Friday, November 21, 2008

Early Thanksgiving

This year, we give thanks to Catherine Wong for 10 years of service in building and running our Eastside Senior Outreach program. This will be her last Thanksgiving here as she and her husband will be returning to Hong Kong to care for elderly parents.

This program started here at the North Bellevue Community Center in 1999 and now has expanded to 9 different sites across the Eastside and South King County.

One of the most positive things about this program (and there are many) is the interaction between our Chinese seniors and the mainstream community. Because the activities are integrated into the local Parks & Rec Departments, participants and community members have many opportunities to make new friends and learn about new cultures and traditions.

We are so grateful to Catherine for all her passion and dedication. We're sad to see you go, but wish you the very best in the next phase of your life!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

We Appreciate our Donors!

Last week, we thanked some of our most loyal supporters with a small get together at the home of Omar and Christine Lee. Also with us that night was the Seattle Youth Symphony's Ragazzi String Quartet, adding to the atmosphere with some beautiful chamber music.


We depend on all our individual and corporate donors to support our work helping Chinese and other immigrants make the transition to a new life, while keeping later generations in touch with their rich heritage. Thank you!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Kids' Activities

October was a busy month for kids at CISC. Our preschoolers went trick-or-treating through our offices, collecting candy and treats, many for the first time.

Free candy?! What a concept!!

The seniors particularly get a kick out of the kids, and just love handing out goodies. Moms and caregivers had a good time putting together costumes for their little ones.
And over in Redmond, we've started our 7th play and learn group this month. After literally months of waiting for the city to finish construction on the new facility, we are now happy to be able to bring play and learn to family, friend and neighbor caregivers in Redmond at Grass Lawn Park.

Many Microsoft families, grandmothers and young children utilize this park on 148th Ave NE. And with the newly refurbished play area (with a really cool rock and water feature), it's going to be awesome on sunny summer days!

Please help us spread the word about this new resource on the Eastside!

Lots Going On @ CISC

Haven't had a chance to blog lately, but that doesn't mean we haven't been doing anything!

In the last couple of weeks we have held an auto maintenance seminar, a workshop on energy conservation, and a family health fair attended by over 120 people!

A big thanks to all of our community partners, including Cornerstone Automotive Services, Seattle City Light, Public Health, International Community Health Services, and many more! We couldn't do it without you.

Thursday, November 06, 2008

More Resources

Continuing our efforts to educate the community on disaster preparedness, yesterday we recorded a disaster preparedness DVD into Mandarin with the help of our friends at the Office of Emergency Management.

We already have a Cantonese version, but since so many of our newer immigrant families are Mandarin speaking, we felt it is critical to have the information in both dialects. They will be posted to our web site.

Next up, Vietnamese!