As Chair of the FCSN Parents Committee, Wei Li has been involved with the committee since its establishment in August 2022. Throughout its activity, the committee gathered some existing groups and approximately 100 members to form five special interest groups (SIG) dedicated towards business, housing, scouting, and supporting severe autism families.

The committee’s overall mission lies in connecting FCSN parents and families together, optimizing resource allocation, and supporting FCSN’s various programs, events, and clubs. Committee members hold virtual meetings on a monthly basis and discuss methods to raise awareness of its plans among FCSN members in the local community. 

Each SIG contributes towards expanding FCSN’s impact through specific roles and responsibilities. For example, the business SIG is dedicated towards generating job opportunities that employ special needs individuals in fields such as food business, farming, and landscaping. The two housing SIGs, in South Bay and East Bay respectively, discuss different housing options and opportunities.

According to Wei, the committee’s main challenge is member availability and participation. With regular jobs and child caretaking, parents have to balance personal obligations with committee tasks — something that requires strong commitment and engagement. Furthermore, while the organization holds many plans, implementation remains a challenge due to limited resources. For example, the business SIG faces the challenge of coming up with an independent business that could push towards full-time and consistent employment for FCSN clients while maintaining a profit. For housing SIGs, appreciation in Bay Area property value in recent years has restricted the scope of purchases for new housing facilities by parents. “From accounting for property interest to aligning with the committee’s goals, nothing is easy,” Wei said.

Regardless, the committee has already impacted the community through the SIGs by aligning them towards the common interest of supporting special needs individuals. Throughout its activities, the committee has collaborated with local non-profit organizations to spread its mission and expand its membership. Two members from the committee also recently won the Loving Heart Mother Award from the Chinese Culture Center of San Jose for their community contributions. On April 9, the committee organized its first quarterly family outing since the pandemic, with 60 family members attending the event. Since each SIG team and leaders regularly propose new ideas for the committee, Wei observes that in-person outings provide an optimal environment for discussion. “Aligning on a common goal is always a good first step,” Wei said.

The committee encourages change through contribution rather than suggestion, which involves unconditionally supporting fellow members with the mindset of benefiting the community as a whole. Wei particularly values and emphasizes excellent project management skills that formulate ideas into results. “The project management [we look for] lies in transforming good ideas into actual execution, and how we can follow through the execution, which is quite critical,” Wei said.

Moving forward, the committee seeks to further publicize SIGs in order to gather broader perspectives for the organization. The committee scheduled a July family outing event, where they will discuss plans to expand their five SIGs to 10 SIGs involving approximately 150 members. They also hope to encourage more members to attend quarterly outings and engage in board initiatives, such as actively participating in legislation activities.

Throughout her time as chair of the committee, Wei believes that parents are the best advocates of special needs individuals, since they know first-hand the strength and abilities of their children. Without hard work coming from the parents, FCSN clients cannot achieve their full potential. Wei remarked that SIGs not only provide excellent resources and support for FCSN families, but also allow the organization’s members and volunteers to play a crucial role in supporting and improving their community. “The fire only becomes warmer if more people collect firewood,” Wei said. “We all become a better and stronger person because of this mission, and feelings of joy come naturally having seen how we’ve made FCSN an even better community for our loved ones.”