About the Foundation

On June 25 2015, we lost our beloved son, Calvin Jia-Xin Li, to a tragic automobile accident in which he was a passenger. It was less than two months since he celebrated his 18th birthday. To honor his life, we create this Foundation in his name, to advance the causes we believe he deeply cared about.

Calvin was an ambitious and bright young man. He was full of hope and expectations for the life ahead. He loved sports, and had many friends. But as an Asian boy growing up in America, he had to confront many social biases and prejudice. But he refused to conform to the stereotypical perceptions, and strive to define his own identity. Football was his passion. To him, football was not just a game. It was his way of proving who he was, and showing that he was just as American as everybody else around him. He fought his battle silently, and often alone, with not much help from us, his parents, because we did not understand his struggle and appreciate his efforts.

Calvin was not alone in this struggle. Many Asian American children, particularly boys, face the same challenges every single day. Even though they are born here, in many ways they are still viewed as aliens. They live and grow up in this country they love as their own, but they are often treated as foreigners. They yearn to be accepted, and often have to make extra efforts to prove that they are American. Sometimes they have self-doubt about their own identity, who they are, and where they belong. Their parents, being immigrants, do not understand the kind of stress and challenges they feel every day. The parents’ high expectation and strict discipline only adds to their stress and can have traumatic effect on their emotional well-being.

The purpose of this Foundation is to provide support for their strive for equal treatment, social acceptance, parental understanding, and the realization of their full potential.

Click here for the Chinese version of the About Page.

请点击这里看中文介绍。