Summer Youth Program

This summer has been busy for the kids and staff of CISC's Summer Youth Program.


Field trips around town, like the Images of China puppet show at the ID/Chinatown Community Center.






Activities like bookmaking with the Seattle Center for book arts.

National Night Out

Last night, CISC took part with the Seattle Police Department and other community groups in the 26th annual National Night Out.

Each year, neighbors across the country come out to prevent crime and drugs in their community. This year was no exception as dozens of Chinatown/International District residents participated in the event.

Organizations like CISC worked to

1. heighten crime and drug prevention awareness,
2. generate support for, and participation in, local anticrime programs,
   
3. strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships, and
4. send a message to criminals letting them know that Chinatown/ID is organized and fighting back!

HBS

It's been a couple of weeks since Executive Director Alaric Bien returned from an intensive, educational, thought-provoking week at the Harvard Business School's Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management program. (what a mouthful!)

Now, it's time to get down to work and figure our what it all means for CISC!

• What does CISC's value chain look like?
  
• How do our programs fit into that framework?
  
• What is our strategy platform?
• How do we accurately evaluate our efforts throughout the organization?
• Where do we need additional capacity or support to reach our mission?
  
• Do we really need to revisit our mission statement... again?!

These are just some of the questions the board and staff will be pondering over the next several weeks. The end result will be a more organized strategy for achieving our goals, and adding value to our community in whatever form it takes.

Heavy thoughts. But if you would like to participate in this process, just let us know! More, different, and new perspectives are always useful and welcomed!

Long-term Care Resource Fair

CISC held a long-term care resource fair for family caregivers last month at the Crossroads Community Center in Bellevue.

Participants attended workshops on long-term care insurance plans and various options for long term care in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.






There were also information booths featuring health care equipment, adult family homes and more.

hot, Hot, HOT!

In order to provide some relief to our seniors, Sunshine Garden Senior Day Care Center will remain open an extra 2 hours each day, until 5:00 pm for the remainder of this week.

It is now up to 100 degrees here in Seattle, with a high of 101-105 predicted. Lows tonight in the low 70's, and another hot day tomorrow.

King County has opened several cooling centers as has the City of Seattle.

Let's all watch out for our neighbors and don't forget to drink plenty of liquids!

Candidates Forum

Saturday, the Seattle Chinese Times, CISC and other community groups came together to hold the first Chinatown candidates forum in Chinese for this election cycle.

Candidates for Seattle mayor, King County executive, and Port of Seattle Commissioner seats 3 & 4 had the opportunity to present their views, while community members had a chance to air their concerns to the candidates.

Over 100 people attended this three hour event on one of the most beautiful days in Seattle this summer. This is a testament to the need for language access in voter education events so that all our community members can make informed, competent decisions.

Ants in Your Pants

Got ants in your pants? Fleas on your knees? Well, award winning children's singer and songwriter Nancy Stewart and a lot of our young friends do!



Yesterday, the International Family Center-Seattle and Seattle Public Library hosted an afternoon concert featuring fun, songs, and creepy crawly Bee Boppin' Bugs.

This is part of their summer reading program to encourage all kids (and adults) to get out there and read!

EastsideHelps

Eastsiders! Need help? Want to give help?

Check out the new EastsideHelps website. The Eastside Human Services Forum, of which CISC is a part, built upon an idea that started in Kirkland to put all this information into one easy to use place.

The Seattle Times calls it "a clear, simple way to find help, or to give it."

Pandemic Preparedness

This just out from the Center for Infectious Disease Research and & Policy at the University of Minnesota: Promising Practices for Pandemic Planning.

Featured is CISC and our experience with personal and community preparedness. We are happy to share our experience and learnings with other community based organizations so that we can all be ready when the next outbreak of swine flu/SARS/bird flu or whatever it may be hits.

Are you prepared? Academic types, click here. The rest of us might find this website useful.

Lion Dancing through Chinatown

Sunday, Mak Fai's Kung Fu Club performed 5 hours of lion dances at 50 businesses throughout Chinatown/ID. They helped raise over $4,000 for CISC programs.



