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Embodying and Sharing Aloha Spirit Through Community Building With Lauren Balcita Garces
23 Plays9 months ago
Join us for a heartwarming conversation with the founder of Social Artistry, Lauren Balcita Garces. Lauren's passion for building community and being of service shines, and we are here for it! Be prepared to be inspired by this powerhouse woman with a heart and soul that is beaming with so much care and love for others.
Through a series of dynamic and thoughtful conversations between Ji Bowlus (she/her) and guests, we will showcase how wellness intersects with the rich complexities of our diverse Asian diaspora community. We will bring the voices of the Asian diaspora from the peripheral to the center to empower, reclaim agency, and rewrite the narrative of well-being one personal experience at a time.
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Introduction
00:00:00
Speaker
nourishing the mind body and soul for the Asian diaspora. Have you eaten?
00:00:06
Speaker
Hi, everyone. This is G again with another episode of Have You Eaten? And today I'm excited to introduce Lauren to you. And before we get into um having the conversation, I wanted to tell you all why I have Lauren on. um Lauren and I met a few months ago and we did a collaboration at the San Diego County Fair. And what what really came up for me when I met her is she just embodies community. She embodies acts of service in this most beautiful way. And um you can tell just from her energy too, she's not asking for anything in return. And that's just
Cultural Background and Upbringing
00:00:52
Speaker
such a unique thing about someone. And so I wanted you all to meet this beautiful human being. And as you know, we always start with, how do you identify, Lauren?
00:01:05
Speaker
Uh, hello everyone. I was, I was like, I'm going to get emotional right off the bat. Oh my goodness. Cause it's, it's a lot, the community works side. and We'll dive into that. Um, but hi everyone. My name is Lauren Belsita Garces. Uh, I would say I identify as a Filipina American. I grew up in Hawaii. I'm not Hawaiian, but I was so grateful to grow up around all the Pacific Islander and pan Asian cultures.
00:01:32
Speaker
there so I do consider myself an islander girl and spirit at heart like I really want to always like body the aloha spirit and maybe hopefully that exudes out to folks at the same time.
00:01:44
Speaker
I am a granddaughter and daughter of immigrants. Some of my family is from the Philippines, of course, and um they came here ah by way of the military and other opportunities, and so I've been a military child as well. um
Journey into Event Production
00:02:03
Speaker
And my mom is an artist, and so I think a lot of what ah she showed me in the world and my thinking about the world has also made me an artist. So um I consider myself an artist, creator, I do event production. um And that's how we met G and um along the way, just really found so much love in the community and, and surrounded by my chosen family there.
00:02:28
Speaker
um Just a few fun ways that I like to identify. That's that's so awesome. um Yeah, i I want to get into the work that you do. What you share, I mean, you have so many roles within the community and you do so many amazing things. I don't want to miss anything. So share with us all the organizations that you're part of um because you own a company as well.
00:02:54
Speaker
I had my jaw dropped because when when you say share all the organizations you work with, I'm like, oh, gosh, here we go. um It's so hard to count. But um yes, I do own my own event production company called Social Artistry. And I love diving into this specifically, I've been doing event production for pretty much 14 years now. So I was doing it like um in college, right out of college, and then just kept following this path of supporting the community with my my skills through event production continuing to build that and so um I specifically started my company in 2020 though and formed my own LLC called social artistry because
00:03:36
Speaker
The pandemic happened. ah We were seeing
Community Empowerment and Challenges
00:03:39
Speaker
so many things happen within our community. um Again, just the racial reckoning of of what is the work that that we need to do to make our communities better, ah to stop the hurt and hate that we were seeing happening during the pandemic, when again, it was a very scary time for so many people. um So the concept of social artistry for me is really about how we empower our multicultural communities to have a voice and a platform um to be advocated for, to be supported, to feel empowered, to share their cultures with other people and build understanding. um So that's it's really done, again, through the artistry of how we connect ah the social aspect of all people coming together and building community with each other.
00:04:22
Speaker
um So that's a little bit about my company. I work with a lot of different nonprofits. So through the 14 years, I really leaned into supporting different multicultural organizations and nonprofits and grassroots organizing. And so um just a few that I'm like particularly proud of right off the top of my head.
