ON SCENE: Aurora Asian Community Partnership honors its founders

Aurora Asian/Pacific Community Partnership Honors Its Founders Paul and Kate Tauer

Friends of the Partnership attend the holiday gathering on December 2 Former City of Aurora Mayor Paul Tauer and his wife Kate Tauer are honored at the event

Peter Lee, Co-Chair of the Partnership welcomes guests and reflects on the past year

On December 2, the Aurora Asian/ Pacific Community Partnership celebrated the year with friends at ChowSun Restaurant.

Co-Chairs Andrea Amonick, Peter Lee and Chance Horiuchi presented Partnership founders Paul and Kate Tauer with an award for over thirty years of friendship and participation in the Aurora and greater metropolitan Asian Pacific American communities.

Guests thanked the Tauers for creating a lifetime of friendships by establishing the Partnership three decades ago. Paul Tauer served as the Mayor of Aurora from 1987-2003.

The Partnership was founded in 1989, as a cultural education cause, led by then Mayor Paul Tauer. The initial direction of the group was to help City leaders learn more about their Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) constituents, as well as clear language/culture barriers in order to connect with leaders and resources within the residential, organizational and business communities.

Enjoying Filipino dishes and desserts from ChowSun and exchanging gifts, the Partnership guests gathered for the holiday celebration after a year of mostly virtual events.

The Partnership engaged in several projects in 2021 including: COVID-19 vaccine equity clinics, resilience building and leadership empowerment workshops, and support for Asian-owned restaurants.

For over 30 years, the Aurora Asian/Pacific Community Partnership—affectionately known as The Partnership by members and the community—has been a bridge for Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in the city of Aurora.

The group helps to cover the gap between community and resources, and also connects groups and individuals to one another through cultural education, celebrations, support, important discussions and, of course, food.

Learn more about the Partnership at:

auroraasian.org.

Asian Pacific Development Center spreads holiday cheer to immigrant and refugee families

The 2021 toy drive at Asian Pacific Development Center (APDC) was collected more than 300 toys! On Friday, December 10, families went to APDC to enjoy a socially-distant family time with games, crafts, and a visit from Santa.

The gifts were donated to students in APDC’s adult education program and their families. The program provides classes such as: English as a Second Language (ESL), Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, Career Exploration, Culinary Pathways, Citizenship and Computer classes.

Special thanks to Willow Elementary School, Lady Justice Brewing, and Ruby’s Market for helping collect toys. Thank you to the many individual donors that helped put smiles on the families’ faces.

Learn more about the classes at: apdc.

org/adult-education.

Statewide Coalition for Asians Thriving meets to plan for the new year

On December 11, members from Colorado’s Asian organizations and community leaders gathered for an end-of-the-year meeting at Asian Pacific Development Center.

The formation of a statewide Asian coalition is in process with an evolving name related to “Asians Thriving.”

Participants at the event discussed the current needs of the Asian community and how best to structure the coalition. It was evident that the leaders felt a need to work more collaboratively and not in such silos.

The purpose of the statewide coalition is to be able to respond to urgent matters related to the Asian community and to move the needle on larger issues such as mental health, multicultural education and history taught in schools, and supporting Asians running for office.