Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS)

The Walk for Rice photos are here!

Thank you again for making this year’s Walk for Rice Community Celebration such a joyful and meaningful day. From the performances to the walk around Seward Park, the morning was full of energy, connection and community care.

A special thank you to event photographer Charissa Soriano (charissasoriano.com) and volunteer photographers Kevin Lee (substanceandhype.com), Tia Moua (instagram.com/travelwithtinytia) and Keale Stoffer (instagram.com/kalestoffer) for capturing so many beautiful moments from the day.

You can now view the event photo albums on the ACRS page (bit.ly/WFR2026Photos). Be sure to like, tag and share your favorite photos with family and friends!

And while the celebration at Seward Park has passed, the Walk for Rice campaign continues through June 30.

Thanks to our incredible community, we’ve raised $275,597 toward our $375,000 goal — leaving $99,403 to go.

Every donation helps the ACRS Food Bank provide nutritious, culturally familiar foods to individuals and families across King County.

Let’s keep the momentum going!

DONATE NOW: walkforrice.org

Special thanks to our event sponsors:
PREMIER: tms
ADVOCATE: Kaiser Permanente
PARTNER: Amazon | Arcora Foundation | CHINN Construction | Delta Dental | Edwin M. Lee Memorial Fund | Judy and Bruce Yasutake | US Bank
COMMUNITY PARTNER: BrainChild Bio | First Student Inc. | Keller Rohrback L.L.P. | Nintendo | Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple & Buddhist Churches of America | Sheng-Yen Lu Foundation

Additional thanks to:
Blaine Memorial United Methodist Church
Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple
SK Produce
Gesa Credit Union
Salal Credit Union

Entertainment Sponsor:
National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association

Media Sponsor: KING 5
Emcee: Christine Pae, KING 5

A big THANK YOU to for donating $5,000 to support the ACRS Food Bank! 💛

Today, Tiffany Sanders, QFC Head of Communications & Public Affairs, stopped by our Food Bank in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District to present the check to ACRS CEO Kendee Yamaguchi and Food Bank team members Karen Jackel, Food Bank Coordinator, and Thang Tran, Food Bank Assistant.

This generous gift comes at an important time as families continue to face high food costs. QFC’s support will help us provide nutritious, culturally familiar foods to individuals and families across King County.

We’re grateful to QFC for standing with ACRS and helping strengthen food security for our communities.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4u4GfIH

Participants in the Port of Seattle Construction Career Pathway — including ACRS Ready to Work and Literacy Source students — took their career exploration beyond the classroom today with a visit to our partner ANEW in Tukwila.🚧

During the visit, Amanda Mann, ANEW’s Partnerships & Outreach Specialist, walked students through ANEW’s FREE 9-week construction pre-apprenticeship program, including what they’ll learn, what to expect, program benefits and graduation requirements.

Students also toured the ANEW facility and got an up-close look at real construction equipment and tools.

ANEW was founded by women to support women entering the construction trades. Today, its programs serve both men and women, while continuing to offer some classes specifically for women, helping more people build skills, confidence and pathways into high-paying apprenticeships.

Through the Port of Seattle Construction Career Pathway, in partnership with Literacy Source and ACRS's Ready to Work program, limited-English-proficient job seekers are exploring real career options in aviation, construction and other port-related industries and building new pathways toward stability for themselves and their families.

Thank you, ANEW, for welcoming our students and helping them see what’s possible in the trades!

ACRS is excited to partner with the Seattle Asian American Film Festival as a community co-presenter for the In Search of Us Shorts Program this weekend!

This series of endearing, heartwarming and witty short films explores what it means to search for belonging — in our families, in ourselves and in community.

ACRS staff member Dillon Nishimoto, Population Health and Quality Manager, will share a few words before the screening about ACRS and our work supporting Asian, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, immigrant, refugee and other underserved communities across King County.

ACRS will also have an outreach table in the lobby, so stop by and say hello!

📅 Saturday, May 30
⏰ 10:45 a.m.
📍 Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute

Get tickets for In Search of Us and explore the full SAAFF lineup at seattleaaff.org/saaff2026. We hope you’ll join us - and check out the many other films and programs happening throughout the festival!

ACRS is excited to partner with the Seattle Asian American Film Festival as a community co-presenter for the In Search of Us Shorts Program this weekend!

This series of endearing, heartwarming and witty short films explores what it means to search for belonging — in our families, in ourselves and in community.

