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Mixed-heritage kids fit in at unique camp
by Kamika Dunlap, Oakland Tribune, August 6, 2006

Attending the Fusion program this summer helped Shamani Anongchanya finally find a place where she fit in.

It was the first time in a setting where she was not picked on by other kids and felt proud of her mixed heritage.

"I used to feel different before I came here (to camp)," said 8-year-old Anongchanya of Marina. "But now I feel better and more confident and happy."

Summer camp offerings let kids explore cultures a world away
by Vanessa Hua, San Francisco Chronicle, July 22, 2006

Fusion Program Summer Day Camp in Oakland, which starts Monday, is geared toward children of mixed heritage and children who are not the same race as their adoptive parents.

"They have to face questions about identity from an early age," said Joemy Ito-Gates, a half-Japanese, half-white founder of the program.

In Living Color
by Kathleen Richards, East Bay Express, May 25, 2006

Summer is fast approaching. For many kids, that means having your parents ship you off to some godforsaken patch of woods to mingle with kids you don’t know who threaten to put toothpaste on your face if you doze off first. But Joemy Ito-Gates, 25, has a different idea of camp in mind. As a mixed-race, transracial adoptee, she longed for a safe and fun place where she could explore her multi-ethnic identity as a Japanese American. Fusion, the camp she recently founded, will give Bay Area kids the opportunity to do just that. The day camp for seven-to-ten-year-olds, now in its second year, takes place from July 24 to August 4 at Redwood Day School in Oakland.

Coast-to-coast Mix RV tour an interracial celebration
by Jason B. Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle, April 7, 2005

The activities at S.F. State include a bone marrow drive and discussion groups. Only 2 percent of those who list their ancestry with the National Marrow Donor Program are multiracial. The Bay Area stop was organized by Variations, the college's multiracial student group, and the Fusion program, a summer program for mixed youth.

Published Articles

Talking to Young Children about Race and Racism
by Joemy Ito-Gates & Wei Ming Dariotis, PhD

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