Celebrating one year since SOAR’s inception
As we celebrate one incredible year since our inception, we find ourselves humbled, energized, and so proud of the organization we have built so far.
Nearly one year ago, we brought together leaders from across the country to share their strengths, challenges, and vision for the future. A year later, those dreams are taking shape at SOAR, and our community has blossomed into a place of belonging, connection, and care.
Together, and with your support, we are growing our collective power to fight against violence and oppression, and fight for joy, healing, and justice. We are thrilled to have you along on this journey.
As we move into our first official year, we are excited to share some of our proudest moments and our vision for what's to come. Read on & enjoy!
Building a national movement at SOAR
Expanding our team
Our tiny, but mighty, flock of six co-founders grew as we brought on our founding Executive Director and four brilliant new Board members. Learn more about our Board Members here!
Growing our capacity
SOAR’s network of frontline organizations and providers grew from 5 to 30 organizations, with over 100 individual members across 15 states. Together, we have been building our community through monthly member meetings, resource exchanges, and healing and solidarity circles. Each day, we learn from each other to strengthen our collective capacity to meet survivors' needs.
“Creating awareness, sharing resources, and building sustainably through coalition work are all my dreams for a collective like SOAR, wherein my individuality shines and my experiences help create more understanding of our work together.“
- SOAR Member
Building our movement
We partnered with the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence (API-GBV) to conduct a preliminary needs assessment with our member organizations. At the end of this year, we will be sharing our findings in a groundbreaking report on the state of the anti-violence and gender justice field.
Unifying our voice
SOAR began its national advocacy efforts by representing our member organizations on a congressional briefing panel, co-organized by South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) and Justice For Muslims Collective (JMC). On the 20th anniversary of 9/11, SOAR shared the devastating impact of 9/11 on South Asian survivors and their families, along with a vision for change in the next 20 years.
We invite you to join us in building survivor and collective power.
To support our work, you can make a donation here.
As we begin our journey, we are forming a founding circle of donors to be our close thought partners and collaborators. If you'd like to learn more, please email us at hello@southasiansoar.org.