In 2020, the Coronavirus pandemic ravaged the world, killing millions of innocents and displacing many others. With the virus being both life-threatening and relentless in its spread, nobody is exempt from its impacts. From the lack of knowledge about virus prevention, to the fear of the grim statistics that are updated every day, from being at a loss, to knowing what to do, to being bored and exhausted, everyone is experiencing this catastrophe, and it has even caused increased discrimination against Asian Americans in the United States. This raises the question: what should Asian Americans do in the face of growing resentment and misunderstanding?

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      A group of Asian American high school students in the Atlanta area tried to interpret this problem with practical actions: creating a organization to help the community. Aegis for Schools (www.aegisforschools.org), an off-campus organization dedicated to support schools in our community, came into being at the most difficult moment of the 2020 epidemic. In order to make school life as safe as possible, the children used their pocket money—the money earned from part-time work, and the sponsorship of companies to purchase protective equipment such as masks and donate them to as many low-income communities as possible in order to help them return to school safely during the pandemic and meet their urgent needs.

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      With the continuation of the pandemic, more families have lost their source of income. At the same time, the reduction in taxation has also strained the budget of many public schools. These schools now hope to get more school supplies and resources to overcome the pandemic, which is why members of Aegis for Schools are actively planning new projects, hoping to purchase and collect necessary school supplies and books, and donate them to schools in low-income and hardest hit areas. In this most difficult time, these second-gen Asian American students did not back down or complain. The children have the courage, love, and responsibility to change society’s stereotypes of Asians. We hope that all children from the Asian American community will join this family and help pave the road for the most exciting chapter of the Asian Americans.