Holidaysians, Celebrasians, Donasians… And Giving The Gift Of Hyphen
Ladies and Gents, it’s been quite a year: Dubya left the building, Laura and Euna came back to us safely, Miley got goofy, Nadya Suleman lips got tabloid time, Kanye lost his hand, the Gosselins aired every last Garanimal of their dirty laundry, and Tiger Woods fell off his hookerbitch-lovin’ pedestal.
DISGRASIAN also got a makeover.
Frankly, we’re pooped. So we’re taking the rest of the year off for a little shaming break.
Time to go deal with important stuff!
But before we go, we thought we’d mention our plans for celebrasian–which include a bit of donasian to Hyphen Magazine!
Alright, maybe we’re a little biased because they’ve spent some of their non-profit funds photographing us this year. But we also believe in Hyphen–what they do and how they do it is an inspirasian to us all.
To keep going, they need our help! Check out this letter from publisher Lisa Lee:
Dear Friends,Contrary to popular stereotypes, I’ve never been much of a math whiz, but I’d like to take this time to sketch out some numbers:
• Like other nonprofits, Hyphen, has been hit hard by the economic downturn. Our annual budget was slashed in half, but our publishing costs per issue of the magazine—$10,000—remains the same.
• In 2009, we invested close to $10,000 in redesigning our website (which will be unveiled by the beginning of next year) so it will be more vibrant and interactive.
• This year, we were able to begin paying modest stipends to support our feature writers, many of whom are dedicated to socially conscious, community- oriented journalism.
But we want to do more and to do better. In order to deliver more hard-hitting and illuminating articles and to reach an ever-broader audience with an improved website, we need your help. If each of our 45,000 combined subscribers and online visitors donate just $1, we could raise enough to fund three issues of Hyphen and continued improvements to the website.
As an all-volunteer organization, your donations and support are crucial. Without your support, we would not have been able to publish stories about efforts to expose health risks faced by nail salon workers, many of whom are Asian American. We would not have been able to illustrate how the eating habits of Asian Americans can clash with sustainable seafood practices. We would not have been able to present interviews with comedian Margaret Cho, playwright Philip Kan Kotanda and Watchmen screenwriter Alex Tse.
Without your support, we would not be able to celebrate Asian American male activists and leaders in our community through the Mr. Hyphen competition. In November, we crowned Pahole Sookkasikon as the 2009 Mr. Hyphen, and his $1,000 prize was donated to the Thai-American Scholarship Fund and the Asian American Donor Program. As a recent Associated Press article that was published in newspapers across the country noted, Mr. Hyphen successfully turns Asian American male stereotypes on its head.
But our work is far from finished. Just a few weeks ago, Asian American students came under attack at a South Philadelphia High School in an apparent hate crime. In November, Fox News commentator Bo Dietl pulled back his eyes to make the point that Katie Couric looks “oriental” on Don Imus’ show.
Your tax-deductible donation of $1 (or more!) will help us continue the fight against misrepresentation and underrepresentation of Asian Americans through the creation of smarter and more nuanced coverage. Please take a few minutes and donate to Hyphen by visiting our website at www.hyphenmagazine.com/donate.
Thank you for your generosity. With your support, we can make 2010 our best year yet.
Sincerely,
Lisa Lee
Publisher
So hey! Why not close out the year by doing something awesome and feeling great about yourself? Especially when they also give you presents in return? That’s what we’re doing–thawing our icy hearts just in time to start all over again in 2010.
Happy Holidays to everyone! Thank you so much for the continued love and support!
We’ll miss you and see you in the New Year!
xoxo
Diana and Jen
[Get Involved With Hyphen Magazine]
Filed under: 2009, Donasians, Dubya, Euna Lee, Hyphen Cover, Hyphen Magazine, Jon Gosselin, Kanye West, Kate Gosselin, Laura Ling, Miley Cyrus Chink Eye, Nadya Suleman, President Barack Obama, See you in 2010, Taking a Hating Break, The Gosselins, Tiger Woods
Happy holidays Disgrasian
Happy holidays! Thank you for making me smile, laugh, think, get angry, take action, etc.