Event Diaries: 2024 RepresentAsian Summer Program
At Asian Girls Ignite, we are on a mission to build a strong community of Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) girls and women to celebrate our individual and collective power through shared stories. Our Event Diaries series was created to share meaningful moments with our community. We are incredibly grateful to have the support of our families and community members behind us. Sharing an inside look at our events is just one of the many ways we want to keep the AGI community informed of the impact of their support.
2024 RepresentAsian Summer Program: Nourishing Hearts, Bodies, and Minds
Asian Girls Ignite (AGI) recently hosted our fourth annual week-long summer program for girls and gender expansive youth in grades 6-12. Our theme for the week was “Nourishing Hearts, Bodies, and Minds.” During the week, we spent each day focused on a different way to nourish ourselves with engaging activities and hearing from AANHPI storytellers. We wrapped up the program with an overnight camping trip at Snow Mountain Ranch and a community gathering catered by Yuan Wonton and Sweet Rice Flour.
We also want to acknowledge the support of the Denver Botanic Gardens. A huge thank you to the Denver Botanic Gardens for sponsoring our summer program for the second year in a row! Their support makes all the difference and helps make the event memorable for us.
Day 1: Nourishing Our Hearts
On Day 1, we asked ourselves questions like: “How do we create a safe space (for ourselves and others)?” and “How do we define "self care" and "wellness"; why are they important?”
We kicked off our summer program with an AGI-developed curriculum where we introduced the theme, talked about Community Agreements, and shared our goals for the week ahead. In the afternoon, our storyteller Emily Leung led us through flower jar making in Cheesman Park. Then we created bath salts with Soap Charmers back in our classroom.
Day 2: Nourishing Our Minds
On Day 2, we navigated conversations around authenticity and mental health. We dived deeper on: “What is "authenticity"? How is showing up authentically a form of self care?” and “How does mental health factor into wellness and self care?
In the morning, we did a boba sip and paint where students used painting as a way to express their emotions and reflect on their mental health with Dr. Susanna Park.
We then had delicious vegan Filipino food, learned how to make mango sticky rice, and talked about embracing our identities with Melissa Mooney of Kids Table.
In the afternoon, we explored how to use our stories to build bridges from racial imposter syndrome and strategies to have authentic and productive responses to microaggressions with Dr. Hannah Matthys.
Day 3: Nourishing Our Communities
On Day 3, we visited the Minoru Farm where we saw firsthand the no-till methods that promote the flavors and produce of multi-cultural Asian communities. Our storytellers Jade Sato and Vanita Patel talked about their experiences as AANHPI women farming at Minoru Farms and operating Switchgear Farms.
Day 4: Nourishment Through Movement
On Day 4, we talked about how movement factors into self care and how to honor our need for movement. Our storyteller Alice Toyonaga led us through a guided meditation with a written reflection and showed us how to claim our power with yoga poses. She shared the Japanese tenants and philosophies that help us discover our passions and what lights us up.
Overnight Camping Trip and Community Gathering
To wrap up our jam-packed week of learning and listening to inspiring stories, we went camping overnight at Snow Mountain Ranch. We participated in various outdoor activities like a low-ropes course, team-building games with counselors, and snow-tubing down a huge slide!
When we returned to Denver on Saturday, we met up with our families and connected over delicious food and sharing reflections from the week.
Closing Circle
We like to end every event with a closing circle. If you’re unfamiliar with closing circles, it’s our way of wrapping-up in community by sharing a collective breath and voicing our head (something we learned), heart (something we felt), and hands (something we’ll take action on).
At this event, we heard our students and team members share:
🤯 Heads:
Different ways to take care of ourselves
How to respond to racism authentically
How to embrace all your identities
That there are a multitude of ways to nourish our communities — from providing food to showing kindness
That we are not fractions of the aspects of our identities; we are whole in all the ways we self-identify
💜 HEARTS:
Proud of how we showed up for ourselves and others
Grateful to be around other AANHPI girls and students
Inspired to share our stories in order to add complexity to the one dimensional lens on “how to be Asian”
Inspired by all the AANHPI women nourishing the Denver community
Supported and valued when we went through the affirmation tunnel
🤲 HANDS:
Making new friends throughout the week
Trying to find moments of nourishing stillness throughout our day
Telling ourselves positive affirmations more often
Sharing more affirmations with our community
Reflections from Team AGI
The AGI team wants to express immense gratitude for everyone involved in making our summer program so incredible. From the families who entrusted us with their students, to the students themselves and their bravery, kindness, and joy, to the staff and volunteers– this year's summer program would not have been the same without any of you.
We were so happy to see many returning faces and to welcome five new students too. We are honored that some families made the decision to send their students to our program for the first time while others continue to support us year after year.
This year’s summer program marked an especially big milestone for AGI–Joanne’s daughter, Melody, joined AGI for the first time as a middle schooler! When AGI was started four years ago, founders Joanne and Mehgan hoped “maybe we’ll be around long enough that Melody can join!” And fast forward to 2024, Melody was enrolled and Joanne is officially the parent of an AGI student!
A huge thank you to our community for being a part of this journey with us! We are grateful for the future we are building together–one where we define success and power on our own terms.
If you know of a student who identifies as an AANHPI girl or gender-expansive youth in grades 6-12 in Colorado, please encourage their family to join our 2025 summer program waitlist!
Feeling inspired and want support our programming? Make a donation today! $10 funds one student’s workshop materials (art supplies, STEM kits, books, etc.) and goes a long way to make programs like these magical.
About ASIAN GIRLS IGNITE
Founded in October 2020, Asian Girls Ignite is a non-profit organization that provides educational programs for AANHPI girls and gender-expansive youth who want to celebrate their individual and collective power. We use storytelling to empower the next generation to write their futures in their own voice. Our programs and events nurture social-emotional learning to help our students grow in resilience, empathy, and self-awareness.
