When you Fall in Laugh: How Standup Comedy Helped my Immigration Journey
MEETING FOR THE WEEK OF April 29, 2024
This Meeting at a Glance:
Program: When you Fall in Laugh: How Standup Comedy Helped my Immigration Journey
Speaker: Cathy Zhao
Is this your first time to visit us? If so, welcome to our weekly online meeting! To complete our meeting, please continue reading from here to the bottom of this page. Each Monday our week’s meeting is posted early in the morning, U.S. Pacific Time. These meetings are designed so that you can read and watch what we post anytime during the week. The entire meeting takes about 60 minutes to complete, with the video conference recording of the program being the bulk of the time. Note that you can easily read this meeting with your favorite device, so feel free to take our meeting on the go with you. Please also make sure to complete the attendance form at the bottom and leave a comment. Enjoy!
To properly attend this meeting, please:
Read and watch the content below in its entirety.
Complete the attendance survey.
Everyone is also encouraged to leave a comment in the Disqus section at the bottom of the page.
Message from our President
Greetings Members and Friends of Rotary e-Club of Silicon Valley. As President of our Club, I want to welcome you all today.
WEEKLY FUNNY WITH SHAGS
We believe laughter is an important part of life, and we should all make time to laugh a little. This segment of our meeting is meant to tickle you just enough. These funnies are curated by member Steven "Shags" Shagrin!
Do They Teach Geography Anymore?
Walking through the company breakroom one afternoon, I was impressed to see two new employees, recent high school graduates, reading the newspaper.
As I walked by their table, I heard one say, "It says here that Bruce Springsteen is traveling incognito. I wonder where that is?"
The other replied, "I think it's in Mexico."
INSPIRATION
One of the coolest pieces of Google's offerings is Arts & Culture.
If you haven't given it a look, check out this promo from several years back to get an idea of what it offers.
LEARN SOMETHING NEW
How About a Dogs v. Cats Obstacle Course?
Need I say more?
Club News
Members
We've made it to the Relay, and kudos to all those who helped with the Relay for Life '24 effort! More news soon!
Participants included:
members: Cal, Cecelia, Christopher, Elton, Felix, Kevin, Lisa, Maxi, Mike, Nick, Raj, Rory, Rushton, Sandy, Shags, Tatiana, Terri, Tzviatko
non-members: Alex, Edward, Elizabeth, Joanne, Maria Sol, Marina, Rico
…and next year, we'd like to have you be involved, too!
If you were involved and your name wasn't on the list, please let Rushton know, and he'll get that corrected.
You can still donate to the American Cancer Society through this link. Funds raised go toward research toward a cure, for educational programs for patients and caregivers, and support for those who provide transportation for patients.
President Nick traveled to San Jose to join the project! Our club supported the event by picking up the food from restaurants that donated the evening meal and also helped clean up at the end of the evening.
Rotary Fellowship
On Friday, April 26, a fun-loving group of Bay Area members gathered in San Jose to Welcome President Nick for the District Conference and Cancer Run for Life on Saturday. Apologies in advance for the small picture, which we hope to replace when available. All reports are that the evening was fun and bursting with Rotary fellowship.
The Rotary International Convention in Singapore is rapidly approaching. Several eCSV members will be attending. To help everyone arrange a meet-up, Cal & Rushton have requested that any members wanting to get together fill out this form. Let’s Get Together in Singapore.
Coffee With a Rotarian: Be part of our club’s fellowship and reach out to this month’s match for a CWR chat! If you did not receive an email, please let PE Mike know.
Remember, being a Rotarian means more than just being a member, being a Rotarian means you are willing to do Rotary work. Please volunteer! If interested in working on a club committee (Membership, Club Service, Programs, Foundation, Youth Service, Mini-Grants, Budget & Finance) please let President Nick or President-Elect Mike know ASAP!
TRF & Polio Plus
The Rotary Foundation is currently emphasizing Polio Eradication worldwide.
In addition to your regular contribution to TRF, you can also designate some of all to Polio Plus. You can donate by setting up a one-time or recurring payment to a credit or debit card here: https://my.rotary.org/en/rotary-direct
Is your latest information posted on our ClubRunner Members site at: https://portal.clubrunner.ca/8370/Page/ShowHomePage. After logging in, please be sure to access the MyClubRunner tab, and select My Profile. Please update your personal information here, which automatically updates our club directory.
Your Service Hours reporting will now take you directly to your ClubRunner Login and Entry for Volunteer Hours. From this point forward, your Service Hours will report to Rotary from ClubRunner.
TRF and EREY - There’s still time to consider your gift to Rotary for the annual TRF Fund and Polio Plus. There are several ways to give: outright payment (Check or Credit Card), monthly payments billed to your credit card, allocation to several funds, etc. Our TRF Chair, Phil Dean has already sent by email your pledge and methods for collecting. Have you returned your pledge? Our Club is striving to be designated as “Every Year, Every Rotarian”. Your gift matters, either a small amount or a large amount (that is up to you - we will never tell you how much to give). A portion of our Annual fundgiving will come back to us for our DDF usage.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK: 29 April
“This is a changing world: we must be prepared to change with it. The story of Rotary will have to be written again and again.”