Volunteers and staff also helped spread the word about the 2010 Census, passing out t-shirts and chopsticks and telling people about the importance of being counted.

A big thanks to all for a job well done!

Line Dancing at CISC

One of the more popular activities at the International Family Center-Seattle is the Line (not Lion) Dancing group. A fun way to get together, make new friends, and get some exercise at the same time!

For both men and women, this class has been shown to increase heart rate, decrease depression and take years off your figure!

Next session starts July 11. Only $24 for 12 weeks!

Contact Mabel Kwong at mabelk@cisc-seattle.org to register.

Seattle Public Utilities

As part of its effort to educate the community on changes to the recycling program, staff from the Seattle Public Utilities department came out to the International Family Center-Seattle to explain what can and cannot put into the recycle bin.






They've also created videos in various languages for those with web access.

Click on these links for Mandarin, Cantonese, and Vietnamese.

Medication Safety

Last week, Annie Lam, Director of the University of Washington Pharmacy Residency Program and 6 of her residents came to the International Family Center-Seattle to do a hands on presentation on medication safety.

Clients brought their medications while residents explained their side effects, possible interactions, and other safety issues in Cantonese, Mandarin and Taiwanese.

They also helped clients set up record keeping systems to track all their medications, when they are supposed to be taken, and if they were taken or not.

Museum of Glass

Thursday, 22 members of Sunshine Garden took a field trip to Tacoma to visit the Museum of Glass.

Seniors enjoyed exhibits on Contrasts, 20th and 21st century works, Cappy Thompson's Gathering the Light, and the legendary Chihuly Bridge of Glass.



But perhaps the most exciting part of the day was taking the Sounder train and experiencing the feel of mass transportation in all its diesel glory.

Thanks to all our volunteer chaperons who made this trip possible!

Stress Reduction part 2

Last month, we talked about our Stress Reduction Workshops for family caregivers. As part of our ongoing efforts to support caregivers, we held workshops in Bellevue and Seattle on basic self-hypnosis techniques.


Dr. Yvonne Kuan presented at this highly interactive session, after which nearly all of the participants left feeling totally refreshed.

The workshop has also been stored digitally and caregivers, especially those who are homebound, can request copy and watch it at home.

Who couldn't do with a little less stress?

Coconut Pudding

In our ongoing cooking class headed by French trained chef Christine Ho, this month our seniors learned how to make coconut pudding.

OK. So it doesn't sound so good, but it tasted wonderful and had a cake like texture. If you want the recipe, you'll just have to come to Sunshine Garden next month and ask Christine!



2nd Tuesday of the month, 1:00-2:00 pm.

Friendship Dinner Photos

At last! Photos from the 2009 Friendship Dinner & Auction. Do you see anyone you know?



CISC friends and supporters raised nearly $150,000 for programs that help immigrants and their families reach their dreams. Way to go!

A Learning Resource

Yesterday, we welcomed two new interns from Hong Kong University's School of Social Work who will be with us over the summer getting practical experience and learning about social work in the United States, particularly in the Chinese community.

Ronald Ho and Audrey Ip will be able to see first hand how CISC works through its bilingual and bicultural social workers to help immigrants and their families integrate into their new community.

Whether its providing services to keep seniors healthy and active, helping families navigate the American educational system, or connecting Latino residents on the Eastside to basic services, these learning opportunities will surely make a long lasting and positive impact on the next generation of social service providers.

Dragon Boat Festival

May 28 was Dragon Boat Festival day 端午節 and over 120 seniors, both Chinese and non, celebrated at the North Bellevue Community Center.

Participants enjoyed singing, raffle prizes and a rice dumpling 粽子 wrapping contest. Legend has it that after the exiled poet and statesman Qu Yuan 屈原 killed himself by drowning in the Miluo River 汨羅江, the local people, who admired him, threw food into the river to feed the fish so that they (the fish) would not eat his body - hence the origin of rice dumplings.

