National Children's Dental Health Month is also observed in February. Baby teeth do matter and this video has some “Healthy Tips for Tiny Teeth” https://youtu.be/1eGARL8zWmY

You can review the proper brushing technique here https://smilecalifornia.org/care-for-your-smile/. Keeping our teeth healthy is one of the best things we can do for our overall health.

We will be distributing oral health kits and providing oral health workshops throughout the month of February.

Here is a couple of jokes to get you smiling.

How did the dentist fix the broken tooth?

With toothpaste.

Why did the creampuff go to the dentist?

He needed a filling! 

APA’s Home Sweet Home Telethon 2022 will take place in July and be produced in partnership with KTSF Channel 26. The broadcast date is to be determined.

We will be in touch regarding sponsorships.

This hour-long program will include donor/sponsor interviews and acknowledgments, APA staff interviews, services/ program activities/facility tours segments, cooking and children performances segments, and Board members acknowledgments.

Shu White and Kimberly Culp have joined our Board of Directors in December 2021 and early January 2022 respectively. Ms. White is General Counsel at KeepTruckin and Ms. Culp is Counsel at Fenwick. Shu and Kimberly will be featured in our next newsletter.  

Elyse Lanzner Gong, LCSW joined APA in January as our Behavioral Health Clinical Supervisor. Elyse supervises APA’s Behavioral Health Program’s graduate interns who serve as behavioral/mental health clinicians at school sites and our family resource centers.

This is a new virtual support group led by our Behavioral Health team of four clinical interns. Topics included identifying depression and anxiety in children, the impact of social media on mental health, LGBTQ issues in children, and developmental stressors in children.

Parents were able to share a little about themselves and what kinds of concerns led them to join our group. This is the first of several such parenting support groups planned for the year. If you’re interested in a psycho- education parenting group or counseling services, please contact Izabel @ 415-969-1959.

On December 20, 2021, our Chinatown/North Beach, Visitacion Valley, and Excelsior family resource centers held separate holiday "events" for clients. Families came to the centers at scheduled times to have holiday pictures taken and pick up gifts and holiday care goodie bags.

Staff also delivered gifts for clients who were unable to attend. We are grateful for the support from Comerica Bank, First Republic Bank, and other donors which allowed us to make the holidays merrier for 375 families and 572 kids. Thank you very much!

Best Wishes for 2022

Kung Hei Fat Choy! Wishing you and yours a safe, healthy, and prosperous new year.

We are deeply grateful for your year-end donations to support our causes and sustain our services to the low-moderate income families in San Francisco.

Here is a throwback picture of the 2018 lunar new year celebration at our Chinatown Family Support Center.