Our First Meeting of the Year

The JRYC’s first meeting of the year started out with a bang! After sharing what’s changed during winter break, we got down to business. First on the agenda, evaluating the success of our second outing: caroling at Union Square. After some discussion, we all came to the conclusion that our elevator pitches, a 30 second spiel about what the JRYC  is, needed work. We needed to make our elevator pitches more relatable to a variety of people. Furthermore we need to show them ways they can get involved and help out. Determined to give the best elevator pitch possible, the JRYC decided to practice. As the old adage goes, practice makes perfect. For our next meeting, we set a goal of elevator pitching to at least five people. We would return with adequate feedback and ways to make our elevator pitches unstoppable.

We soon turned our attention to what the future entails as we began mapping out Hep B week. Our first order of business was planning out an organized system to renew our city proclamations and hopefully attain numerous new ones. We then brainstormed things cities could do to promote Hep B week. The most prominent idea is tying jade ribbons around light posts around the city.

As our meeting neared the end, we delegated tasks to put our plans into action.

Angela Zhang

Monta Vista High School

Oakland Library

Hey everyone, Matt here. I finally figured out how to upload pictures on WordPress. Here is a picture with the librarian Dayni Kuo, that helped us coordinate the event that happened on December 5, 2009 (She was extremely nice and very receptive). Just to add on to what Cindy said earlier, we all had a great time and it was a good idea to bring many different brochures in various languages. In Chinatown, English is not the primary language. Many of the kids were young, but our target audience was the parents and I feel like we successfully spread the word on Hepatitis B.On the far left is Dayni, then Patrick, Jon, Myself, and Cindy. Not present but missed was Sarah Kim, who was slaving away in a classroom taking the SAT. She performed her own outreach with her school club.

Thoughts on Outreach Events

It just feels weird to walk around town in a bright green Team HBV shirt. You, or rather I, feel very out of place and… poppy. But when I see another flash of green, I instantaneously feel a connection of brotherhood (sisterhood). We’re two oddballs popping to save the world.

Yet, even this fuzzy feeling of sisterhood fades when you stand alone with a sign, a sign everybody looks at, but nobody reads. During the Hepatitis B Awareness Week, I decided to carry on some outreach events at my school- I mean, literally. I made huge signs and hung them around my neck. Wearing that same verdant t-shirt, I held my head high. But my cheeks burned with… awkwardness? Embarrassment? It’s hard to say.

             The sign had a bunch of hepatitis b facts such as “1 in 10 Asians or Pacific Islanders have Hepatitis B.” Great. And “1 in 4 carriers of chronic HBV die without proper treatment.” Impressive. When you think about it, these facts are surprising indeed. But people seemed more interested in me than those facts. And more in me with the funky sign than in me.

             As I walked down the hall looking like one of those card men from Alice in Wonderland, I felt many eyes bearing into the sign, then on my face. “Who is this weirdo?” those eyes seemed to say. And my face burned.

             It’s a good thing to carry out health outreach events especially because I live in a neighborhood where Asian sighting is very common. But why does it feel so awkward? Why is it so embarrassing to walk around school and pass out brochures to a bunch of normal kids? The kids’ suspicious yet amused looks are understandable. Maybe there’s something on my face, my hair. But when I look at them, I feel myself becoming small. I set out to save the world, to become a hero, but I stand in front of those who do not wish to be saved.

             Perhaps it’s the indifference of the community that causes this awkwardness. People are naturally suspicious of fliers. They are scared that I might ask for a donation, or for a minute of their shopping time. They have places to go, I know. People walk busily past my outstretched hands and popping signs. They avert their eyes, preferring not to look upon my embarrassment. Or they hide their own embarrassment with loud laughs and false applauses.

             But there’s a problem with me too. I do not wish to stand out, just as I loathe to think I might be the one in ten.  I do not want to be so aggressively different. Our society demands that we conform, at least outwardly. And when something pops, we push it back down. Yet, there is something squirming in me that makes me want to pop, despite the embarrassment. No, it’s not plain teenage rebelliousness against society. It’s not all about the fuzz of sisterhood either. It’s about the purpose greater than myself, greater than that awkward moment. It’s the purpose that’s achieved every time a death is averted, every time someone completes the course of three shots for HBV. The day we hear that HBV has been eradicated, that purpose will have been accomplished. Then I’ll stop popping… Perhaps.

