In December 2009, an AASuccess student, Jackie Ta, hosted our first Community Wellness Event. This program raised awareness for health and well-being among underserved Asian American families in Northern Virginia and supported AASuccess’ vision of encouraging better lifestyles within our community.
As a medical student at George Mason, Jackie Ta took the initiative to lead the first AASuccess Community Wellness Event in collaboration with community professionals, Mrs. Kim Ha Ly and Ms. Diane Nguyen. The main focus of that day was to give back knowledge and medical resources to the community. Free H1N1 flu shots were provided to attendees and volunteers hosted workshops educating people about the flu and how to live healthy lifestyles.
“This is the first Wellness Event; there were things that did not go as planned. The event was scheduled to begin at 10 AM; however, there were about 15 people who had come and were filling out the application by 9:30 AM. At around 10:30 AM, the hall was crowded, and the incidence of people getting frustrated and leaving caused the volunteer team to be a little anxious and shocked. However, we did have a good amount of people who were patient and had stayed at each station as we planned. This was not the best-planned event, but we did reach out to many Asian families.” (Student Volunteer, Mai Ly)
Following this 2009 event, AASuccess has embarked in several more health fairs in 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2017. The following events have grown more successful with our growing outreach and network. With the expertise and continuing support of our volunteers, sponsors, and affiliates, AASuccess hopes to soon host another Community Wellness Event and give back to our communities with a greater passion than ever before.
