Jade Monfils at the Dallas Asian Chamber of Commerce Award Luncheon

The Dallas Asian American Chamber of Commerce had an awards ceremony at the Doubletree Hotel Downtown. This is a yearly event that honors prestigeous Asian Americans and organizations that play a significant role in the Dallas Asian community. Sylvia Komatsu, an executive at KERA was the MC. My role at the event was to present the awards to the recipients. The guest speaker was Roger Staubach, Dallas Cowboy Hall of Famer, was the guest speaker. It was an honor to be surrounded by so many successful Asian Americans in the Dallas community!

Jade Monfils at BBBS Black Tie Ball

Saturday evening was the Black Tie Ball at the Hilton Anatole, benefiting the the Big Brothers Big Sisters of North Texas. There was an auction of wonderful donations which even included tickets to the Presidential Inauguration next year, and a party with Elton John. All the proceeds will go toward taking children off of the BBBS waiting list and matching them with a mentor for one year. I had the opportunity to greet the guest as they entered the hotel and direct them to the event, surprisingly there were 4 different black tie events in the same night! I got the chance to talk and mingle and meet several other individuals with some of the same aspirations as myself, to work within the community and provide positive outlets for our youth. There was an artist doing sketches of the guests and I even got my portrait drawn. During the night there were several performances by "littles" which ranged from a trumpet performance, dancing, and an opera performance accompanied with a piano, which was AMAZING and got a standing ovation. This group of children was so talented and an inspiration, in that they can overcome their situations and find their own niche in life. I was honored to be able to help raise money for such a worthy cause.

Jade Monfils at Bea's Kids Benefit Gala

Saturday night there was a benefit gala/auction for an organization known as Bea's Kids. The organization was started by Bea Salazar 18 years ago. She was a disabled single mother of 5, and was barely making ends meet, when one day she went out to throw her garbage away. At the dumpster she found a young boy digging through the trash. Since it was summer time, he was not in school; therefore not getting the breakfast and lunch served there. He was hungry, but Bea threw the piece of bread that he had found back in the trash, and he began to cry. Since she was new to the apartment complex she didn't want her neighbors to think that she was hurting the boy, so she took him home and made him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. After he left there were 6 more children that came knocking at her door, asking for food. She thought that once school started the children would stop coming. She was wrong, once school started she continued to get kids asking for help with their homework. This was mostly due to the English language barrier that the children had at their own homes. Bea took the initiative and asked her apartment complex to donate an empty apartment to start a safe after-school program. She went to the local high school and asked the Honor Society students if they could tutor these children. What she did many years ago, lives on today. She has 4 after-school centers in the Dallas area, a school named after her, and has been honored by Oprah, President George Bush, and President Bill Clinton. She is an inspiration and I was so honored to meet her and help with the fundraiser for her organization. I had the opportunity to meet several volunteers, and board members at the event which was held at CityPlace downtown. It was a rewarding night, and I am glad that I was able to raise money for this wonderful cause!