Message from the CEO: Welcoming the Year of the Horse: Moving Forward Together

Dear ACRS Community,

There’s a particular energy in Seattle right now. Our city is still riding the high of the Seahawks’ Super Bowl victory, and that collective joy reminded me why gathering matters.

This week, we carry that spirit into something deeper. Lunar New Year begins February 17, welcoming the Year of the Horse. Whether you celebrate Chūnjié, Tết, Seollal, Losar, or Tsagaan Sar, this is a season of reunion and renewal, when we are invited to remember where we come from and who we carry with us.

The Horse represents momentum and resilience – and those aren’t abstractions at ACRS. We see them lived by community members every day. The parents navigating their new country’s systems for their children. An elder eating a warm meal that tastes like home. The neighbors checking in on each other when the news gets heavy. A young person sharing their story and moving a State Senator to tears during Legislative Day. The staff who show up every day – at our food bank, in our behavioral health programs, and at our front doors – making sure every person who walks in experiences the respect and care they deserve, regardless of what they face outside.

This year demands that momentum. Immigrant and refugee families are facing real uncertainty, and the communities ACRS serves need us to be steady. So, as we welcome the new year, I’m asking each of us – staff, partners, and community members – to do what we’ve always done: show up for each other. Share a meal. Tell us what your community needs. ACRS belongs to all of us who care for it together, and this year, we’ll continue moving forward, together.

Gong Xi Fa Cai · Chúc Mừng Năm Mới · 새해 복 많이 받으세요

In community,

Kendee Yamaguchi
Chief Executive Officer
Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS)

Start the New Year with impact! If you’d like to support ACRS this Lunar New Year, we welcome your gift. Donate here.