Fresno DRIVE celebrates Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

This May, Fresno DRIVE joins millions across the country who are celebrating Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month. In honor of AANHPI Heritage Month, DRIVE is highlighting the pivotal work of Central Valley Pacific Islander Alliance (CVPIA) for local Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities. Organizations like CVPIA are engaged in invaluable work that benefits our NHPI neighbors and the wider Central Valley community.   

CVPIA is a local nonprofit organization that creates empowerment opportunities for NHPI community members. In response to the climate impacts affecting Oceania communities, CVPIA prepared land for a Modesto community garden developed in partnership with Via Dolorosa Samoan Christian Church. Presently, in the preparation stages, the garden will give NHPI families access to culturally significant foods while simultaneously enabling cultural connection, sustainability and generational bridging. CVPIA envisions the garden as an intergenerational gathering place, where younger people can learn from elders while cultivating and sustaining Pacific Islander traditions. “The garden is a direct expression of resilience,” said CVPIA Executive Director Bernadine Tuisavalalo. “Many of our home islands are experiencing the impacts of climate change faster than most, and this space is a way to respond through community and culture.”   

CVPIA’s own roots lie in the COVID-19 pandemic, when data from a NHPI UCLA Data Policy Lab report showed a devastating reality: in California, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI) were three times more likely to contract the disease and twice as likely to die from it. This is despite NHPI people making up a tiny fraction of the population. For Bernadine, it was a stark confirmation of what she and others in the NHPI community had been experiencing as parents, uncles and aunts began getting sick.   

As a result, Bernadine and five other volunteers quickly mobilized and started meeting via Zoom to discuss what they could do to help. Within six weeks, they pulled together the first NHPI vaccine clinic in the Central Valley. They expected 10 people to show up; instead, they vaccinated over 250 that day - April 28, 2021. “We consider this CVPIA’s birthday,” Bernadine said. “What started as vaccine education and access quickly expanded into broader community support. It’s when our community saw us as ‘trusted messengers’ who understood how to reach our people and serve them.” Following the COVID vaccine drive, CVPIA developed a community needs assessment to hear directly from their communities on what they needed and wanted.   

Today, CVPIA has grown from a six-person volunteer project into an organization that serves, advocates for and uplifts NHPI communities in the Central Valley. The organization serves over 1,500 community members across 11 counties through three pillars: health, health equity and youth and young adult services, as well as a new elders group called Guiding Hands.   

CVPIA continues to expand and increase its outreach and efforts. “What excites me most is seeing our organization continue growing in ways that remain deeply community-centered. We’re building long-term infrastructure for NHPI communities in the Central Valley while investing in future leaders and remaining committed to ensuring our communities are seen and accurately represented in data, so they can receive the resources needed to thrive,” Bernadine said. “Ultimately, we are working toward stronger belonging and more informed, connected communities.”  

The organization’s recent advocacy efforts have been focused on monthly political teach-ins for its internal network. The sessions cover a variety of topics centered around issues affecting NHPI islands and local communities, including deep-sea mining, local elections and broader national advocacy lessons. A recent event that uplifted NHPI youth and families was the annual Central Valley Pacific Islander Emerging Leaders (CVPIEL) Conference. This year, the conference expanded its audience from high school students to young adults up to age 20 to provide guidance and leadership as youth enter adulthood. A hallmark of CVPIEL is its location on a college campus. “This helps NPHI college-aged students envision themselves in spaces where NHPI communities have historically been underrepresented, right here in the region we call home,” Bernadine said.  

CVPIA has several upcoming events focused on advocacy, college access and cultural connection for NHPI students and families. These events include: 

• The CVPIEL High School Conference held July 17–19 with registration closing July 1    

• Virtual bi-weekly Youth Ambassador meetings  

• Guiding Hands for Elders (55+)  

• Guam Liberation Day on August 1   

• Annual NHPI Community Gathering on November 7  

For more information, please email CVPIA at info@cvpia.org.  

People can support CVPIA by donating, volunteering, sharing the organization’s work and advocating alongside NHPI communities. “We also encourage people to learn more about the unique experiences and disparities facing NHPI communities, especially in regions like the Central Valley, where our communities are often underrepresented and under-resourced,” Bernadine said. “Building strong community partnerships and increasing visibility of our work and our communities makes a meaningful difference.” To learn more or to volunteer or donate to CVPIA, click here.