Cycle of Giving Begins with KPSC Community Giving Campaign

Asian Youth Center is one of hundreds of charitable groups CGC supports

Chin Diep, MSW, a counselor for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, is part of a cycle of giving that begins at Kaiser Permanente Southern California.
He emigrated from Vietnam when he was 10, and by the eighth grade he started playing basketball on Friday nights at the Asian Youth Center (AYC) — a fund recipient of the Kaiser Permanente Community Giving Campaign through the Asian Pacific Community Fund, one of the six CGC member federations.

Diep remained involved in AYC's programs and services throughout his high school years. In college, he began working for the AYC's AIDS program and ran the same Friday Night Club he once participated in as a high school student. In his work with AYC, he learned a lot about social justice, discovering that while he was in high school, there had been a great deal of racial profiling by police in his San Gabriel Valley neighborhood. Had it not been for his participation in AYC, Diep might have fallen victim to the profiling as well. Having a better understanding of his community's conditions gave Diep a greater appreciation for AYC's work. He understood AYC's positive impact on the youth in his community, including its positive impact on his own life.

The counselors at AYC even encouraged Diep to get a Master's Degree in Social Work. "I realized the kids here need a place to go and do something positive," he said. "As I got older, I saw I had an opportunity to help the kids as I was helped." Now a counselor, Diep thanks the AYC for making him a stronger leader and an advocate for his community. "A lot of my peers have come back to the AYC and volunteer to provide transportation and to supervise," Diep said. "Kids I coached are now coaches."

Today, he is confident that this cycle of giving will continue, and credits the AYC and Kaiser Permanente employees for giving him and other youths the opportunity and avenue to do so.

2011 Campaign Dates Extended Until Nov. 18

The Kaiser Permanente Community Giving Campaign has been extended through November 18, offering us more time make lives better by donating to organizations such as the AYC.
Visit the Community Giving website to learn about our six partner federations, look up any of the 17,000 charities in the giving database, or add your own.

To contribute, simply click on the "Give Now" button top right hand side and fill out the online form.
Donations are deducted from your pay after taxes, but are tax deductible. The organization(s) you select will begin to receive your contributions in 2012, after the payroll deduction begins.
The KP Community Giving Campaign is one of the ways we can help make our communities better places to live. Money raised from the campaign supports charitable organizations that supply valuable health services, fight homelessness, feed the hungry, improve education access, provide scholarships, strengthen families, empower seniors, and protect the environment.

For more information, contact Duke Keshishian, duke.x.keshishian@kp.org, 626-405-3661, tie-line 335.

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