The Joy Culture Foundation Fosters Heritage for Asian American Families

As a new parent raising her daughters in the Bay Area, LuLu Roberts found herself far from her own large family in Taiwan where she grew up. She wondered how she was going to pass on her heritage and a sense of identity to her two young girls. They had never even heard her speak her native Mandarin.

“The first five years of being a mom, for me, was really tough,” Roberts says. She deeply missed her extended family who could share their experience and pass on their culture. “For me, and a lot of first-time moms who are immigrants, you just don’t have that and you feel very isolated and lonely.”

After finding few free language and cultural resources for young kids in the community, despite the large Asian population in the Bay Area, she had the idea for the Joy Culture Foundation, an educational space for families and children to support Chinese culture and literacy. The nonprofit opened its doors in 2022 with a lending library, play space, and classes like music, calligraphy, and yo-yo for young children and mentorship opportunities for older students. 

In its first year, membership exploded from 100 to 500, with people traveling from surrounding areas clamoring for their resources. Their community events, like an Asian American children’s author book event, are often fully registered within minutes.

“There is no rich resource like Joy Culture in the Bay Area,” says foundation member Ivy Sun. “I was able to be seen and be heard during the early years of motherhood… I love the idea my kid will be armed with support from the amazing community, along with thousands of books to take home for me to read to her and bond with her.”

Roberts sees how fostering cultural literacy creates confidence for Asian American children, who often face cultural identity crises as they grow up. It also creates connections within families to their heritage. 

The last few years have been especially difficult as hate and discrimination against the Asian community skyrocketed. Between 2020 and 2022, Stop AAPI Hate reported nearly 11,500 reports of hate incidents against Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) persons across the United States. 

“I think we can create a lot of good leaders in the community, who know how to give back, how to lead, who are comfortable with who they are. They don’t have to be ashamed. They don’t have to deny who they are or conform to a stereotype. They could have more by having more resources,” says Roberts.  

The Joy Culture Foundation aims to support diversity and become the hub of Chinese cultural resources, literacy, education, and empowerment throughout the Bay Area. Bringing Asian American families together and giving them the opportunity and the tools to connect with their culture and their community at large.