In addition to serving the academic and social needs of UC Berkeley students, the Asian Business Association is committed to improving its community. We demonstrate our commitment to community service by providing free tax services to low-income families and by donating thousands of dollars to charity each year.

In the fall semester, the ABA Community Service chairs and their committee coordinate one of the largest events of the year: our Annual Charity Fashion Show. Now in its 12th year, the ABA Fashion Show is a creative combination of a fashion show accompanied by Berkeley musical and dance performances. In previous years, over 400 students have attended the event and nearly 100 ABA members have invested over 1000 hours of work to make the show a great success.

The fashion show raises over $2500 for charity every year. We have donated to charities such as the Center for Independent Living and A Safe Place that help those with a disability and those affected by domestic violence. If you would like more information about the charities we have worked with, please visit the links below.

Each spring, ABA organizes its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Partnering with the Internal Revenue Service, the VITA program trains and certifies over a hundred student volunteers each tax season to file state and federal income taxes. For 20 years now, ABA has provided on-site tax services to hundreds of low-income families in Oakland Chinatown. Many of these families are unable to prepare their own income taxes due to a language barrier and financial constraint. Our volunteers are able to help them overcome this language barrier, as a majority of them are fluent in either Cantonese or Mandarin.

Through our Annual Charity Fashion Show and VITA, we hope to continue to give back to our community year after year. For more information about our community service projects, please email our Community Service chairs, Katie Mui and Eric Wong, at katie.mui@gmail.com or ericwong4@berkeley.edu.