January 25, 2022

NEW YORK -- The Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF) is thrilled to announce that our Asian Student Advocacy Project (ASAP) is this year’s recipient of the Jeremy Lin Foundation’s 3s For Hope initiative. With each three-pointer Beijing Ducks point guard (and New York Knicks legend) Jeremy Lin makes this season, the Foundation will donate $500 to benefit ASAP, our leadership development program for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) teens and young adults.

Since its founding in 2004, ASAP has educated, trained, and equipped its Youth Leaders to be self-aware and informed advocates for their communities. ASAP seeks to build a community of AAPI youth whose voices are heard and incorporated, and with the collective power to create positive change, particularly in education.

“We would like to thank Jeremy Lin and the Jeremy Lin Foundation for their generous pledge to support our ASAP youth. At a time when our youth are facing unprecedented challenges due to the pandemic, it is heartening to know that one of the most famous athletes in the community recognizes the need for a strong leadership program for young people,” said CACF’s co-executive directors Anita Gundanna and Vanessa Leung. “This gift will allow our ASAP members to continue developing their leadership skills as they work on projects related to everything from mental health access to supporting English language learners.”

It is particularly fitting that Lin's gift comes almost exactly a decade after ‘Linsanity’ — the season when the then-unknown young athlete took the National Basketball League and the New York Knicks by storm. “We had to bring it back to NYC for the ten year anniversary of Linsanity,” said Jeremy Lin. Lin says he was particularly drawn to ASAP because of its long history working with AAPI youth in the five boroughs. “Hearing the stories of young Asian Americans feeling empowered and seen makes me so happy,” he said of ASAP’s members. “The Jeremy Lin Foundation and I are excited to support them.”

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