| Meeting the Moment at UN Day ’25 |
It was a joy to gather with our UNA-USA Pasadena community at our UN Day celebration in early November. UNA-USA chapters around the country celebrated UN Day 2025 with the theme Meeting the Moment: Building Our Future Together. In a moving conversation with Ann Diedrich, our guest of honor, Arn Chorn-Pond, discussed how he is building the future by sharing his experiences and perspectives on the Cambodian genocide and the significance of music. Arn emphasized the importance of empowering young people to meet the moment and advocating for a just future. Arn Chorn-Pond and Ann Diederich in conversation. |
| Performances by Paul Livingston, Board member Danny Peterson, and Antoinette Peterson beautifully honored the resilience of our community after a challenging year and presentations by other San Gabriel Valley leaders met the moment! |
| Attendees also enjoyed food catered by Chef Heidi Alsangak, a partner of the Tiyya Foundation, and heard from her about her experience bringing Sudanese cuisine to the United States. Other participating organizations and individuals that shared their stories included Magrit Polak from Anne Frank LA, Paul Livingstone from Soul Force Project, Danny Petersen from Drumming 4 Peace & Healing, and Nancy Annick from American Women for International Understanding (AWIU), Elias Matar from Lighthouse Peace Initiative, and Bryan Takeda from Hitari-no-Sato and the Kansha Project. |
 Magrit Polak from Anne Frank LA presenting. |
| The UNA Pasadena also honored the winners of our annual UN Day Video Challenge, all of whom were local high school students who produced videos showcasing their work in nonprofits. Honorees were awarded $500 to donate to a nonprofit of their choice. Honorees were NoteAble, Partnership for Success Mentor Club, and Glean On Me. NoteAble, a nonprofit founded by Lauren Poplock, shows the value of bringing music therapy and education to youth on the spectrum. With NoteAble, Lauren has worked with Ability First and Westmoreland to demonstrate and introduce a variety of instruments to children. The Partnership for Success (PFS) Mentor Club, led by Jack Leichter, Olivia Dabiri, and Robert Panossian, supports Partnership for Success, a Pasadena nonprofit that supports partnerships between the Pasadena Unified School District and local independent schools. Through these partnerships, PFS increases access to unique educational opportunities over the summer and mentors students throughout their academic careers. Glean On Me, founded by Apollo Wong, is a community fruit-picking project that aims to combat hunger and decrease food waste in our community by picking and distributing unwanted fruit from local participating areas. All three organizations recognized as Video Challenge awardees used UN Sustainable Development Goals to respond to the moment in their communities. |
 Lauren Poplock from NoteAble and Ann Diederich. |  Students from the PFS Mentor Club and Ann Diederich. |