 This is what I feel/felt as I participated in JRYC outreach events which made me stand out from the crowd. It’s based on last year’s hep b week events at California High School

2010

2009 has run its course, and JRYC is about to face another exciting semester. How we started out as a group is amazing… Everybody is so talented, and we had so many good ideas that the meeting room was filled with brain sparks, if that makes sense. I want to start by thanking Mindy, Nicole, and Diana for being such faithful leaders and helping us to organize our ideas. It was great to have you all behind our backs as we planned various activities (especially those requiring legal permission and complex technological feats!).
I’m really excited to plan and carry out the numerous ideas that we came up with in the first semester. The project Asian is definitely impressive, and it has so much potential, just like the JRYC
I’m really glad that JRYC was able to close the semester with a great experience, carolling and “pitching” in SF. Although I couldn’t be there, I was there in spirit! What a picture it must have made, to see green elves singing around Union Square and calling out to people on a mission to save lives… sorry for the elf thing, but the poppin green shirts do look elfish… haha
I hope that everyone will get his or her thinking caps on as we meet again to discuss new exciting plans! Happy New Year!

Caroling in Union Square

Today marked the advent of the first ever Jade Ribbon Youth Council Caroling Outreach Event at Union Square in the decked-out city of San Francisco. Donning the vibrant, green Team HBV shirts, the JRYC, under the leadership of ALC intern Dylan Kim, caroled away the afternoon. Singing classic songs such as “Frosty the Snowman” and “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer,” we made sure to wish our spectators “A merry Christmas and a Hep B free year!” But, of course, it wasn’t all about the singing. I mean, we do have a cause. After a quick recap of the perfect elevator pitch, we split into two groups – the caroling group and the elevator-pitching group, with council members alternating between groups as the afternoon progressed. Ultimately, the caroling attracted quite a few people, and I, personally, was able to “pitch” to around ten families.

But the outreach didn’t end there. I guess there is much credence to the statement that things happen when you least expect it. For example, after our caroling, we went to dinner at the food court in the Westfield Shopping Mall. While I was placing my order at the savvy Bistro Burger, the cashier, spotting the Team HBV across my chest, casually asked me about Hep B. (Time for an elevator pitch). And when we were heading home on BART, a man, seeing all of our HBV shirts, also inquired about the Hepatitis B virus. Needless to say, we were all prepared to answer.

And lastly, to me, this outreach was as much about Hepatitis B as it was about the JRYC, and by that I mean the first thing Nicole told us at our first JRYC meeting – team bonding. Riding on a train, trudging through San Francisco, singing in Union Square, eating dinner together, how could we not bond? And so to conclude, I can merrily say that the JRYC emerged from this outreach as one stronger, more cohesive council.

Happy Holidays,

Jay Wang

Archbishop Mitty High School

JRYC Strikes Again

The Jade Ribbon Youth Council tackled yet another library this past Saturday (December 5, 2009). Members present included Jessica, Anna, and myself; we were also fortunate to have Diana, Mindy, and Brittany, a member of the Gunn High Team HBV, join us as we performed yet another Peter and the Wolf at the aesthetic Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library in downtown San Jose. Even better was that one of the staff working in the children room (where this event took place) – Rigo – happens to be affiliated with the Asian Liver Center (connections!).

Unfortunately, while the set-up and run-throughs went well, the rainy Saturday afternoon did not bring many people to the children’s room. Yet, a quick library announcement (I can hear it right now – “Jade Ribbon Youth Council presents Peter and the Wolf…”) was all we needed to bring in a crowd. Ultimately, the turnout was not bad as we were able to perform to around 10-15 children plus their parents.

In the end, it was yet another Peter and the Wolf success story for the JRYC. Next on the list: caroling!

Till then,

Jay Wang

Archbishop Mitty High School

Last Official 2009 Meeting

Our very last meeting was packed with food, jokes, progress and at the end a smidgen of caroling. While another fruitful semester awaits us, there is still one last project we have—caroling! We have decided to sing a selection of popular Christmas songs like “Deck The Halls” and “Jingle Bells” in Union Square next week and outreach through elevator pitches, brochures, posters and other items. Look out for a group of high school students wearing bright green Team HBV shirts and Santa hats! Our earlier project, the Peter and the Wolf library skits, have been great outreach successes to kids and parents. Groups generated between 10 and 30 spectators.