ACRS staff member Dillon Nishimoto will share a few words before the screening about ACRS and our work supporting Asian, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, immigrant, refugee and other underserved communities across King County.

ACRS will also have an outreach table in the lobby, so stop by and say hello!

📅 Saturday, May 30
⏰ 10:45 a.m.
📍 Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute

Get tickets for In Search of Us and explore the full SAAFF lineup at seattleaaff.org/saaff2026. We hope you’ll join us - and check out the many other films and programs happening throughout the festival!

Last week, ACRS was proud to join community partners at the Seattle Storm's first-ever A&NH/PI Heritage Night at Climate Pledge Arena! 💚⚡️

It was a great evening of connection, celebration and community pride, and a meaningful opportunity to share ACRS’s culturally responsive programs and services with fans and community members.

The arena was buzzing, A&NH/PI pride was everywhere, and we loved being part of a night that brought community together.

Thank you to the for creating space to celebrate and uplift the diversity, strength and stories of A&NH/PI communities.

A special thank you to BrainChild Bio, Inc. for joining this year’s Walk for Rice as a Community Partner level sponsor during the week leading up to the community celebration!

As a new sponsor of our events, BrainChild Bio’s support is a meaningful reminder that it’s never too late to stand with our communities and make an impact.

BrainChild Bio is a clinical-stage biotechnology company leading the development of CAR T-cell therapies for tumors in the central nervous system (CNS). With a kids-first approach prioritizing pediatric brain tumors, their work is driven by innovation, compassion, and hope for families facing some of the toughest challenges.

We’re grateful to welcome partners like BrainChild Bio into the Walk for Rice community as we continue working together to ensure families across our region have access to nutritious and culturally familiar foods.

There’s still time to be part of the effort. You can support the cause by making a donation at walkforrice.org and helping provide critical food access for our communities.

Thank you for being part of a joyful morning at this year’s Walk for Rice (walkforrice.org)! Whether you walked with us at Seward Park, donated, volunteered, cheered us on from afar, or shared our mission, your support is already making a meaningful impact.

The energy at this year’s Walk was powerful. At a time when so many people ACRS serves are carrying uncertainty, seeing our community come together in collective action — moving, giving and simply being together — brought real strength and joy. It was a beautiful reminder of what Walk for Rice is all about: community care and a shared commitment to making sure our neighbors have food that feels like home.

The Campaign Continues…

Together, we’ve raised $271,601 toward our $375,000 goal to help provide culturally familiar groceries, fresh produce, rice and warm meals to families across King County. The campaign continues through June 30, and we still have $103,399 left to raise.

Your support matters more than ever. Food costs remain high, and recent federal changes to food assistance — under the “One Big Beautiful Bill (bit.ly/OneBBB)” — are making it harder for many families to access benefits. At ACRS, we’re seeing that need grow. Visits to our food bank are up 10%, and supplies at our pop-up food banks in Kent and South King County are often gone within hours.

If you feel inspired to give again — or share Walk for Rice with family, friends or coworkers — every additional dollar helps provide food and care for a neighbor in need.

DONATE NOW: walkforrice.org

You may also be able to double or even triple your impact through your employer’s matching gift program.

Thank you for walking with us, giving with us and standing with families across our community.

P.S. If you joined us at Seward Park, we’d love your feedback! Complete our short survey (bit.ly/WFR2026Survey) for a chance to win this year’s Starbucks glass tumbler. And please share your photos by tagging us on Facebook at , or Instagram at .

Special thanks to our event sponsors:
PREMIER: tms
ADVOCATE: Kaiser Permanente
PARTNER: Amazon | Arcora Foundation | CHINN Construction | Delta Dental | Edwin M. Lee Memorial Fund | Judy and Bruce Yasutake | US Bank
COMMUNITY PARTNER: BrainChild Bio | First Student Inc. | Keller Rohrback L.L.P. | Nintendo | Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple & Buddhist Churches of America | Sheng-Yen Lu Foundation

Additional thanks to:
Blaine Memorial United Methodist Church
Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple
SK Produce
Gesa Credit Union
Salal Credit Union

Entertainment Sponsor:
National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association

Media Sponsor: KING 5
Emcee: Christine Pae, KING 5

Let’s not forget all of our furry friends who joined in on the walk today. I am pretty sure they’re all going to take a nice nap this afternoon.