A look back at 19 Highlights of 2019
1. To accommodate our growing staff and programs, AAOP moved from a small office into 2 new offices in St. Paul. Our University office is right off the Green Line at the intersection of University and Raymond and plays as our main office while our East Side office is located in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood and hosts our canvassing and youth activities.
2. As part of the Community Solutions Program, a professional leadership development program global community leader, AAOP hosted a Community Solutions Program Fellow from the Philippines whose work focused on mental health and indigenous peoples.
3. As part of the Civic Engagement Program, AAOP reached out to over 17,700 people in the St. Paul community to talk with them about the 2019 St. Paul Local Elections.
4. We knocked over 10,300 doors,
5. called over 6000 people,
6. spoke with nearly 1000 people at community events,
7. And pledged over 1500 people to vote this past election season.
8. Our 2019 Summer Organizing Fellows developed and facilitated an interactive Census workshop for our community…
9. and trained community members during APIAVote’s Norman Y Mineta Leadership Institute on deep canvassing…
10. that was created in response to a FAWK Improv staff session. This improv session helped our organizers learn deeper canvassing skills that could be used in the field.
11. Our 2019 Summer Organizing Fellows also created a series of Census videos (with subtitles!) that was shared with our community.
12. And they also created 3 Census Community Stories and a Citizenship informational flyer.
13. This past Election season, AAOP released 3 videos to commemorate National Voter Registration Day with stories from Organizers Pashie and Long, and Board Member Carley.
14. AAOP also released 3 videos about the St. Paul ballot information. These videos were released in Tagalog, Hmong, and Karen.
15. And AAOP created and translated a Mental Health report in Hmong.
16. In Spring, AAOP hired our very first Gender Justice Organizer, ushering in a new program to our work. The Gender Justice Program kicked off with the Gender Visibility Project, with 24 participants, and even became a part of UnRestrict MN, a statewide coalition of organizations advocating for reproductive justice.
17. In 2019, AAOP was mentioned in media including: Star Tribune, MinnPost, Sahan Journal, and Asian American Press.
18. For the first time, AAOP also hosted a photography exhibit entitled “Thank You Enjoy” by artist Katie Salisbury. The exhibit was a photojournalism piece that showed the stories and lives of Chinese restaurant workers in New York City.
19. Together, we raised $11,050 in 1.5 months — meeting our goal of $11,000. This was something we couldn’t have done without the support and belief of community members like you.
Thank you for a moving year — let’s continue to build young leaders of tomorrow together in 2020!