Tuesday, April 29, 2008

This Just In...

In the Committee of 100's most recent newsletter (Spring 2008), they cited an interesting study looking at personal goals of the American and Chinese general public.The top response for both groups was "to have a happy family". But while 72% of Americans chose this option, only 54% of Chinese did.

15% of Americans said that they wanted "to work on behalf of society," while only 10% of Chinese respondants cited this as a goal.

Perhaps most interestingly, 42% of Chinese chose "to get rich" as a personal goal in life, while only 8% of Americans did so!

The full article has not been posted on line yet, you can see the numbers we took from the article here. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

For more information on the Committee of 100, or to check to see if the Spring newsletter has been posted online, click here.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Earth Day 2008

Today is Earth Day, but CISC celebrated last Saturday by putting together another team to participate in the annual ID Spring Clean Up. This year there were over 450 participants who picked up trash, painted over graffiti, and cleared out weeds and other debris.

Despite chilly weather that sometimes included pounding rain and even hail, our team of staff, board, and volunteers put their backs into it and helped to make our neighborhood just a little bit cleaner and nicer for all of us who work, shop and live here.

Check out this picture of Executive Director, Alaric Bien with the mandible of a ...

thing!

36th Annual Friendship Dinner & Auction

It's that time of year again! Time for CISC's annual Friendship Dinner and Auction.

As you can see, we are busily preparing for the big event. Sunshine Garden Seniors are shown here helping to assemble the invitations. Look for yours in the mail later this week.

And don't forget to mark Saturday, June 7 down on your calendar. It's at the Grand Hyatt this year and promises to be a lot of fun. This year we focus on CISC's early learning activities, Play & Learn groups, bilingual pre-K, early literacy and parenting/caregiver training.

For more information, please contact Kevin Chan at kevinc@cisc-seattle.org or 206-624-5633 x 4117. See you on the 7th!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Legal Clinics Resume at CISC

Responding to community demand, CISC has been working hard for the last several months to resume our legal clinics after Seattle University decided to shift its focus.

We are pleased to announce that the Asian Bar Association of Washington and UW School of Law students have stepped up and begun providing legal workshops for our community on a regular basis. The first one was last Tuesday and focused on (what else?) taxes!



Other workshops will feature speakers on employment law, tenant rights, small claims court and much more. We are so grateful for this partnership with the ABAW and UW School of Law and all the dedicated volunteers who help to make this vital service happen!

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Compassion in Seattle

This past weekend, the Dalai Lama was in town talking about compassion. The 5 day event was sponsored by the Seeds of Compassion, a group focused on nurturing and empowering children, families and communities to be compassionate members of society.

One of the key messages from the event was the role of compassion in raising our children. Without instilling social and emotional learning into families, caregivers and schools, our children have not have the all the tools necessary to function and succeed in their community, in society, and in life.

At CISC, we try to weave compassion into all that we do. With our early learning programs, caregiver trainings, youth activities, and more. We know that research has shown the positive beneficial effects of practicing compassion on physical, mental and spiritual health. We know that children cannot only focus on academics, but must also be nurtured in the social and emotional arenas.

Our hope is that all adults who touch the lives of children will have and use the tools to foster kinder and more compassionate children, communities, and society.

So think about it. What have you done today?

Monday, April 14, 2008

Self Defense and Personal Safety

In our continued efforts to meet emerging community needs, CISC last Thursday held a second workshop on self defense and personal safety for our community members.

This is part of the effort we are taking along with the Seattle Police Department and other community groups in response to the ongoing attacks on Asian American women on Beacon Hill.

This last workshop also offered personal safety alarms that can be attached to your keychain for a fast and easy way to alert all those in the vicinity of danger. These alarms also come with a small but powerful flashlight which is also very useful on a day to day basis.

For more information about personal safety or to request an alarm, which we sell at cost ($10), please call CISC Crime Victims Advocate Alan Lai at 206-624-5633 x 4111.



Saturday, April 12, 2008

County Budget

Don't know if you caught the article in the Times on Wednesday, but King County is looking at budget of deficit of $20 million this year, and a whopping $60 million next year. Budget Director Bob Cowan's suggestion for addressing this problem was to "phase out" of certain "lines of business" (all health and human services) by 2011.

This so incensed those of us in the human services community who have been working for the past five years with county officials and staff to try to find solutions to this funding crisis.

It is nothing new, but yet again we are confronted with this problem that will not affect "lines of business", but real people like you and me, our families, friends, and neighbors.

For some community opinions, (including our Executive Director's personal viewpoint) see today's Time's opinion page. Or click here.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Everyday Hero

You hear about them all the time, doing the ordinary things that people do every day. But yesterday, something truly out of the ordinary happened.

CISC office manager and HR coordinator, Nelson Tang, was out in the neighborhood procuring advertisements for the Friendship Dinner and Auction program book (June 7 - mark your calendars!) when he saw a car speeding down the street.
Moving back to the curb, he suddenly noticed someone pushing a baby in a stroller and tried to get the driver to stop. Well, he didn't until it was too late.
Nelson was knocked to the ground, but saved the baby from being crushed. The stroller was damaged, but fortunately, no one was seriously hurt.

The driver of the car, a 16 year old with no license, was still talking to the police when the car's owner arrived and the ambulance took Nelson to the hospital for evaluation.
Thank goodness for quick reactions and quick thinking. Just remember, the next time it could be you!