Impact

Report

🎉 Celebrating 5 Years 🎉

Founded in 2019, Thriving Asians has grown from a “passion project” into an organization with a global reach.

We’ve made major strides in our first few years - running on part-time efforts of Founder & Director Michelle G. Garcia, dedicated volunteers, community collaborations; and operating fully self-funded.

We’re proud to share our impact so far!

    5    

Years

 1,500+ 

Community
Members
Engaged

 45+ 

Events

Navigation

Geographic

  Reach  

National & Global Impact

Our in-person programs are held in the US and Philippines

Our virtual programs reach diaspora members across North America, Asia, and the Middle East.

In the US, participants have joined from across 24 states. Top reached states include NY, CA, and MA.

    • NY: 399 participants from 13 cities

    • CA: 224 participants from 17 cities

    • MA: 213 participants from 13 cities

  Target  

Audiences

Our programs reach:

75%

  • 75% Programs Reach:

    • AANHPIs (Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders)

    • Global Pan-Asian Communities

Asian Communities

15%

  • 15% Programs Reach:

    • BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) Communities

    • Immigrants & Refugees

People of Color

10%

  • 10% Programs Reach:

    • Stakeholders in Healthcare, Education & Policy

    • Professionals

    • Organizations

    • Schools

General Community

Participant

Demographics

Ethnicity

A Diversity of Pan-Asian Communities –

14+ ethnic groups reached

  • • 24% Filipino

    • 17% Chinese

    • 11% Korean

    • 10% Vietnamese

    • 9% Cambodian

    • 8% Indian

    • 6% Japanese

    • 3% Nepalese

    • 3% Taiwanese

    • 2% Pakistani

    • 2% Bengali

    • 2% Native Hawaiian

    • 2% Lao

    • 1% Samoan

    • 5% Multiracial or Mixed Heritage

 Age    

Supporting Across the Lifespan –

especially reaching transition age youth & young adults

  • • 2% Age 12 or below

    • 36% Age 13 to 17

    • 35% Age 18 to 27

    • 18% Age 28 to 43

    • 6% Age 44 to 59

    • 3% Age 60+

 Immigrant

 Generation

Fostering Intergenerational Understanding –

especially reaching 1st/2nd generation youth and immigrant parents

  • • 27% 1st or 1.5 Generation (includes international students, third culture kids, international adoptees)

    • 66% 2nd Generation Children of Immigrants

    • 7% 3rd Generation or Later

Gender 

Healing Gender Disparities –

primarily reaching & empowering girls and young women

  • • 66% Female

    • 32% Male

    • 2% Non-Binary

Participant

Outcomes

  95%  

learned about mental health in a culturally meaningful way

  • •  74% Strongly Agree

    • 21% Agree

    • 5% Neutral

    • 0% Disagree

    • 0% Strongly Disagree

  95%  

felt their experiences were represented & validated

  • • 70% Strongly Agree

    • 25% Agree

    • 3% Neutral

    • 2% Disagree

    • 0% Strongly Disagree

  97%  

learned ways culture & community can support mental health

  • • 65% Strongly Agree

    • 32% Agree 

    • 2% Neutral

    • 1% Disagree

    • 0% Strongly Disagree

  94%  

felt empowered to make positive mental health impacts for family & community

  • • 62% Strongly Agree

    • 32% Agree 

    • 6% Neutral

    • 0% Disagree

    • 0% Strongly Disagree

↑ Back to Top

Participant

Testimonials

  

“The     

Best

Part

was…”  

  • When asked about the best part of the program, participants most frequently mentioned:

    • Engaging Learning Environment (89 mentions)

    • Culturally Meaningful Mental Health Info (80)

    • Connection to Community & Family (76)

    • Facilitator Engagement (76)

    • Representation & Validation (73)

    • Practical Mental Health Info & Strategies (69)

    • Hope & Empowerment (61)

    • Culture & Community as a Mental Health Strength (36)

    • Cultural Food & Games (in-person only) (17)

Engaging Learning Environment

“The ideal amount of engagement. I loved the way it felt like a lecture in the sense that I could learn, but still allowed for so much participation. I had time to express myself and make connections through all the discussions and activities”

  • “The community stories, which were education in themselves. The best parts were the speaker’s story, and the open space where we listened to each others’ stories about issues in the community and school”

    “I was leaning in the whole time. All the knowledge imparted resonated so deeply with our culture & shared values. Despite it being a difficult topic, you can't help but feel in community, and be open to learning”

Culturally Meaningful Mental Health Info

“The insight to Asian American mental health specifically! I've attended mental health workshops and Asian/BIPOC events before, but this was the most meaningful to me. Favorite workshop ever!”

  • “Understanding the roots of mental health stigma, and historical AAPI underrepresentation in this field. Helps me understand the origins of my family's attitudes, and think about how I can change things for the future”

    “Exploring the differences between Western mental health vs. Asian cultural values, but also finding new ways for those to co-exist”

    “The AANHPI mental health statistics! Since we rarely hear them, it's extremely validating to see our numbers. It shows that mental health is a real problem we need to improve upon”

Connection to Community & Family

“The feeling of camaraderie. Hearing other people's experiences and realizing that we are quite similar made us all feel safe in this community”

  • “Being able to connect with to my peers & mentors on a deeper level by relating to our shared struggles with high expectations and mental health”

    “Finding common ground with family, and empathizing with my immigrant parents. I feel I understand them better after learning about intergenerational trauma. While our problems look different, we can agree they are all valid hardships, and we need to support each other regardless”

Facilitator Engagement

“Michelle brought her voice, wisdom, and passion! It is crucial yet rare for mental health education and advocacy to be done in the context of community. She did exactly that”

  • “Michelle was so genuine, and connected with students in such a short period of time. It was a heartwarming experience!”

