Hongbao, 1997, and the Promise We Owe Our Youth

In 1997, API Legal Outreach started the Youth Advisory Council (YAC) to address gender-based and dating violence in Asian and Pacific Islander youth communities. That same year, I was born.

I do not share that as a fun fact. I share it because it names what I believe youth development actually is: a long lineage of people choosing to build safety before harm becomes someone’s whole life.

YAC began as a prevention response to violence. It still is. But it is also community infrastructure. A place where young people build analysis, practice leadership, and move with accountability in the real conditions they are living in.

My own leadership started in a youth program, too.

I came up through a youth program at the Idaho Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence. I started as a high school intern and stayed involved through college. I learned what it means to cultivate youth leadership without exploiting young people’s time or trauma. Over the years, I went on to work at the Coalition as a staff member, including as a Bilingual Social Change Associate. I also supported national prevention work focused on rural teen dating violence and sexual assault, including training and technical assistance for advocates and programs across the country. In that work, I helped programs strengthen their youth development approaches so youth from historically marginalized communities were not only included, but leading changes in their communities.

What I learned in Idaho is what I practice now at APILO. And what makes this work feel like a gift is that I get to offer young people what someone once offered me: a place to grow, to lead, and to be taken seriously.

The 13 youth on YAC right now are doing exactly what I was doing at their age — learning to show up for their community while still figuring out who they are. The difference is that now I get to be on the other side. I get to hold the structure, set the expectations, and watch them rise to meet them.

That is why YAC matters, and why I am asking you to support our 2026 Hongbao Campaign.

Hongbao is a Lunar New Year tradition of intergenerational exchange. It is a blessing, and it is also material support. Our communities have always practiced care through tangible giving, and hongbao is one expression of that. We are rooting this campaign in that tradition because it aligns with the purpose of YAC: investing in young people as carriers of our collective future.

Our goal is to raise $25,000 in unrestricted support by February 20, 2026.

Unrestricted matters because youth needs are not predictable. This funding lets us respond throughout the year, from ensuring consistent access to food and transit to investing in leadership development opportunities as they arise.

What your hongbao makes possible:

• Youth stipends. Compensates youth for their labor and leadership and reduces barriers for low-income youth.
• Food and care supplies. Supports well-being and consistent engagement so youth can show up fully to meetings and events.
• Transit and access costs. Helps youth with longer commutes participate reliably and safely.
• Training and facilitation. Funds curriculum development and workshop materials essential for building youth skills and leadership capacity.

How to give:

1. Donate: https://apilo.donorsupport.co/page/FUNJUHYDDYE
2. Read the donor packet (PDF): https://www.apilegaloutreach.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Youth-Advisory-Council_-Donor-Packet.pdf
3. Optional: Include a short message of guidance or a wish for youth when you give.

Suggested giving levels:

• One-time: $18 | $38 | $88 | $188 | $388 | $888
• Monthly: $8/month | $18/month | $38/month

YAC started in 1997. I was born in 1997. That parallel keeps me accountable to the long work. Someone invested in me when I was young. Now it is my turn to do the same.

Fund youth leadership with real resources, not just admiration.

Questions or partnership ideas: dtiegs@apilegaloutreach.org