IGNITE change for SFAWS: Be part of a Community-Powered Campaign ͏
This October, Asian Women’s Shelter invites you to IGNITE — a campaign to power our 37th year of culturally responsive, survivor-centered work. In place of our traditional gala, we’re launching something different: a community-wide fundraising effort to raise $200,000 that will sustain our vital programs through a year of deep uncertainty. Cuts to federal, state, and local funding threaten the supportive services we offer to survivors. But our strength has always come from our people — and when we act together, we can power through any storm.
Join the campaign — give, host, or help spread the word!
Here are the powerful ways you can help us IGNITE hope, healing, and collective safety for another year at Asian Women’s Shelter.
GIVE as a Goddess Circle Sponsor.
HOST a Hearthkeeper party.
GATHER online on October 30th.
SPARK connections between SFAWS and your friends.
🔌 CHARGE THE POWER BANK – Become a Goddess Circle Sponsor
Fuel unrestricted, culturally specific, community-powered support for survivors. Goddess sponsors have powered our movement since 1989.
🏡 TEND THE HEARTH – Become a SFAWS Hearthkeeper and Host a house party in October with your friends or family. We’ll send a Hearthkeeper Kit with videos, conversation tools, and fundraising resources.
💻 GATHER ONLINE – Join us October 30th
Come together virtually for an evening of community, storytelling, and celebration. Give at any level to receive the event link.
✨ SPARK A RIPPLE EFFECT OF CHANGE – Share the Campaign
Forward our campaign email and video to your networks to inspire others to take action.
YAAAS Youth Leadership Opportunity
Our Youths are Aware, Active & Supportive (YAAAS!) leadership program is now recruiting for the 2025–2026 school year! Build skills, grow your voice, and join a community of youth leaders taking action.
This paid leadership opportunity (up to $575 upon completion) is designed for youth ages 13–18 (high-schoolers incoming Freshmen to Seniors this upcoming academic school year) residing or attending school in San Francisco. The program will allow these young leaders to explore topics like healthy relationships, self-regulation, being an ally, mindfulness, and speaking out against violence. Participants will build leadership and public speaking skills, gain peer education experience, and walk away with tools to support themselves and their communities.
Spots are limited - encourage a young leader to apply today! ⏳ Application deadline extended: August 27, 2025
Watch this introduction by our Youth Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Prevention Coordinator
SF AWS’s Korean talk line is open!
In addition to Asian Women’s Shelter’s multilingual crisis line for survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking, and/or female genital cutting, SF AWS has launched its Korean Talk Line with support from the Korean American Community Foundation of San Francisco! The Korean Talk Line is a confidential phone resource for Korean survivors of violence and those supporting them. Click here to learn more on our new K-PEACE (Koreans Preventing and Ending Abuse through Community Engagement) page.
“Shame dies when stories are told in safe places. ”
Over half a million women, girls, and children assigned female at birth are affected by or at risk of being affected by FGM/C at any given time. Yet few resources exist to support survivors in their journeys toward healing and protecting future generations from this practice. With leadership from Sahiyo, AWS’s crisis line is open to support people affected by FGM/C (Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting) in Asian and other communities. Trained advocates staff the lines and are knowledgeable on FGM/C and the cultural and social connotations in which it continues. They are ready to provide a listening ear, care and support, and work with you to consider physical and/or emotional safety planning if needed.
“I was so happy to know that Sahiyo is collaborating with the Asian Women’s Shelter to support women who suffer from the trauma of FGC and need an empathetic ear. I have worked in the domestic violence (DV) space for a couple of decades, and this is the first time I am seeing recognition of this trauma in the sphere of DV. I am so proud of both organizations and hope collaboration expands with other organizations throughout the U.S. and abroad.”
- Sakina Sharp
“You women are a precious gift to me. Your faces are like a mirror reflecting myself, saying ‘I believe in you. You can make it. You do not deserve to live in fear and violence.’”