LGBTQ youth and adults review applications, select scholarship recipients, and determine amounts each recipient will receive. Committee members are chosen for their diversity in backgrounds and life experiences. Factors considered in scholarship awards include financial need, personal and societal challenges, creativity, originality and community involvement.

A&PI Wellness Center’s mission is to educate, support, empower and advocate for A&PI communities – particularly A&PIs living with, or at-risk for HIV/AIDS. A&PI Wellness Center is the oldest nonprofit HIV/AIDS services organization in North America targeting A&PI communities around sexual health and HIV/AIDS services.

WHO:
Queer A&PI Pride Scholarship winners

WHAT:
Gala reception and awards program. The program will consist of a showing of art works and projects created by the awardees as well as short speeches, speakers, an awards presentation, and closing remarks by scholarship founder Ed Tang. The event is free and open to the public and the media.

WHEN:
August 22, 2006; 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

WHERE:
A&PI Wellness Center
Banyan Room
730 Polk St., 4th fl.
San Francisco, CA 94109
415-292-3400
WHY: To honor A&PI queer youth accomplishments, support the health and dignity of all A&PI LGBTQ people and fight related stigma.

For more information on the Queer A&PI Pride Scholarship and A&PI Wellness Center, call 415/292-3400.


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