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!

2010 Census

Also today, CISC hosted a press conference in conjunction with the Organization of Chinese Americans - Greater Seattle Chapter, and the US Census Bureau.

The purpose was to help kick off the 2010 census and make sure our community members know the importance of being counted.

Speakers from a variety of community groups were in attendance, all highlighting the need for an accurate count.

CISC applauds the work the Census Bureau is doing and is a proud partner in our 2010 Census count efforts!


Check out the video here!

Partners in Preparedness

Today, CISC, in conjunction with the Seattle Office of Emergency Management, received a Partners in Preparedness Award from the International Association of Emergency Managers.

This award recognized some of the groundbreaking work CISC has been doing in terms of nonprofit preparedness.


Working with Public Health, United Way, the Statewide Disaster Preparedness Task Force, and King County, CISC has taken a lead in preparing nonprofit organizations, and our community members in the event of a disaster.

Troop 52844

Saturday, Brownie Troop 52844 came to CISC to distribute rice to low income families.

They used the money generated from their cookie sales to buy hundreds of pounds of rice, which they bagged and handed out with hand made cards for the recipients.



The girls also entertained those waiting in line with songs and cute smiles. Thank you Troop 52844!

CPR Training

As part of National Disaster Preparedness Month, CISC once again held CPR recertification classes for all staff.

In addition to CPR, staff receive updated first aid training and we evaluate our Agency Emergency Plan at this time each year.

Later this month, we'll be holding an evacuation drill with consultation from the Seattle Fire Department. You can never be too prepared!

South

As a member of the steering committee for South Seattle Community College's AANAPISI grant (10 points if you can guess that that stands for!), we are happy to share this first video highlighting some of the great supports and services available to students at South.


SSCC was one of only 6 schools nationwide to receive the designation of "Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution". With this comes 2 years of funding to develop mechanisms to support student retention and success.

The AANAPISI grant team is currently developing programs, activities, curriculum and other resources to promote student success. While the grant focuses on developing strategies that are culturally relevant to Asian American and Pacific Islander students, these resources will be available to all students and will promote the success and retention of South students overall.

Congratulations to our friends at South, and keep up the great work!!

Facebook

We're on Facebook! Join the group at http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gid=34853903657

Invite your friends! Keep up to date and add your own thoughts and stories about CISC!

Family Caregiver Program on KOMO

Starting today, you might see ads on KOMO TV for CISC's Family Caregiver Support Program. In partnership with Senior Services, these ads will publicize the services offered by CISC to people caring for their elderly or disabled relatives at home.

Did you know that folks come from as far away as Bellingham for these services? Though there are other providers in Whatcom County (and Skagit County too), none of them offer the specialized services required by our clientele.

Culturally competent services in a language you can understand. That's CISC!

2010 Census Briefing

This afternoon CISC and the Organization of Chinese Americans - Greater Seattle chapter teamed up to brief the community on the 2010 census.

We're now less than one year away from the big count and CISC is working actively with other partners to educate our community on the importance of being counted.

Did you know that for every person counted by the census, as much as $800 comes from the federal government to the local community each year?

And the individual information collected stays confidential for 74 years. It doesn't get shared with immigration, housing authorities, welfare agencies or police.

For more information, click here. And stay tuned for more updates as we get closer!

GivingWorks

Did you know that you can support CISC through eBay? In addition to donating items for our Friendship Dinner and Auction (June 6!) you can sell items on eBay and donate all or part of the proceeds to CISC!

Just click on the GivingWorks icon and choose Chinese Information and Service Center as the beneficiary.

Listings sold through GivingWorks attract 20% more bids, sell 50% more often, and close with 40% higher prices. And best of all, eBay fees associated with sold items are credited back to you at the same percentage as that donated!

Just another way to help immigrants make the transition to a new life while keeping later generations in touch with their rich heritage!

Thought ‧ Inspiration ‧ Mastery

During the spring break, staff from CISC's International Technology Community Center took a group of energetic youth to visit the University of Washington and Bellevue Community College. For most of them, this was the first time to set foot on the campus of an institution of higher learning.

After our guide explained the meaning of the inscription "Thought Inspiration Mastery" on the statues outside Suzzallo Library, we couldn't help but hold our breaths as we stepped into our first university library. Hmm... maybe it's time to do some serious planning about our future!

Although ice cream tempura may have been the highlight of the tours, we learned a great deal about preparing for college and college life. We were thrilled to learn about various support programs for bilingual students and meet with representatives from local colleges and universities.

In the highly competitive job markets of today, having a college degree is not a luxury, but a necessity. Our kids are taking the first step to preparing for their future success.

Economic Stimulus

Here's an easy way to make a quick $75:

The Speech Research Laboratory of Dr. Patricia Kuhl, Co-Director of the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, is studying Social Information in Language Control. They are looking for adult bilingual Chinese/English speaking males for a brain imaging study at the UW to explore how monolingual and bilingual adults process speech.

If you are a healthy, right-handed bilingual make 18-40 years of age, with no metallic implants in your body (?!), they are looking for you!

The study involves one visit lasting about 1 hour 45 minutes. Eligible subjects will receive $75 for participating. Parking will be reimbursed.

If interested, contact the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences at 206-616-6221 or yapeng2@u.washington.edu.