Celebrating 15 years of PAACH with patches

This coming fall, the Pan-Asian American Community House will celebrate 15 years at Penn in a unique way.

What started as a simple idea to decorate the group's space in the ARCH building became a project spanning generations of PAACH students and alumni. "Patch for PAACH" encourages members, alumni and staff at PAACH to create individual patches to add to one unified quilt.

All participants bring a patch of fabric that represent their home and culture. “It can be literally anything from T-shirt fabric to an ethnic design,” College sophomore Michael Karam — one of the organizers of the event — said. “My patch is a crocheted coaster with a tea stain. It represents home because it is customary in Lebanon to drink a lot of tea.”

“My patch is a piece of fabric that I bought at a flea market in Oakland,” College junior Dyana So — another event organizer — said. “My patch doesn’t really have a story, but Oakland is like a home away from home for me.”

The organizers will be sending pre-stamped envelopes to alumni, encouraging them to take part in the event by sending in patches of fabric that are significant to them. Throughout March and April, PAACH students will work on piecing the quilt together with the help of local artist Kathryn Sclavi.

Upon completion, the quilt will represent the cultural diversity of PAACH members and alumni who contribute patches. The background fabric of the quilt — which will be revealed on Friday — represents Asia and the Pacific Islands as a whole, just as PAACH does. Students will be able to meet the artist at the event in ARCH.

The quilt will debut in its entirety on Nov. 7 at a celebratory banquet. Nov. 11 will mark the exact date of PAACH’s 15-year anniversary.

"We won't know the final result of the quilt until it's finished," So said, "and that's the exciting part."

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