Next Week is the Primary

For those of us who have been on vacation or engrossed in the Beijing Olympics, you may have missed the fact that the Washington State primary election has been moved up to August 19 this year. In fact, absentee ballots have already gone out and people are starting their voting by mail.

(Don't know why this picture isn't showing up,
but click on it and you can still see the original.)

In keeping with CISC's mission to empower all our community members to succeed in their new community, and to encourage civic engagement on all fronts, we want to make sure that everyone knows that there is voting assistance available for those who need it.

Information is available in Chinese on the King County Elections web site. CISC staff can also help with in person assistance for those who need it, although they cannot and do not recommend or endorse any particular position or candidate.

Remember, this year we are moving to the Top 2 Primary in which you need not declare a party affiliation in order to vote. Just get out there and cast your ballot!

Civic Engagement in the APIA Community

In this election year, CISC has been working with Raising our Asian Pacific American Representation (ROAR), OneAmerica, and the Minority Executive Directors Coalition (MEDC) to encourage all members of our community to educate themselves, register to vote, and make their voices heard.
We are happy to announce the opening of a special exhibit sponosored another community partner, the Wing Luke Asian Museum. Our Voice… Our Democracy: Civic Engagement in the Asian Pacific Islander American Community opens August 20 and runs through January 18, 2009.

This exhibition examines voting and civic engagement in the Asian Pacific Islander American community and promotes dialogue around the question, “What does it mean to be actively engaged in our democracy?”

Come check it out and see the museum’s new multi-million dollar space at 719 S King!

Nutrition Workshops

The International Family Center - Seattle recently concluded a series of nutrition workshops covering healthy eating habits, making economical and healthy meals on a budget, learning about the food pyramid, and how to read nutrition facts on labels.

Some of the dishes participants made included cold noodles, crunchy frozen bananas, and healthy, kid-friendly snacks. All participants received a certificate of completion at the end of the course and went home ready to help their families live better and healthier lives.

Idealist.org

Internships at CISC. That's what Idealist.org is promoting (as well as 2,000 other positions at community based nonprofits).

CISC is a great place to volunteer, learn about community service, or explore career opportunities in the nonprofit sector. For a current listing of volunteer opportunities at CISC, check out our Volunteer page.

Idealist.org is a great place to explore misconceptions about working in the nonprofit world, and explore reasons for choosing a career outside corporate America. More information on their web site at www.idealist.org!

Summertime

Last week CISC had its annual agency picnic at Newcastle Beach Park in Bellevue. A tradition on the last Friday in July, we closed our doors early, assembled CISC staff and family and had an old fashioned picnic with food, games and lots of fun.

It was a beautiful day at the beach for swimming, sunning, and playing in the sand. Playing Telephone with folks who speak Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Spanish and English was a hoot! As was the Memory Game which didn't require any words at all.

Hula hoop contests, tug-of-war, and good old fashioned gunny sack races were a blast from the past, and likely the source of more than one sore muscle back in the office on Monday!

New Immigrant Orientation

CISC hosted a new immigrant orientation for Seattle area newcomers on Monday. About a dozen folks participated; most had never been to CISC before.

They covered a lot of areas in the 5 hour session (which included a delicious lunch!), learning about employment in the US, childcare resources, the welfare and education systems, and entertainment in Seattle.

A representative from Denise Louie Education Center explained how to complete the application for childcare subsidies. One mother was so grateful for this help as she had been desperately trying to figure out what to do with her newborn so she could go back to work.

Stewarding our Planet

Last week, middle and high school students in our summer youth program spent an afternoon restoring the natural beauty of Dr. Jose Rizal Park on Beacon Hill.








In a service project led by Earthcorps, the youth learned about Seattle’s urban forests, environmental restoration, tool use and safety.

From laying woodchips to rooting out invasive blackberry bushes, our youth worked hard though the heat and impressed both Earthcorps and CISC staff with their positive attitudes!

Summer Festival

Once again, Sunshine Garden seniors kicked off the annual Chinatown/ID Summer Festival with performances on the main dragon stage in Hing Hay Park. They performed sword tai chi, 9 moves of fall prevention tai chi, Cantonese opera, and traditional Chinese songs on 琵琶， 二胡，violin, and alto sax(!?)



There's still time to get down there and join the fun. Lots of activities for kids (including a 3 story high giant slide), shopping for grown ups, and food, food, food! Tonight till 8:00, and Sunday from 11:00 to 6:00.

Chinese Kidneys

Bet that got your attention, huh? This is kind of old news, but the Northwest Kidney Centers just came out with their newsletter, Output, talking about National Kidney Month (in March) and the work they did here at CISC (see page 2).

Over 40 seniors attended a workshop on kidney health and information at the International Family Center-Seattle. Did you know that both Asian Pacific Americans and older adults are at increased risk for kidney disease? And many people with kidney disease don't even know they have it.

Find out if you are at risk but taking this quiz. To learn more about how your kidney works, check out this animated tutorial. By the way, that's Gov. Gregoire meeting with Sidney the Kidney up there...

