AAPI Heritage Month Virtual Volunteer Event 2026

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I loved participating in the AAPI Remote Volunteer Event. It was easy to follow, to complete and submit. I was able to learn more about the AAPI heritage month, some charities and causes.
_{Isabel Tobon, Pebl}

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One Hour. 68 Volunteers. A Living Resource for Kids.

On May 19, 2026, employees from more than 40 companies joined a free virtual volunteer opportunity to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month — and do something that will last.

They came from New York, Stuttgart, Manila, and Medellin. They showed up on their lunch breaks. And in one hour, they created nearly 100 historical fact sheets on Asian American and Pacific Islander figures — artists, activists, scientists, athletes, and leaders, past and present.

Those fact sheets are now in the hands of Mirror Image Arts, a youth development organization that uses creative expression and restorative theatre to empower young people. Hundreds, if not thousands, of students will read them, learn from them, and see themselves in them.

All of that happened in one hour.

By the Numbers

• 1 hour
• 2 nonprofit partners
• 44 companies
• 68 volunteers
• 100 fact sheets created

The Cause

Why AAPI History Matters in the Classroom

Asian American and Pacific Islander stories are often missing from school curricula. The figures who shaped science, culture, art, policy, and social justice — people like Yayoi Kusama, Jeremy Lin, Cecilia Chung, Maya Lin, Ang Lee, Ali Wong, and Peter Do — are rarely given a page of their own.

That gap has real consequences. Young AAPI students grow up without mirrors. Non-AAPI students grow up without windows.

Companies that celebrate AAPI Heritage Month at work — and connect that celebration to real action — close that gap. This event was proof of what that looks like in practice.

The Volunteers' Work

Each volunteer chose an AAPI figure they were excited to learn about. Some picked household names. Many chose lesser-known figures whose stories rarely get told. Every fact sheet included:

• Name and one-sentence description
• Dates and key milestones
• Three major accomplishments
• Three fun or surprising facts
• An inspiring quote

Volunteers researched their figures during the event and submitted their completed fact sheets directly to Percent Pledge, which will review and validate each one before delivering the full collection to Mirror Image Arts.

The Nonprofit Partners

Mirror Image Arts

Mirror Image Arts is a youth development organization that empowers young people through creative expression, identity development, and restorative theatre. They use the arts to help students process their experiences, build confidence, and develop a stronger sense of self. The AAPI fact sheets created at this event will join a growing library of cultural resources that Mirror Image Arts keeps in their program spaces for open reading and learning — a living resource that grows with every event.

This is the third time Percent Pledge volunteers have created fact sheets for Mirror Image Arts. The first was for AAPI Heritage Month two years ago. The second was for Black History Month in February 2025. Those earlier fact sheets are still in circulation.

APIAHiP

The Asian Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHiP) works to advance policy, programs, and research to improve the health of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. They were a featured nonprofit partner during the event, sharing their mission and the real-world impact of their work.

QARI — Quincy Asian Resources, Inc.

Founded in 2001 by immigrants, for immigrants, QARI strengthens the social, cultural, economic, and civic lives of immigrants and their families across Massachusetts and New York City. Their multilingual team provides workforce development, adult education, health and food access, and cultural programming. During the event, QARI shared their story directly with volunteers.

What Volunteers Said

• "I loved participating in the AAPI Remote Volunteer Event. It was easy to follow, to complete and submit. I was able to learn more about the AAPI heritage month, some charities and causes." — Isabel @ Pebl
• ‍"This was very fun. I learned a lot and think this is an amazing cause. Happy AAPI month everyone!" — Derrik @ New Relic
• ‍"Submitted mine on Ali Wong — thanks for the opportunity!" — Kim @ New Relic
• ‍"Submitted mine on Jeremy Lin, thanks y'all." — Sonny @ New Relic
• ‍"I just finished my fact sheet about award-winning Vietnamese-American designer Peter Do! I learned that he didn't move to the US until he was 14 — what a transition!" — Josh @ Mediaocean
• ‍"Thank you for this opportunity and for teaching me more about AAPI facts and resources!" — Danielle @ WorldStrides
• ‍"Thank you for this event!" — Leandra @ IAS
• ‍"Happy AAPI month to all!" — Kerri @ iRhythm

Who Was in the Room

Volunteers joined from across the globe — the United States, Canada, Germany, India, Colombia, and the Philippines — representing companies including:

New Relic, VF Corporation, Yahoo, Identity Digital, BioMarin, iRhythm, Hireology, Jam City, Airship, HootSuite, WorldStrides, Articulate, Pebl, AVX, Acadia Pharmaceuticals, Mediaocean, MessageGears, ApartmentList, US FinTech, Armis, ShareFile, and more.

How Companies Can Celebrate Heritage Months at Work

The most common question HR and People teams ask us: How do we celebrate cause holidays and heritage months in a way that feels real — not performative?

The answer isn't a Slack post or a newsletter link. It's giving employees something to do.

This event is a model for how to celebrate heritage months at work and celebrate AAPI Heritage Month at work specifically. It checks every box:

• Meaningful. The output goes directly to kids who will benefit from it for years.
• Accessible. It's a remote volunteer opportunity. Anyone with a laptop can participate.
• Low-lift. No internal coordination required. Percent Pledge handles everything.
• Inclusive. It's designed for ERGs, employee resource groups, remote teams, and company-wide participation alike.
• Trackable. Every participant's hour is logged and reported back to your team.

Employee resource groups in particular have found these events to be a ready-made way to celebrate cause holidays at work with substance — not just awareness.

About This Event Series

This event is part of Percent Pledge's Community Volunteer Events — monthly virtual volunteer opportunities open to teams of any size. Each event is tied to a Heritage Month or cause holiday, lasts one hour, requires zero planning from your team, and produces a measurable impact report.

They're built for the realities of today's workforce: remote employees, distributed teams, and ERGs that want meaningful programming without adding to an already-stretched HR team's plate.

Previous events have brought together volunteers to:

• Review resumes for justice-impacted Black entrepreneurs (Black History Month)
• Support women in STEM through scientific research (Women's History Month)
• Classify wildlife to support environmental research (Earth Day)

Upcoming events include Pride Month (June 23), Disability Pride Month (July 15), and Back to School (August).

About Percent Pledge

Percent Pledge is an employee engagement platform built for corporate giving and volunteering. Our volunteer management software centralizes everything — VTO tracking, Dollars for Doers, volunteer hours reporting, and full-service event planning — in one place.

We've planned 1,000+ corporate volunteer events across 50+ global markets, and we run monthly Community Volunteer Events that are free to attend and open to all.

If you're looking to build or improve your employee engagement programs — whether that means better volunteer management, higher participation, or more meaningful ways to celebrate cause holidays and heritage months — we'd love to show you what that looks like.

Want to Bring Your Team to the Next One?

These events are free to attend and open to all. If you want to bring your whole team — or build a full employee engagement program around giving and volunteering — we'd love to talk.

Request a Demo

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