00:04:41
Speaker
I work with the Kanhoy Pan-Asian Cultural and Business Innovation District. Kanhoy District Partnership is the nonprofit that helped advocate for that official designation ah here in San Diego. So we have a very special neighborhood really where um so many Pan-Asian communities started a like a livelihood and then built something for the future um just by serving the people in the community that they were in.
00:05:08
Speaker
And it's grown to be one of the largest pan Asian business centers in Southern California. um So we're very excited about that designation. And we ended up raising funds to get freeway signs. So on the 805 North and South and here in San Diego, we have freeway signs that say convoy Asian cultural district, which just really makes you feel like we're on the map. We have stories to tell. We have so many great food.
00:05:36
Speaker
and dessert options and all kinds of services to share with others. And then also just like looking towards the future. of Again, what does that mean for our community as we grow? um So I also serve as the co-chair for the San Diego Asian Pacific Islander Coalition.
00:05:52
Speaker
um We formed during the pandemic because again, we were seeing a lot of anti Asian hate. ah We were seeing death in our communities and we were grieving and I'll just, I'll say that this is the part that gets me really emotional because those feelings are very valid because we saw people that were like our mothers, our grandmothers feeling afraid to go out.
00:06:12
Speaker
And so so many of our community organizations rallied together. We had allies in the community sign letters denouncing the discrimination and violence we were seeing across the country. We got a few elected officials to also amplify the message to the community and really at the time.
00:06:30
Speaker
um There was like over 100 organizations, individuals, you know, signing on to to support this effort. um And it ended up forming this really fantastic coalition. So we now are 40 plus Asian and Pacific Islanders serving organizations across San Diego County. We meet monthly, um but we also support each other throughout the year with all of the different programs that support our AUPI community in San Diego. So also proud to serve there. And yeah, I just, I get involved with a lot of really wonderful projects um across San Diego and with really so many wonderful nonprofits and community groups.
00:07:10
Speaker
I started tearing up when you started talking about um the Asian hate stuff and, you know, hello, happy kind of we we we've been taking a stand to not be overly political. We want to showcase all the different multifaceted um parts of of our community, but um we've we've had this like stance of like not going too political, right? But when you started talking about it, I started tearing up because I remember you know the fear um for our elders and just the sadness and like the constant barrage of like the of social media showing us all of this hate and
00:07:54
Speaker
Yeah. I,
Creating Spaces of Belonging
00:07:56
Speaker
it still brings up a little bit of, oh, and it's so amazing how much work that you're putting into it. And I, you know what? I was curious as you're like telling us everything that you're working on, like, how did you get to that point? Cause I feel like you have this very deep sense of, um,
00:08:18
Speaker
I don't even know what you would call it, but just this acts of service that's just so, and they no other word but beautiful. And you could tell just the way you talk about things. It's just such an authentic, true, real thing within you. And I'm so i'm always curious like what's motivated, what motivates people and how did you get into this work?
00:08:42
Speaker
that is Oh, I think the the tears are going to start falling. And that's fine. And that's real. And I think we should cry. I cried a lot during the pandemic because of everything that we're seeing. But that yeah that's in a way that like stuff that fueled me in again.
00:08:56
Speaker
Um, there was so many layers to what you said that I love to talk like dive into eventually. Like I do think we need to get political and whatever level that means for folks, but at the very least when you can vote, vote because it matters stuff like that. Um, but yeah, I think just taking it back to, to why I do this, how I do this, what it's and so many beautiful people that I meet along the journey that I'm so grateful for that inspire me. And we just can't do this work alone. And.
00:09:26
Speaker
those people are my chosen family because they also too are like always giving so much of themselves to give back and figuring out what it means to take care of ourselves so that we can take care of our community. um I think I'm so grateful to just really have grown up in a place like Hawaii Um, I was born in California, but by way of military, my dad was stationed on a Wahoo. And so I, again, i I, like, since first grade grew up around pan Asian, pan Pacific Islander communities. And when you're surrounded in it and you know how beautiful it is for all of them to come together and just support each other and uplift each other.
00:10:06
Speaker
without ever having to think about or whether without ever having to like put in the extra effort to do so, just because it's like a warm embrace around you all the time. It's so beautiful. And then I wanted to spread my wings because I got island favor there and the pace in Hawaii was not what I wanted when I was graduating high school. I wanted to spread my wings and be free and whatever that meant. but um I went to college in San Diego because it was still close to home. It was a five, six hour plane ride, so my family wasn't too sad because there was there's just a short plane ride away. um And I was like in such a big culture shock because I went to college and I realized, like oh, I can be a minority in in places. I never had to grow up thinking about that, fortunately.
