
From left to right, ACRS staff Jerry Phommarath, Trang Tran, Yong Lim, Jim Oshie, Samnang Heng (back), Janet St. Clair, Jocelyn Lui. (Photo courtesy ACRS)
Asian Counseling and Referral Service celebrated its 40th anniversary with a gala called Celebrating Hope. In attendance were 550 guests, 90 volunteers and dozens of local performers, including lion dancers, Korean drummers and an Indian classical dance team. The evening, which included a silent auction, live auction and raffle, raised more than $260,000 for ACRS programs.Michelle Huynh, an ACRS client who is one year sober, also spoke of how the organization helped her through her struggle with substance abuse.

From left to right, Habib M. Habib, Sikina Habib, Itu Mohapatra, Gov. Jay Inslee, Meera Satpathy, Diane Narasaki, Debadutta Dash. (Photo courtesy ACRS)
“We are awestruck and humbled by the outpouring of support from our community members,” said ACRS development director Joyce Zhou. “Thanks to their amazing generosity, including an unprecedented $100,000 Raise the Paddle total, we can continue providing services that lead to inspirational stories like Michelle’s.” (end)