COMMUNITY ONE BLOG

Asian Queer Alliance : 2022 Rainbow Grants Recipient

Over the coming weeks we’re sharing the 39 stories of our 2022 Rainbow Grants recipients! All of these deserving projects are receiving critical grant funding as a result of your generous donations to Community One Foundation. Read more and support these projects where you can! If you’d like to see more work like this supported in our community, please consider donating to Community One!

GENERAL GRANT (available for up to $1,500 and are open to groups or individuals without charitable status.)

Asian Queer Alliance (AQUA) is a project that aims to provide spaces, events and programs for support, advocacy, education and connection of queer Asians of marginalized genders. Asian meaning East-, South-, and Southeast Asian communities. Marginalized genders include cis and trans women, non-binary folks and gender-diverse individuals.

For 2022-2023, AQUA hopes to provide community and connection via the Pen Pal Project, holiday-based mail exchange, and Lunar New Year mail exchange. They have found that these three programming pieces have consistently allowed the community to connect with each other in a fun and COVID-safe way. This style of programming also allows queer Asians across Canada to participate. 

They also hope to introduce programming this year that incorporates a reconnection to the land we live on. AQUA has started this with their native wildflower seed packet distribution and aim to continue it. They are also hoping to do this through in-person nature programming, similar to last year‚ such as group hikes and group bike rides.