00:11:00
Speaker
um you know, and, and I was, I just like was immediately like, put face to face with that in college. And my biggest feelings, and so many people's feelings, I think is like, where's my place of belonging, and just at so many different stages of our lives, we'll have that conversation with ourselves. that But yeah, right, going into college, I was like, where do I belong? Where's my community? I'm I don't have any friends or family here, originally in San Diego and so it was, it was such a big step and it was very uncomfortable but I started diving into finding folks that I felt comfortable around and I found multicultural organizations on campus and things.
00:11:43
Speaker
like the Asian Pacific Student Alliance, APSA, and very big for me, I was i joined the ah Filipino Honors Bonifacio Samohan at San Diego State University. d And I was immediately, I just, you know, besides looking like each other, they were just welcoming with a smile. They were like, hey, do you want to go eat later? And I'm like, these are people.
00:12:05
Speaker
Then I want to be around They introduced me to convoy again Some of them were locals or some of them were also like coming to San Diego um for the first time but we met in convoy we had Boba and convoy I was introduced to more types of like Korean barbecue and different styles of Asian food, um which is surprising because there's a lot in Hawaii and I was like, there's more out here. So i it's so fun to be able to give back to a neighborhood that was that for me, it made me feel like felt like I belong, it made me
00:12:42
Speaker
feel like when I walked around, I had a community and that I had a place to feel safe. And so, um yeah, I think so much of the work that I do is is rooted in how do we create spaces of belonging for others because it was something I needed um when I came here.
00:12:58
Speaker
And so it's it's just, it's a very heartwarming and humbling thing to do to be able to give back to that in any way that I can. And ah the way I do that is through events, just because I feel ah the ways that you create events and create experiences for other people that they can take away that feeling and take it on into the other work and world that they enter into. um It's a beautiful thing for me. And I
Personal Growth and Self-Care
00:13:23
Speaker
think that's really so uh why it's it's so close to my heart and and why I do what I do. You know while you were talking about belonging what came up for me was um so from my experience I've been in rooms where people look like me and I still didn't feel like I belong and uh what occurred to me while you're talking is your
00:13:49
Speaker
you know, while you were looking for spaces to belong, like you were creating spaces for people to belong. And I think belonging starts with us and belonging starts with like the people that were around and not necessarily, you know, um like the superficial stuff. And so that's why I, that's why I admire you so much. Cause I think you create, you create it, like you,
00:14:15
Speaker
Yes, you came here and you may not have known anyone and you wanted to find a place where you belong, but you created that at the end of the day. And I think that's that's an amazing story. um And the fact that you're continuing to give back. Can you tell I'm a total stand of Lauren because I can't stop talking about. her I swear the tears are like literally just hanging right here. They're like, are you ready to come out? Yeah. Well, so I have a friend named Christine Coleman and she once said, and i'm I'm going to butcher the exact quote, but something to the effect of.
00:14:51
Speaker
um self-care So is acts of service, right? So when you're giving when you're being of service to other people, you're actually taking care of yourself. And I can see that with you. um Yeah, I mean, the the stuff that you've been able to do is so amazing. um So I'm curious,
00:15:15
Speaker
Like what's on the horizon for um your business, for a convoy, for some of these other other organizations that you work with? So much happening. Tell us everything. I i think I also will spend time also on just like the self care aspect. We really, this work is so hard and it again, like,
00:15:43
Speaker
So much of his volunteer to at the same time, um I'll say that like, especially at the beginning, like, I, I just wanted to learn from so many people along the way and I feel like the learning from others and like, the understanding of how to be empathetic.
