Tiffany Rogers' Fundraiser:

It’s my birthday! Help bring the positivity back to this day, June 7th, by celebrating my birth mother and me. The best gift that you could give is to donate to the New York Asian Women’s Center (NYAWC) – to benefit our sexual assault program.

Two years ago, while adventuring and rooting around South Korea for – well, roots (i.e. my birth family), I learned that I was born from a rape, or more politely stated to me as, a “forced relationship.” After believing that my parents were misguided teens who did not know about birth control, a whole new, ugly story barged its way into my personal history. I was not born out of love, even hasty, teenage romance, but conceived from an act of violence.

My healing process started with the recognition that I was not as disempowered or belittled by the circumstances surrounding my birth as I let myself believe. (In yoga, the stories we tell ourselves are aptly named, the “monkey mind.”). I am born from an act of violence, yes, but how I was conceived has yet to limit me. I am loved and love my “family” (none of with whom I share blood). In fact, learning about the adversity my mother, and vicariously, I faced in the beginning of my life, led me to NYAWC where I now work every day to bring about an end to violence against women -- to break the silence, empower and celebrate all of our tenacious and beautiful survivors.

Your generous gift will celebrate my life, honor my birth mother and provide essential services and resources for survivors of sexual assault -- to heal, to celebrate their lives and to be empowered to live free from the threat of violence.