They also raced out in boats to retrieve the body, beating on drums to scare the fish all the while. This tradition continues on today with our annual dragon boat races.

The seniors all enjoyed this celebration, some commenting that they had not had a chance to celebrate in over 10 years. And now they can share this tradition with their new American friends and neighbors!

Block Watch

On Thursday, CISC took part in a Multicultural Block Watch Signs Festival at the Seattle Nichiren Buddhist Church.





The neighborhood will be posting the first bilingual block watch signs in the state of Washington and bringing together businesses and community members to take a bite out of crime!


Lion dancers, Native American blessings as well as prayers from Baptist and Buddhist clergy were offered as neighbors came together in multicultural neighborhood cooperation.

2009 ID Spring Clean Up

Over 30 staff, board members, and volunteers participated in the annual International District Spring Clean Up today. It was a beautiful, warm and sunny Saturday morning.

Rather than pick up trash around the neighborhood like we usually do, this year we were assigned to Kobe Terrace Garden to plant shrubs, pull weeds, and mulch.

Kobe Terrace Garden is a hidden gem right in the heart of the city. With Mt. Fuji cherry trees and an 8,000 pound stone lantern, it is the perfect place to sit and view Mt. Rainier and contemplate our sister city Kobe, Japan.

Lots of fun, a little sweat, and in under 2 hours we planted dozens of plants, moved over 20 cubic yards of mulch, and helped make Kobe Terrace an even more pleasant part of our neighborhood.

Thanks to all who participated. Let's do it again next year!

Seattle Maritime Festival

Saturday, members from Sunshine Garden Senior Day Center took a field trip to the Seattle Maritime Festival. Another activity exposing our seniors to the community they live in, this fun and educational outing featured lots of activities for young and old alike.

There was a spectacular fireboat display, tugboat races, and a Coast Guard Air-Sea helicopter rescue demonstration.

There was also a survival suit race - you know, those orange inflatable things they wear on Deadliest Catch.

Maybe the highlight was the Chowder Cook-Off, where a $5 passport let you sample the best chowder 8 different waterfront restaurants had to offer. Yum!

Stress Reduction

Every month, the Family Caregiver Support Program hosts groups for caregivers at the International Family Center-Seattle, one in Cantonese, another in Mandarin.

As we all know, caring for your loved one at home is a very stressful job, and many caregivers find they have little time for themselves.

"Being a non-paid family caregiver, I am often overwhelmed by physical and emotional distress. Thanks to CISC, I can have some time off for myself, watching a movie or practicing tai chi."

These groups provide social support, counseling, practical information and perhaps most importantly, a chance to get out of the house and relax a bit.

Here, a group of caregivers practices tai chi after learning about the swine flu.

Seniors @ Crossroads Mall

This Saturday, the 12th annual volunteer fair was held at Crossroads Mall in Bellevue. Hundreds of community members interested in learning about volunteer opportunities attended.

There was lots of entertainment, including CISC's Eastside Chinese Senior Choir. Very professional looking, and they sounded great too!




The group practices every Wednesday from 10:30 to noon at the North Bellevue Community Center. New members are always welcome to join!

Swine Flu

As part of our response to the swine flu scare, CISC held an information session on the H1N1 influenza this morning for seniors at Sunshine Garden, and caregivers in our Family Caregiver Support Program.

The speaker was Dr. RF Zhang, former director of Fijian Medical College. Over 40 people showed up, and many expressed their gratitude for having the opportunity to hear the latest information about this pandemic in a language they could understand.

CISC continues to monitor the situation closely and educate our community on any updates available in our clients' native languages. Remember:

• wash your hands
• cover your coughs and sneezes
• don't touch your eyes, nose or mouth
  
• and stay away from sick people

Let's all stay healthy here!

Employment Workshop

Another sign of the times. Tuesday CISC held an employment workshop and over 20 anxious job seekers attended in the middle of the day!


Michael Lin, Business Liaison from WorkSource Redmond, did the presentation, talking about the current job market, and new trends in resume preparation, online applications, and interview skills.

Good luck to all our attendees!