00:16:00
Speaker
and and also grateful for what you have and also realize too like we need to be radical in the sense that like if we're underserved as communities too we need to fight and advocate for that at the same time and or or advocate for the people who don't have the strength to do so or don't have that voice um or capacity either it's yeah it's very humbling work to do um But at the same time, you can't do it unless you can take care of yourself. And so just some things that I'll do there, especially as of recently, is like, I'm very dedicated now to like doing things like yoga. I've been practicing like Filipino martial arts escriba with my team, Marijanaldas, for three years now. And so um focusing on strengthening your mind, focusing on strengthening your body, taking care of yourself,
00:16:54
Speaker
um then ripples out into being able to take care of other people around you and hopefully spread that same like sort of love and aura out with others. So yeah, I just wanted to dive into that a little. but no I'm glad that you brought that up. i'm I'm really, I mean, to pause on that a little bit longer, I love that you brought up self care. So can you tell us a little bit more about that? like it You have so many roles and responsibilities and things that you're doing to be of service. And you talked a little bit about doing yoga and the martial arts and some of the physical things, but what goes through your head? Like, are there things that go through your head where, um, so for example, you know, uh, one of our last guests talked about scarcity mindset.
00:17:50
Speaker
and how to overcome that and the fear of um you know financial burdens and things like that. And as a founder, I can't imagine you having experienced similar things. And during those times, like how do you take care of yourself?
00:18:08
Speaker
Yeah, it's, it's a hard path. I feel like any path you choose is going to be hard, period. And at least make it a path that you love. I think that's such a big thing because you're, you're like head and heart will tell you like,
00:18:24
Speaker
I don't feel like I'm in the right place or I want us to get to a better place. um And don't get me wrong, there's like all the kinds of lessons to learn along the way. I mean, being in the situation that, again, you realize like this is not the environment or team that I want to work with, or these are not aligned with the values and things that I want to create. um I think having those really big, deep internal conversations with yourself are like the biggest aspect of self-care for me.
00:18:54
Speaker
um It's just really taking the time to reflect and realign. like I have things like a passion planner where I'm constantly writing and thinking through like what are my values now? Is it work and people I'm surrounded by in line with those values? And then if not, like what can I learn from them or how can we get to a better place with that?
00:19:14
Speaker
I like to say that, again, the work is hard. like I'm very disciplined with my schedule. I'm in all kinds of spaces and places, um but I make sure that the spaces and places I'm in, again, are are things that I like truly believe in and things that I truly want to contribute to and create. And um you know I think going back to just the artist thing, the creator thing,
00:19:39
Speaker
like creating these spaces for others. I'm just such a big lever that like artists and creators like start the dialogue for other people to recognize that they can too do these things um or that they can feel these things. And so the other big aspect of self-care I think is also feeling your feelings. so I highly recommend therapy if anyone can get those access to those resources and also know that lots of cities, states offer free resources. You just have to do the the work to research it a little bit and there's all kinds of services or community groups to find that in um just because our friends cannot always take on that emotional burden for us.
00:20:22
Speaker
um I have but some of the craziest friends to do this work and like I just know that all that they're going through they can't also hold the weight of everything that I'm going through and so It's nice, again, to just go to do with things like therapy. um I'm a huge believer in you just need to feel all of those emotions as uncomfortable as they are, as intense as they are. They are there to teach you something. And like like our emotions are guests. And so I always think of, like again, like we are the home and like all these different emotions coming in.
00:20:53
Speaker
um We have to sit with them. We have to welcome them as if they are guests in our home and things like anger and sadness as uncomfortable as they may be in your home. Like they're there to teach you something. They're there to help you learn something and sometimes to stay as temporary or sometimes you can nurture them and have them stay longer so that you do get to a better place with them. And so um those are, I think, the really deep conversations of self-care that I like.
00:21:20
Speaker
really continue to always reflect on, especially during the pandemic when we just had all that time really just to be with ourselves and like figure out, am I comfortable? Am I home with myself?
00:21:33
Speaker
and that's the biggest thing to focus on is like you need to be able to create a home within you. So that way then you can create a home within others and for our community. yes Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There's so many things that you just said there that I want to dive into. Okay. For early on when you talked about your passion planner, like that made them like go off in my head. I'm like, whoa, what is that? um Is that something that you learned how to do or is that something you created on your own?
00:22:04
Speaker
I did not create the Passion Planner and I do recommend I have it right here, my Passion Planner. It's like the year is the year of the Dragon Edition. It's a Filipina founder, Angelia, so that she created the company Passion Planner. um But it's just a new way of like planning your week because on the sides, there's like things that you want to focus on.
