For Women's History month, I am shining the spotlight on a special woman named Kyung Yoon. Here she is at an event that honored her last Fall, but since achievements and awards are timeless...
Over 300 supporters of the New York Asian Women's Center, family and friends gathered to celebrate the 24th anniversary of the Center and to honor Kyung Yoon at NYAWC's Fall Gala Benefit in the Prince George Ballroom in Manhattan.
Mistress of ceremonies Connie Chung was a delight during this loving tribute to Kyung, which featured many of her friends and journalism colleagues including New York Daily News Executive Editor David Ng, ABC News correspondent Juju Chang and WCBS-TV correspondents Cindy Hsu and Ti-Hua Chang. Kyung was presented with NYAWC's Phoenix Award for service and guests enjoyed video clips of NYAWC's Living Portrait Art installation during the champagne reception and entertainment from Woody Pak (composer of the musical version of Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet, “The Grace Lee Project”), Brian Yorkey and Julie Danao.
After more than a decade of service to NYAWC, Kyung stepped down from her position as Board Chair. Over the years, Kyung has raised awareness and support in the Asian American community for the fight against domestic violence, and has been a tireless advocate for women and children’s rights to govern their own lives, free from abuse. Under her leadership, NYAWC has grown significantly in its influence and capacity, more than quadrupling its budget, staffing and shelter space. Over 100K in funds were raised from the benefit and silent auction which will be used for direct program services for women and children in crisis.
Since its inception in 1982, the New York Asian Women’s Center has developed a wealth of expertise and a solid infrastructure of a unique combination of services, including emergency shelter, 24-hour toll-free hotline, counseling and advocacy, children’s programs and other resources—with the capability of accommodating 15 languages. Equally important, the Center creates opportunity for these women to live independent lives by utilizing the Center’s legal, medical, education and job training resources/programs.
Unique among the domestic violence programs, the Center remains the only group serving multiple Asian immigrant communities of New York City and the only licensed Asian Women’s shelter program in New York State. If you would like to speak to someone about domestic violence or the services NYAWC offers, call 1-888-888-7702. For more information on the center, visit their website at www.nyawc.org.
