Western North Carolina
Asian American Pacific Islanders
About WNC AAPI
We are a community of Asian and Pacific Islander descent, currently settlers on Cherokee land. We create space for celebration, exploration, healing, and solidarity with each other and other communities of culture.
Interested in supporting our community and what we do?
Become an Organizer or Support Volunteer!
Events don’t happen on their own, and often require a lot of planning and logistics. We have a small team of folks that have joined together to lead our Organizing Team together as volunteers, but help is always welcome!
We try to host a few events each year, and are always open to assisting or providing guidance on creating events that other community members may want to spearhead.
Community members are encouraged to create events or gatherings of their own that are open to our greater community just as much as they are encouraged to help join our Organizer Coordinator or Volunteer Support Crew!
Our Community Organizers
Organizer Coordinator Meeting Jan 2026
WNC AAPI Community Gatherings
Hike Camp Hike event - Summer 2025
We seek to create fun & impactful experiences for the WNC AAPI community & beyond! While our gatherings mostly consist of potluck oriented events, members in our community have hosted their own smaller events, or collaborated with WNC AAPI to create things like group hikes, camping trips, or checking out local food spots.
Anyone is welcome to host their own events and invite/share within the WNC AAPI community! If you have an event you’d like to host that you feel might be a good fit to collaborate with WNC AAPI on, please reach out to us through our Support Form.
Mutual Aid & Emergency Fund
We are creating and brainstorming ways to assist our community members in times of need, and we understand that financial assistance is sometimes what is truly needed. While we don’t have strong funding, creating a program that can at least help provide some financial aid in addition to other resources or referrals feels more and more necessary in todays world.
And so, the WNC AAPI Mutual Aid Program is coming to life! Several of our community members are no stranger to the realm of mutual aid, but we still need help.
This program will likely require different forms of fundraising, financial oversight, grant writing, and working together as a team that puts community above self.
If you feel like you are qualified, or simply feel called to help in some capacity, please reach out and chat with us about your interest in supporting the Mutual Aid Program.
Interested in joining our Finance Committee? Visit our Support Form to get in touch with our Organizers!
Our community is honored to hold fiscal sponsorship through Across The Sea Foundation, Inc. ATSF is an Asheville & Vietnam-based non-profit dedicated to preserving the unique culture of the indigenous Montagnard people of Vietnam.
This fiscal sponsorship gives WNC AAPI access to a dedicated bank account, which opens new ways for our community to accept donations and make payments for things like venue rentals for events, supplies, and other costs. This also helps create the foundation of our upcoming Mutual Aid Program.
ATSF provides direct aid to families to supply vital housing, farming resources, life saving medical care, education and more. We invest in families, children, and education, so that the Montagnard-Dega peoples can have a brighter future.
ATSF is founded by Rich Enuol, one of our community members and Organizers of WNC AAPI.
Basket & Blanket Sales
Help Support the ATSF Mission
A key element of cultural support focuses on carrying on the ancestral practice of blanket weaving and basket weaving. You can purchase baskets & blankets at pop-up market events by Caravan Art Bazaar, or connect with ATSF directly!
- Basket & Blanket Sales -
Fundraising with Art!
Several WNC AAPI community members are artists, partners, and volunteers in Caravan Art Bazaar, a Collective of local BIPOC Artists & Organizations in WNC.
CAB uses art for good through their ART4AID program, donating a percentage of sales from participating artists and select artworks to different mutual aid initiatives across the globe.
A few CAB Artists have prints for sale that contribute to the WNC AAPI Mutual Aid Fund.
CAB is founded by local photographer Mike Talyad, aka Jungle Branch, one of the community members and Organizers of WNC AAPI.
ATSF: Anti-Human Trafficking
Since March of 2025, ATSF has become involved in global anti-human trafficking efforts. We support survivors of human trafficking in their recovery and path toward restored dignity and independence. Our partner organizations abroad help with case management, raising awareness, and law enforcement assistance.
- Click here to learn more here -
Financial Support for the
WNC AAPI Community
USD donations can be made to our fiscal sponsor via Cash, Check, or Venmo. Cash & Checks can be given to any of our Community Organizers.
Checks: Across the Sea Foundation, Inc.
Attn. “WNC AAPI support”
Venmo - @acrosstheseafoundationinc