00:22:24
Speaker
There's different reflections of what happened and then they also have like monthly in between of like asking you these questions to reflect and then also giving you space. They call it space of infinite possibilities and I love that because it's like, yeah, space that allows you to dream space that allows you to feel. um and just like, you know, do it from your own terms. And so, um yeah, and that's a great resource. And they have also like free online resources too, and like a great community that they've built. They just celebrated their 10 year anniversary that I worked with them on. um
00:23:00
Speaker
recently too. And yeah, they're just a fantastic company. So it's cool to let someone get in their community space, something like that. Yeah. and And the other thing that you mentioned a lot is, you know, working with creators and creatives and, and you know, as a daughter of an immigrant also, um I was never encouraged to be creative. I was always encouraged to be pragmatic, right? And so when we talk about going to school and our education, it's never Do what drives your passion. It's be a doctor, be a lawyer, be an engineer, go into finance or whatever it is. And I want to talk a little bit about that in our community too, um because I think that is so important, everything that you said about following your passion, following like where you belong and your vision and your values.
00:23:51
Speaker
which is not something that many of us have been taught to do. Um, so if you were talking to a young person who wants to do that, but they're being pressured, like, what would your advice be to them? Oh, well, when I say the young Lauren, if I was boxed, no, really, uh,
00:24:15
Speaker
Well, my favorite thing that my mom taught me is that everyone is an artist. It doesn't matter like if you're like, you know, by definition, like a visual painting artist or these things, like she just said, everybody is an artist. So from our doctors to our lawyers to our finance people and accountants, like your craft, what you do is your art and it this should be something that you love and something that like excites you and fuels you and um I was like thinking about like how does that connect to like the bigger purpose right of just like is it helping other people you know and I think think about it in that way but
00:24:52
Speaker
Um, for the young folks who are again, like pressure to be, I think we're always, when we're young too, again, you're always going to be pressured to be something or feel like you need to be something. Uh, but at those times, like the biggest like help books that I helped me during those times, like seven habits of a ah great teen or some extra like highly motivated people. It was just like,
00:25:15
Speaker
b Be yourself. Is there a thing that you're pursuing? Does it help you feel more of yourself or do you want to take steps to another thing? And again, sometimes we don't always get the choice and options. I do think it is worth trying everything ah that like is put in front of us because it's going to be put in front of us because we know we can handle it. We can take it on. And at the same time, there's a lesson there to still be learned from it.
00:25:42
Speaker
But again, deep down, your head and heart is going to continue to tell you like, I want to keep moving in this direction, or I want to take some steps in some other direction. So my biggest thing
Political Nature of Personal Stories
00:25:53
Speaker
is to like, don't ever be a afraid to dream. Our young selves just need to continue to dream and like imagine the world in new ways, because if we keep thinking about it the same way, it's gonna follow the same path. And so um Yeah, even even as we get older, i just I think all these paths that we're in, think of yourself as a creator, think of yourself as an artist in your craft, and think about how you could do it differently and dream differently about what you do, because there's always and oh space of infinite possibilities for what can be done. And I think the more we like like fall in love with that magic of of thinking about it that way, um I think it makes life that much more exciting.
00:26:37
Speaker
um to learn so yeah yeah Okay, can we go back and unpack this political thing that we came up earlier? So I was thinking about it and um you know I was a theater major and one of the things that I wanted to do is write these life altering plays that are going to change people's minds and like ah whatever And um one thing that I always told myself back then when I was doing the work was, the personal is political. And for some reason, that that came back into my head when when I said, oh, we're trying not to be too political.
00:27:18
Speaker
And um I think I just wanted to just clarify a little bit and kind of dive into it a little bit with you because I feel like you're the right person to do it with. um Yeah, but the personal is political. So when we have these conversations,
00:27:34
Speaker
um, you know, on have you eaten and we have these other one-on-one conversations. I feel like we are in the act of being political. And so I think when I mentioned us not being political was more about, you know, our articles, for example, aren't necessarily like, you know, this happened and it's like, you know, hard hitting news. I think that's kind of what I meant, but I think reverting back to what I said, like we are political, the personal is political, the things that we talk about mental health is political. um So thank you for um helping me kind of readjust that thinking.
00:28:19
Speaker
very yeah again and there's so many different news outlets or forms of ways that we get like news or media and and there's so much that's thrown at us all the time. yeah um Which is sometimes too distracting too. like But yeah, the way that I like to think about it and because of so many people in this community who have organized and done this work for decades and years on end. Every single right and every single um you know privilege we have here, especially in America, has because has been because someone has fought and unfortunately, there's so many people that have died for those rights um for us.