We have also decided to minimize our focus on our B-Linked newsletter, so instead of a newsletter or blog digest, we will be incorporating a JRYC section into the Stanford Asian Liver Center Annual Review.  We are currently ramping up our online presence through the Team HBV site and JRYC Google site to direct more viewers to this blog.

Until our angelic voices can be heard from Union Square to wherever you may be, have a magical winter holiday.

Cindy Lam

Aragon High School/Middle College of San Mateo

Cupertino Library: Peter and the Wolf

On Saturday, December 5, members of the San Jose/Cupertino group tackled the Cupertino library to put on the stellar play:  Peter and the Wolf. Led by returning members Yvi and Evaline, members present included Stefanie, Angela, Anne, and myself. (I hope I didn’t forget anyone?) After some minor technical difficulties in raising the projector to the desired level (a problem settled by placing the projector upon stacked children’s books – how convenient), we were ready to go. Unfortunately, the audience wasn’t. Yet, after some serious recruitment and multiple library announcements, we had slowly amassed quite a crowd of around ten families. The play went without a hitch, but the true stars were the children. One boy, who looked to be around four years old, answered Evaline’s question “What does a vaccine do?” by answering something along the lines of “It helps make antibodies.” Talk about smart. As we wrapped up the play, we got the craft project – Make Your Own Liver – underway. I must say we had some very interesting livers – blue, purple, flowery, squiggly. You name it and it was there. Ultimately, my first Peter and the Wolf outreach was a smashing success.

On to MLK,

Jay Wang

Archbishop Mitty High School

First P & W

This sunny morning, the Oakland group performed Peter and the Wolf (HBV style) at the Oakland Library: Asian Branch with Jon as the grandpa and zookeeper, Matt as narrator, Patrick as the duck and me as Peter. This was the first time doing Peter and the Wolf for us, except for Patrick. The Oakland Library turned out to be a great venue located in an open Asian shopping center, and the librarians were very welcoming. It was busy with people entering constantly. Our wonderful audience consisted of parents with their 3 or 4 year olds, who were shy but very accepting. After our skit, we passed out candy to the kids then materials for them to draw and cut out livers. The kids became extremely enthusiastic about the activity. Meanwhile, we circulated brochures and letters to the parents, explaining who we are. From mingling with the crowd, we quickly realized most of the parents and children were Cantonese speakers. When given the option, they would reach out for the Chinese brochures. After a few conversations starting with English, I found myself giving that up entirely and speaking Cantonese or attempting to. I even regretted that I had not prepared a Cantonese elevator pitch and wondered if a new Chinese script would be more appropriate. Once the crowd dispersed, we wandered through the shelf aisles, asking if the browsers would want a brochure. We gave the leftover brochures to the librarian to distribute in the future.

Patrick with his new flip camera decided to wander the streets of Oakland after we were done. He lent me his other camera to practice my novice photography skills. Thus, we saw some amazing sights. It turns out that today was also America’s Childrens Parade in Oakland. Many bands were just arriving with instruments strung on their backs and Christmas hats on. On the drive back we were surprised to see or actually hear two batches of hundreds of motorcycles. And that wraps it up!

See everyone on the Monday of Finals Week,

Cindy Lam

Caroling…anyone?

Hello everyone!

It was another action packed meeting as the JRYC gathered once again o n the last day of November. We started off by going over some last minute Peter and the Wolf (skits start this Saturday!) before transitioning into our first main topic of discussion: to B (Linked) or not to B (Linked). After a quick debate over the pros and cons of our semester newsletter, the Council came to the unanimous decision of getting rid of this bulletin (it had a good run) for a more interactive Blog Digest. Next on our list was the ever-popular Project Asian, our way of reaching out to the Asian American community. This project is looking very promising as a televised interview on KTSF is in the works. And finally, the main topic of discussion: Publicity Stunts. After a tossing around of many exciting ideas, ranging from vaccines chasing viruses to high fives at escalators, we decided to settle on three main ones: HBV caroling, Doctors versus Students, and Assassin: HBV style (it really isn’t that scary).

Well, until Saturday,

Jay Wang

Archbishop Mitty High School