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2012 FANHS PA Community Service Awardees
Lovella Calica is a writer,photographer and multi-media
artist. She is the founder and
director of Warrior Writers, a
creative community for
veterans articulating their
experiences. She has edited
three anthologies of Iraq era
veterans writing and artworkentitled: Move, Shoot and
Communicate, Re-Making
Senseand After Action Review.
Lovella received two Art and Change grants from the Leeway Foundation and
was honored with the Transformation Award in 2009. She published her first
chapbook of poetryMakibaka: Beautifully Brave in 2006 and Huwag Matakot:
Do Not be Afraidin 2011. Lovella is a co-founder of the Pilipino-American artist
collective, Tatlo Mestiz@s.
Noel Abejo -- Vice President ofTechnology Infrastructure for Wells
Fargo Bank -- is the founder, past
President and current advisor for the
Filipino American Community Athletic
Association (FACAA). He currently
volunteers with the American Red
Cross, American Cancer Society,
WorkReady Philadelphia, and Friends of
Independence National Historic Park.Noel is a past member of the
Philadelphia Mayors Commission on
Asian Affairs, the Philadelphia Police
Commissioners Advisory Committee,
and former Vice President and Public Relations Officer of the Filipino Executive
Council of Greater Philadelphia (FECGP).
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2012 FANHS PA Community Service Awardees
Janet Ismael Escarcha
writes: Community is thebasis for all humanity. I am aFilipina and a proud mother offour. I belong to a core andcommon heritage. At this stageof my life, I realize community
extends beyond my ownancestry but also reaches outto where all human beings areconnected. This is why I am apart of Gleam of Hope
Orphanage (dot org) in Haiti. Iam choosing to make adifference in my global
community. In the words of the great Jose Rizal, It is a useless life that is notconsecrated to a great ideal. It is like a stone wasted on the field without
becoming a part of any edifice. Thank you FANHS for this wonderful honor.
Cyndi Gutierrez, wasborn and raised here in
Philadelphia - where herFilipino immigrant fathermet her mother whileserving in the U.S. Navy.Always volunteering forcauses she believes in,
Cyndi serves such groupsas Interpersonal Violence
against Asian Communities(IVAAC), Asian PacificAmerican Health
Consortium (APAHC), theUnity Clinic, Southeast
Asian Mutual Assistance Associations Coalition (SEAMAAC), FBI Multi-Cultural Advisory Committee (FBI MCAC), among others. She most recentlyworked for AIDS Services in Asian Communities (ASIAC) where her job involvedHIV testing, counseling and much more. Past awards for Cyndis communitywork include a Senate Proclamation from Senator Allyson Schwartz.
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2012 FANHS PA Community Service Awardees
Pioquinto Skip Voluntad, born in
Philadelphia, served as the chairman of the
Mayors Asian American Commission under Ed
Rendell for eight years. He is the first Asian to be
a member of both the Council on Aging and
AARPs Volunteer Executive Council for the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Mr. Voluntad is
on the board of directors of the Mental Health
Association of SE Pennsylvania, and thePhiladelphia Corporation of Aging. He is a
partner in New Populations Inc. and serves as
an advisor of Penn Asian Senior Services and the
Cambodian Senior Center. Hes a consultant to
CBH Asian Behavior Health Task Force and the Wedge Medical Center. Mr. and
Mrs. Voluntad are the parents of 7 children and 10 grandchildren.
Mary A. Faustino, born in Philadelphia, served on
the Philadelphia Commission on Asian Pacific Affairs
under the Goode and Rendell administration. An
accountant for more than 30 years, she served as Co-
chair and Treasurer of the National Pan Asian Business
Conference and is past President and treasurer of the
Asian American Womens Coalition (AAWC). As a
former special assistant for Senator Rick Santorum,
Mary eventually became Director of Constituent
Services for the Philadelphia Office. Shes volunteered
with AARP Tax Aide, the executive council of AARP PA,
the Multicultural Affairs Congress of Philadelphia, and
the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia.
She still serves on the boards of AAWC, the Parish
Council of St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Christopher Columbus Charter School,
the Caring People Alliance and various other organizations.
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2012 FANHS PA Community Service Awardees
Amelia Belardo-Cox currently aconsultant in Organization, Program andResource Development previously served
as Executive Director of Voyage House,
Incorporated; Director of the Lutheran
Settlement House Womens Program, and
Director of the Transitions Job Training
Program at Harrisburg Area Community
College. A former Vice-President of the
Asian American Womens Coalition, she
established the Alma Belardo ArtsScholarship in memory of her sister, Alma,
to fund Asian High School graduates
pursuing an education in the arts. Shes the former Vice-President of
Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth and volunteers as a Field
Instructor for Asian students pursuing their graduate degrees in Social Work.
Virginia Virgie Olivar Luz, a retired
Registered Dietitian of more than 39 years, is theFounding President of the University of the
Philippines Alumni Association PA Chapter. She
founded the Mutya Philippine Dance Company
and still serves as Board Chair while being
actively involved in the companys regular work
and gala performances in Greater Philadelphia as
well as in the Philippines. Previous awards
include being inducted into the Asian American
Hall of Fame in Chicago, and recognition by
Channel 6ABC for community service. She is a
former Mother of the Year and past President of
Filipino American Association of Philadelphia, Inc.
(FAAPI).
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