    “Michelle cultivated an atmosphere where we could be ourselves. Some of us are shy. I usually don't speak up. Sharing her own story and examples first helped it feel less intimidating. I ended up feeling so comfortable”

    “Michelle has such a powerful presence as a facilitator. We’re thankful to her for being a role model to our student leaders”

Representation & Validation

“It was surreal seeing my mental health experiences as an Asian American represented on the screen. I had never seen my stressors put into words or taught in a class before.”

  • “Talking about the BIPOC stressors. It was eye-opening, and explained a lot of my stress living in America. I just felt so supported and seen”

    “The slides and talk were SO informative and relatable. They both reflected parts of my experience I already recognized, and articulated parts I am still working to grasp”

    “Hearing everyone's experiences & emotions validated my own. It was validating to know that I am not alone in my experiences, and that there is a community for me”

Practical Mental Health Info & Strategies

“Writing out mental health goals, and a self care plan inclusive of cultural practices. It made me look forward to my mentally healthiest self in the future”

  • “Creating the personal wellness plan. It posed new questions that I didn't know I needed to ask myself, and helped me build a better perspective”

    “The imposter syndrome section. It was surprising to realize how relevant it is in my life, and helpful to have a practice to flip my negative thoughts into positive affirmations”

    “Intercultural & intergenerational communication strategies. This gave me the language for how to talk to my loved ones about mental health, and self-advocate in a way that conveys care (not frustration)”

Hope & Empowerment

“The sense of empowerment! The session was emotionally heavy (in a good way), but leaving with that hopefulness helped keep this from being overwhelming”

  • “The affirmations were an amazing final activity. Everyone gets to leave behind insecurities, and walk away feeling capable”

    “The leadership & role modeling discussion. It was inspiring to shift my thinking into how I can use the power I have to better the mental health of myself and my community”

    “Feeling energized to pursue this professionally, so I can change the field and my community”

Culture & Community as a Strength

“Finding ways our own culture IMPROVES mental health, not just focusing on the negative! Hearing everyone’s culturally relevant practices was heartwarming”

  • “Exploring how our cultural communities can also be places where we support each others' mental health”

    “Ways to find mental health healing through family, community, and culture”

Cultural Food & Games

“Every detail was thoughtful and incorporated elements of AANHPI culture - even down to the food, drinks, board games, and karaoke!”

  • “The AAPI-themed wellness items brought to the workshop were a fun touch. It’s inspired me to build my own cultural wellness toolkit!”

    “The thought-provoking AAPI card games that we played. It was a surprisingly great way to ease my family into talking about mental health”

  

“I’ll Use  

Lessons

Learned

For…”      

  • When asked about how they’ll use lessons learned from the program, participants most frequently mentioned:

    • Self-Awareness & Self-Care (212 mentions)

    • Supporting Family & Friends (120)

    • Community Mental Health Leadership (102)

    • Talking about Mental Health (88)

    • Academic & Professional Growth (54)

Self-Awareness & Self-Care

“Applying lessons learned to myself first. This helped me reflect on the fact that I need to practice the same things that I'm advocating for others”

  • “I'll keep these empowering messages in my head to remind myself to stay positive - that I CAN do the personal work and move forward”

    “I will reflect on self advocacy and specifically what to even ask! This was a good challenge!”

    “I plan to share what I learned with my therapist to inform the work we're already doing”

Supporting Family & Friends

“Learning more about my parents, and helping them better their mental health. I look forward to checking in with them more, and discovering fun activities we can do together for bonding and mental health ”

  • “I'll share these lessons to my family, friends, and schoolmates. As long as I can, I will be there for them when they need my help. I want to be a positive presence to someone struggling”

    “Understanding cultural and generational mental health issues allows me to be a better friend. I can now better empathize”

    “I will use these lessons to help understand issues within my family, and address our generational trauma as a unit”

Community Mental Health Leadership

“I will use these lessons in my daily life by caring for myself, so that I can be a good example and role model for my community”

  • “I'm feeling more empowered to be a mental health leader to those around me. I got some great lessons on how to start that journey, like how to encourage other students to be active in mental wellness”

    “I will integrate this into my leadership of affinity groups & student orgs, and create community spaces to explore cultural resilience”

Talking About Mental Health

“I will be more brave about starting mental health dialogue, especially amongst other Asian women” 

  • “This encouraged me to have a discussion with my parents about mental health”

    “This helped me learn to talk about mental health in a positive way. I will share with my family how Filipino culture sometimes stigmatizes mental health, but also how it can be reframed to encourage mental health care”

    “I'll do my best to stop the stigma and correct misinformation - while being patient because cultural and generational differences make it harder for some to understand”

Academic & Professional Growth

“I will utilize this information to prioritize my mental health as much as I do with school. I plan to use this info towards my senior thesis, and pursue a career in Asian mental health”

  • “I'll remember not to just grind it out. I'll rest, take breaks, give myself space so I can fully use my talents and capabilities as a student”

    “I'll use techniques to help address imposter syndrome, especially at my internship. After this workshop, I have an outline on how to uplift myself, and believe that I am capable”

    “I'll use the affirmations practice to give credit to my accomplishments. I’ll also remember that my accomplishments are not all related to school. Holistic success includes taking care of myself too”

Updated: January 1, 2025