Paul Harris
District 5170
Read the latest news from District 5170 - https://rotarydistrict5170.org
SERVICE REPORT
Tell us about the service you’ve done recently for the Club or in your community. Also, post here if you attended another Rotary Club meeting this week
Click here to post your Service Hours directly to ClubRunner
SERVICE PROJECT OPPORTUNITIES
For upcoming club projects in District 5170, check out the District 5170 website. Also, if you have some time available for projects, be sure to let your local area Rotary Club know that you are available to volunteer for their upcoming projects.
HAPPY DOLLARS: Do Good by Sharing Something Good
Each week we ask our members to share stories with the club and toss in a few dollars to support our efforts. The primary goal of this section is to provide a fun way of getting to know each fellow members and guests, while giving back to a good cause.
Happy dollars is an opportunity to share something positive that has happened in your life whether it is personal or business. Think of it as your opportunity to brag a little, but also put a little bit into a karma jar. The money donated through happy dollars is put to charitable use.
PROGRAM: When you Fall in Laugh: How Standup Comedy Helped my Immigration Journey
SPEAKER: Cathy Zhao
Every week we bring you a new program on innovation, entrepreneurship, and education, and how those contribute to service to others.
The Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley seeks to explore perspectives on service from across the world. The views of the speakers in our programs are their own, and unless stated otherwise, are not necessarily reflective of the views of our eClub or Rotary International.
If you have an idea for a cool speaker, please feel free to reach out to them directly or submit THIS FORM so our Program Committee can contact them!
Cathy Zhao is a stand-up comedian and a sit-down entrepreneur based in San Francisco. She's opened and hosted for Margaret Cho 4 times; Second Place in the First North America Standup Comedy Competition in Chinese Mandarin; performed at the Laugh Factory, SF Punchline, Cobb's, San Jose Improv, SF Comedy Day, Detroit Women Comedy Festival etc. She co-founded Laughitouthub.org, a 501(c)3 non-profit to empower the mental well-being of teenagers with humor in the format of standup comedy and improvisation.
Today, she will tell us about her personal journey. In 2018, Cathy took the comedy stage at Stanford University, sharing her experiences as an international student in a brief, five-minute set. To her surprise, the audience not only understood what she calls her heavily accented English, but also erupted in laughter. This marked the beginning of her journey as a stand-up comedian, taking her around the world for comedy gigs. Connecting with audience members who shared immigration backgrounds, she found resonance in addressing challenges faced by immigrants. Many approached her post-show, expressing gratitude for humorously highlighting the dismissive attitudes of some native English speakers, and this realization fueled her belief that humor is not only a cathartic release but also an empowering force for those on similar journeys—be it international students navigating language barriers, immigrant workers withholding ideas, or Asian women defying cultural stereotypes.
During the pandemic, Cathy and her best friend Bethany from Stanford founded Laugh It Out Hub, a non-profit providing comedy workshops to underprivileged teens and minority groups, aiming to enhance mental well-being. Collaborating with organizations like Boys and Girls Club, Palo Alto High School, Oasis for Girls, and more, they have made a positive impact.
Through her journey, she hopes to encourage you to find strength and expression through humor—because sometimes, laughter is the best way to navigate life's complexities.
Members and guests, please welcome Cathy Zhao!
To learn more about Cathy, go to:
Nonprofit: https://laughitouthub.org
Personal Website: https://www.cathyzhaolaugh.com/
Instagram: @cathyzbitch
To learn more about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley, go to:
Important Announcement - “Weekly Rotarian” Full Meeting Podcasts
Announcing: Our main program speakers are now available as audio podcasts in addition to YouTube videos! Each week they are available on Spotify, Google, and Apple podcasts.
Or you can simply click below for this week’s speaker:
And our original podcast, featuring Some of the best of our previous speakers is still available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts
UPCOMING PROGRAM RECORDING SCHEDULE
All of our guest speakers and programs are recorded live online over Zoom video conference. We welcome members and guests to join us in one of these upcoming recordings. Recordings are approximately 30 minutes long and are subject to change without notice.
Our online video conference room link for these recordings is always http://zoom.siliconvalleyrotary.com/. You are welcome to join us! Please note the timezone listed for all recordings is US Pacific Time (San Francisco, California, USA).
If you can’t join the live recording, please send your questions for an upcoming speaker to programs@siliconvalleyrotary.com.
THE ATTENDANCE SURVEY
Thanks for reading and watching this week’s meeting. You have two last things to do before you’re done.
We have a very short attendance survey below for you to fill out to record your attendance.
Visiting Rotarians, this is how you can get an email receipt to pass along to your club’s secretary as proof that you’ve attended our meeting if you need it for makeup.
Non-Rotarian Guests, we would love to see who is dropping by our meetings! This part is optional for you. If you think you may want to join our eClub at some point in the future, we would strongly recommend you fill out the attendance form as it will improve your chances of success for your membership application.
For all members and guests — we strongly recommend and ask that you leave a comment in our comments area below. Tell us how you enjoyed the program. Ask this week’s speaker any questions you might have. Or just stop by and say hello and tell us where you’re from!
Important: Once you submit the Attendance Survey below, please make sure you see the confirmation message. If you get an error message instead, please try the 'submit' button again, and if that doesn't work, please refresh the page and fill out the form again. Thanks!
