I never thought of myself as a
“Philanthropist” before. The word seemed to be associated with rich people like
Bill Gates, Paul B Getty, and the like. According to Webster dictionary,
Philanthropist means “One who tries to benefit mankind”, which is exactly what
I am trying to do. So instead of saying I am supporting ZOE Children’s
Homes, which is a Non Government Organization (NGO) to fight child trafficking,
I am calling it a “Philanthropic Endeavor” in support of ZOE. I like the word,
it sounds noble and classy with the word “Phil”, which means love in Greek.
Although the word sounds good and
noble, the fundraising to support this cause involves hard work. It
requires laying out strategies, pulling together resources, and reaching out to
a network of people who are willing support it. First of all, the cause
must be worthy of my efforts. I have always supported causes that benefit
children. To me, they are so important that Jesus reprimanded His
disciples who had tried to deny children access to Him. Jesus also said
that heavens belong to children. Children rescued by ZOE are no ordinary
children: they are victims of modern day slavery in brothels and in other
despicable places they were held captive. The stories of the plight and
the cries of orphaned children and those that have already been trafficked
moved me to tears about three years ago. Since then I have supported the
annual ZOE Walk to raise funds and awareness of the plight of these little
ones.
What Does ZOE Do to Combat Child
Trafficking?
ZOE uses a comprehensive approach, which includes:
- Prevention, preventing an increase in the number of trafficked children by outreach in the hard to reach communities. Many times, this involves searching for children that are orphaned and in the market to be sold.
- Intervention, intervening to decrease the number of trafficked children through joining with law enforcement to rescue children that were trafficked.
- Aftercare, caring for children who have been rescued and help them in healing from trauma after all the heinous crimes done to them.
ZOE has been successful in all these
areas because of dedicated staff and volunteers. The Children’s Home in
Thailand was a model for other organizations including Thai government social
service agencies. Learn more about ZOE mission by following the link
below:
All right, I know that the cause is
worthy for me to support, but how do I convince others to join with me to support
it?
Early Philanthropic Endeavors
My first fundraising experience was
through a friend, Jeremy Koff of Koffeehouse Music when he produced an event to
benefit “Musicares”, an organization supporting sick and needy musicians.
I came to know him as I won the silent auction for a framed autographed poster
of the musicians who performed at the benefit concert event in 2010 that he
hosted. Since he had a lot of experience in fundraising under his sleeves, I
asked him for advice about this Philanthropic endeavor for ZOE in 2012. I
learned a few tips from Jeremy Koff, including an idea about raising funds in
the Thai community, since most of the missions of ZOE are in Thailand anyway.
I started a Karaoke fundraiser, in
2013, with the help of one of my former students from the university in
Thailand where I taught. Ram Tivakorn is also experienced in holding
Karaoke fundraisers for other causes in the Thai community. In August
this year, it was the second year we held a Karaoke fundraiser. Again
this year, Ram helped me with printing tickets as well as being the DJ and
musician for the evening of Karaoke and dancing. This year I also had
help from my beautiful friend, Mrs. Thai New Year 2013, Lek Pollard, who
co-hosted the event with me. Other friends of Ram, and some of my staff
also pitched in to help with many tasks before and after the event over the
Labor Day weekend. Of course, the event would not have been a success
without those who bought the tickets and actually showed up to have fun!
Second Push- Killing Two Birds With One Stone!
So far the total funds that our team has raised add up to
$3,270. However, since my fundraising goal for this year is $4,000, I
want to make another push to reach the goal before the ZOE Walk on November
15. I’ve learned, from past fundraisers, that guests enjoyed door prizes,
silent auctions, and raffles with attractive prizes. As I was thinking
about what to buy to be the raffle prizes, I saw a Facebook post of a beautiful
lady, who I know through Rose Salon, my lovely hair stylist. She had a
grand opening of her own Massage and Acupuncture place in Chatsworth,
California about a week or so ago.
Picture Taken at Northeastern Thai Ball-Ying Yo, Your Truly, and Rose (from Left to Right)
I have always supported causes that
deal with women's issues, and especially ones related to their career
advancement in a variety of fields, both traditional and non-traditional.
In my past studies, I’ve learned that women especially in Asia have high level
of participation in the workforce, but they have not been recognized
enough. I would like to support the cause of women and the enterprising
spirit of quite a few women in the Thai community. I saw picture posted
by Ms. Ying Yo and her friend, Ms. Sirimack a few weeks earlier, without
knowing that they were painting her spa. I told them this picture was a
portrait of women power! It was so cool to see them helping each other to
set up a small business.
Ying Yo and SiriMack Painting Her Place
When I asked, colleague and friends
seemed to like the idea of raffle prizes being gift cards for a relaxing hour
at Rain Thai Massage, Spa and Acupuncture. So in raising funds for ZOE
kids, I can support the entrepreneurship of Thai women as well--a case of
killing two birds with one stone so to speak!!
Each raffle ticket is one dollar and
if you buy seven, they will be $5! Any one who wins one of the two prizes
will have an hour of either Thai or Swedish massage in a relaxing
atmosphere. There are two pairs of gift cards to win. You can enjoy
relaxing environment and massage from master yoga Ying Yo and her
friends. If you win, you can bring a friend or loved one with you because
you will get two tickets! May be when you go there, you might see me
there as well because I think I deserve a good massage after all the hard work
too!!
Here's the address of Rain Thai
Massage and Acupuncture:
21113 Devonshire
St.
Chatsworth, CA
91311
Hours of operation
10 am- 9 pm
Phone: (818)
576-8900
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