ID Summer Festival

Once again, it is time for the annual International District Summer Festival - this weekend, July 12 & 13.

Sunshine Garden seniors will be kicking off this Seafair celebration with a performance on Saturday, 11:00 am on the main stage in Hing Hay Park.

Enjoy two full days of entertainment, food, community information, and fun. Enter the 6th annual Karaoke Idol contest and win great prizes!

Come out and support our seniors and marvel at their mental stamina and physical prowess! For a full schedule, click here.

Eastside Cultural Navigator Program in the News

Wednesday's edition of EastsideBusiness featured an article on the Eastside Cultural Navigator Program.

In it, they described how limited and even not-so-limited English speaking immigrants on the Eastside can now get assistance for themselves and their families in Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish, Russian, and the languages of India.

CISC is the lead agency for this project and we have been happy to work with the Family Resource Center in Redmond, Bellevue Mini City Hall at Crossroads, the Indian Association of Western Washington, local governments, and other providers to finally begin to address the needs of Eastside immigrants.

Come and drop by one of the sites soon and see what we have to offer!

Phone Scam

Beware! There is a new scam going on targeting Chinese communities around the world. Mandarin speaking telemarketers tell victims they have won a cash prize. But first, they have to wire money to cover "insurance and processing fees."

CISC is working with some of the local victims through its Crime Victims Program. If you or someone you know has been a victim of crime, please report it immediately. And remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Happy 4th!

Wednesday, North Bellevue seniors celebrated Independence Day with singing, snacks, and smiles.

They learned about US history, talked about what it means to be American, and enjoyed a rousing round of bingo.

The Chinese seniors performed 2 songs in Chinese for the other program participants, then led the entire group in a rousing rendition of God Bless America. For many of our seniors, this was their first introduction to this most important of American holidays!

IFC-Seattle Rummage Sale

This Saturday, the International Family Center-Seattle held it's first (annual?) rummage sale to raise money for the program, and to give low income families a chance to pick up some great deals.

Over 100 people streamed through the center between 10:00 and 4:00 and sorted through children's clothing, toys, household items, and much, much more.

Everyone, including staff, had a great time hunting for treasures, and over $500 was raised to support activities for Chinese and Vietnamese families!

City of Bellevue

CISC has made it to the City of Bellevue's web site!
As part of its efforts to make local government more accessible and welcoming to our immigrant neighbors, the city has translated several of its web pages into Chinese. There is a wealth of information and resources for Chinese residents, who now comprise about 8% of the city population.

Many of the topics refer people to the Bellevue Mini City Hall in Crossroads Mall where we have cultural navigators stationed to serve the Chinese, Spanish and Russian speaking communities. Keep up the good work!

To access the main page, click here.

Sound Steps

Summer officially started on June 20 (though you really couldn't tell around here) and with it started the Kirkland Senior Center's Sound Steps program.

Started in 2003 to encourage seniors to make a commitment to physical activity and fitness, CISC seniors participate each week by walking around downtown Kirkland and Lake Washington.

With encouragement and support from other seniors, even those who thought they could never walk a mile are happily enjoying the exercise and fresh air each week and getting to know their community a little better.

So if they can do it, you should too! Get up and walk for fitness!

Class of 2021

This week, CISC’s Step Ahead Program graduated its second class of preschoolers with great pomp and circumstance – well, they got certificates, anyway.

Eight students completed the year of bilingual Mandarin/English preschool fully prepared for kindergarten.

Starting in September, many of them spoke no English at all but progressed through the year learning all the skills essential for success in school.

Physical health, well-being and motor development; social and emotional development; approaches toward learning; cognition and general knowledge; and language and communication are the five areas of focus of school readiness for this program.

Parents, caregivers and siblings attended the graduation ceremony where students sang a song in Chinese, performed a skit in English, and impressed family and friends alike with their knowledge and maturity.

Way to go class of 2021!

36th Annual Friendship Dinner

Last Saturday's Friendship Dinner and Auction was a huge success. Held at the Grand Hyatt Seattle, we had nearly 400 guests in attendance for this fun event.

This year's focus was on CISC's early learning programs - parent and caregiver classes and training, a bilingual English/Mandarin pre-K program, and informal play and learn groups all around the county, serving Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish, Hmong, and South Asian families.

Despite these difficult times, people were very generous, donating over $45,000 to help children succeed in school, and their parents get the skills then need to support them at home. In addition, the live and silent auctions raised significant sums for the ongoing operations of CISC.

The lucky winner of the raffle prize ($1,300 in cash) was Lillian Anderson, owner of Massage Envy. She generously donated her prize back to CISC to support the work we do in the community. Thank you Lillian!

Everyone said the food was excellent (jumbo crab cake starter, salad of spring greens, herb crusted chicken with orzo, and a heavenly espresso crème brûlée with chocolate dipped shortbread for dessert. Yum!

A big thanks to all our corporate sponsors who underwrote this event so that all monies rasied at the event could go directly to CISC programs and activities!