00:29:04
Speaker
and so um I actually just went on a trip recently to Atlanta, Georgia, and then also being surrounded in Alabama and just understanding that the South has so much roots and understanding of the civil rights that our communities deserve.
00:29:22
Speaker
um So many black communities were the people that really gave us the rights to vote in the first place. And so many people unfortunately died for that. And so it's, it's our duty. I feel now to just honor that and honor the fact that we have the power to vote for people, to be in elected offices, people that hopefully should represent us in the best way possible.
00:29:47
Speaker
and people who need to understand who ah that we need to give resources to underserved communities who have different barriers and challenges than us. And so really, I like to think about it in that sense more so and I'm not I never would ever consider myself a politician because that is just a whole hard game to be in. But I admire them because so many people who are running for office, if their heart is in the right place, they're really they're putting so much and serving so much of themselves for the community to hopefully do better. And I've met so many again.
00:30:23
Speaker
great elected officials who are continuing to advocate for people that again don't have the resources that they need to listen to the voices that don't get heard. And that's, that's the mark of like the type of politics that we do want to get involved with and support.
00:30:41
Speaker
um And so yeah, I think, you know, again, when we're, we're of age, like voting is probably one of the biggest and most powerful things, especially at the local level. It's a harder, it's a harder conversation, right? To talk about the whole presidency and bubble blah, blah, blah, especially just like the environment we're in, particularly right now. I'm just like, wow, these, this is the world we're in. I think, I think so many of us are like, are we living in a sitcom?
00:31:07
Speaker
because it feels like that sometimes. But but yes, no, seriously, though, like, again, just like the power of voting, the power of getting involved in volunteering with nonprofits, and then even just like advocating for resources that nonprofits serve so many different community pockets that the government can always do. Like, those are the things in time of energy that you can put yourself into to supporting others. So when um A big phrase for myself that I like lived through through the years is like survive and thrive. When you can get past the point of surviving and you're getting into the point of thriving, then you're able to give back to other people and recognize like, who, who can I support around me and uplift around me to along the way? Just because, um, no, again, not so many of us don't always have that privilege to be able to have that power to support others. Um,
00:32:02
Speaker
So yeah, I think I like frame and think about politics in that way. And just like, it's always the good of like, how can we ah support others in a bigger way, bigger than ourselves? See, this is this is why I admire you so much. Because not only are you saying all the things that you're, it's not just words, like you actually live everything that you just talked about. You know? um Yeah, I just admire you so much.
00:32:32
Speaker
Thank you. I have so many great mentors, so many great community organizations that I've learned all of this from who have like really rooted into me like the power of organizing or the power of advocacy, the need and necessity for it. Because if we don't do it, then we continue to see acts of hate happen across our space.
00:32:56
Speaker
And we don't want to see that anymore. we We need to fight in a lot of different ways. So again, tackling things like mental health, tackling things like the political power so that we do have people who represent us in office that advocate and support for under-resourced communities. Even down to just being proud of our cultures, I'm so grateful that we're growing in representation in so many spaces like film and media so that people understand our stories more and more. And I think, yeah, again, the more we get to a place of people understanding each other and being empathetic to each other and realizing
00:33:34
Speaker
We're just all human at the end of the day and that if someone's being hurt, like, do you want to help them or are you going to stay to yourself and be in your bubble and only care about yourself? And,
Empathy and Advocacy in Community Work
00:33:46
Speaker
you know, again, I think yeah the more, the closer we move all towards like empathy and supporting each other, um the better our world's going to become. So there's always, always work to do.
00:33:56
Speaker
but There's lot of so many great folks doing it. Yeah, absolutely. And I think um one of the things that we talk about here at Hello Happy all the time is, you know, the road to belonging is understanding acceptance, empathy.
00:34:14
Speaker
um It's not just ah you know you just get to this belonging aspect to it right but it it is all of those things combined that that leads us to this profound sense of belonging and and then realizing too we're all connected.
00:34:31
Speaker
Like we're all connected in so many ways that we don't even know. um And so finding those you know ah similarities and not focusing on the differences all the time. and then And then when you see the differences, accepting them and being curious about them, um I think curiosity is a trait that we need to have more of.
