My backstory of being an “illegitimate” child of a young single mother, who was forced to give me up for adoption, sparked a passion in me to help other displaced children and women. Having immigrated from another country myself, I have also wanted to ensure I keep my perspective that of a global mindset, looking outward from just the city or country I currently live in.
These unique experiences all led me to look for ways to help others in any way I could and have now given me the honor to serve as an officer for the Children of War Foundation (COWF), which provides medical aid as well as sustainable education to children worldwide who would otherwise not have access to it. My place at COWF has given me the opportunity to use my knowledge in filmmaking to spread their work through various social media platforms. More recently for COWF, I have been able to also travel to Ukraine after the recent outbreak of war to hand-deliver half a million dollars worth of medical supplies to two hospitals and to deliver aid for a COWF-run school for refugees on the Jordanian-Syrian border. Both of these experiences were ones I will never forget and am extremely humbled to have been given the ability to see indeed the worst but also the best of humanity, and I hope to continue to be able to do this kind of work for the rest of my life.
Locally, I also support LA-based non-profits such as Fix’n Fidos and Project Angel Food, which both do amazing work to help people throughout Southern California, and when I heard about their work, I knew I had to join them in their missions. At Fix’n Fidos, money is raised to provide free veterinary services to pet owners who can’t afford it, along with various other aid for pet owners in the area. Project Angel Food provides customized and healthy meals to those impacted by serious illnesses. What I loved about both of these organizations was how they both are helping those who have otherwise been forgotten by many others, which of course is also quite a personal subject from my early childhood.
In the organizations I get to work with, I have also felt compelled to utilize my experience in storytelling to spread the message and increase awareness of each non-profit, and so I have been able to use my company’s production services to make professional videos free of charge for their websites and social media.