00:34:53
Speaker
um what What's next on the horizon? Like what should we be watching out for? um Like what do you, how can we be of service back to you?
00:35:05
Speaker
Ah, well, oh my goodness, not to me, to to our communities, for sure. There's a lot of really amazing models and like foundations I feel that are built here in San Diego that don't often get recognized. And so I'm very proud of the work that again, the San Diego Asian Pacific Islander Coalition does. I think we're just building a stronger foundation, especially with each other um and building programming and building capacity across our events. So Like for anyone that's ever, it's it's a lot to get into. You just don't know where to start sometimes. And I know a lot of people are like, I want to get involved with the community. Like what should I do? I'm like, just start doing some research about like some organizations that exist. Learn about the events that they're putting on and then just like come out and support them because it means a ton.
00:35:51
Speaker
ah Same thing goes for supporting our small businesses. So support our multicultural communities and businesses because like people don't often recognize that we go through so many different barriers and challenges that other communities are always often have to face.
00:36:08
Speaker
And so supporting a small business and helping them build generational wealth for their family is just like, it's changed the trajectory of our communities in so many different ways. I'm particularly proud to be on part of the advisory team here in San Diego. So the San Diego Foundation has just launched an Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Fund. And what that's really dedicated to is really moving the needle on making sure that our communities are visible, making sure that we're understanding the different challenges ah across our different communities because you can't just lump Asian and Pacific Islander into just these giant overarching bubbles. There's so many different cultures and communities within that.
00:36:54
Speaker
that each have their own individual challenges that do also have shared challenges and it's just recognizing and sort of disaggregating the data on all of that of like really what can we be doing um with our resources to support them in different ways. um And so um definitely look out for what that fund does um and how it aims to support and hopefully that model can be used in other cities as well.
00:37:18
Speaker
um And then also the same time like I leave this with a lot of people is just like we all have different time talent and treasure to offer to other people and so um you know time is just giving yourself time to support and be at these things.
00:37:34
Speaker
or volunteer with them. Treasure if you have the financial means to give to an organization that is doing phenomenal work, please do so. And especially if they do so to the organizations that don't have marketing budgets to like tell people to give to them too, right? Because like they're the ones who need the support because they they don't yet have a marketing budget to tell people all about the amazing things that they do. They're just focused on doing the work.
00:38:01
Speaker
um And then, yeah, time talent and treasure. So talent, um like I use again my skills as event producer to help uplift and provide these platforms for community so that it catalyzes hopefully future conversations um for others and everyone else has different amazing talents that they too can contribute and the world wants to see you share those talents with the world. So, um yeah.
00:38:29
Speaker
thank you so much for that. And um thank you for being on the show. um And I just want to point out one thing and just just it just um again embodies why I admire you is when I asked you, how can we be of service to you, you like went deep into how to be of service to the community. And that is just that that just like you but in a nutshell. And so I just want to honor that and really just thank you so much for being here and having this conversation and I hope everyone who's listening
00:39:08
Speaker
can see like why I am such a big fan um and all the amazing things that you you are doing in in this community. um So yeah, I thank you. Thank you so much.
00:39:25
Speaker
Thank you, Gia. Again, I appreciate all that you've created. You create these spaces too with Hello Happy. Look at the amazing team that you've built. Look at the amazing spaces that they're creating for others, those conversations to happen. And again, like those are the things that like continue to fuel me as like, there's really so many amazing people doing amazing work around us.
00:39:46
Speaker
like Let's give them their flowers. Let's give them a platform when we can. Let's support each other and build platforms together. um it's yeah It's just really a beautiful thing. so
Conclusion and Farewell
00:39:56
Speaker
ah I can work on the serving me and doing me inside. and You heard a little bit of how I think we all should do like more of that work with ourselves, um creating a home with ourselves so that we then can create homes for other people.
00:40:09
Speaker
ah so mike drop okay we can end there um Well, thank you again. And to everybody listening, thank you so much for joining us for another episode of Have You Eaten. And we have plenty more wonderful guests coming up, so I hope you tune an in. Thank you. Thank you.
00:40:36
Speaker
Hello, Happy Fam. Thank you so much for joining us today. Make sure to subscribe, like, and hit the notification bell. And until next time, I hope your bellies and your hearts stay full.