Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Choosing the Right College

Last week, CISC Clinical Director Hueiling Chan (second from left) took part in a panel discussion at Interlake High in Bellevue on finding the best college for your child.

Her basic message was this: don't forget to look beyond the high status, big name universities to find the colleges that fit your individual child the best. You may be surprised.

Too often, families get sucked into the trap of multiple AP courses and pinning all their hopes on admission to highly selective, big name schools only. Their individual student may have different interests, strengths and needs that also should be considered.

Think about it.

Friday, January 15, 2010

CISC Lunar New Year Walkathon

CISC is excited to announce our 1st Annual Lunar New Year Walkathon! This is going to be a large Walkathon event at Safeco Field on Saturday, February 20th. Registration will begin on that day at 9am, with the event kick-off at 9:30am. We aim to bring people together for a fun community celebration of the Lunar New Year, while raising donations to support the programs at CISC. As the participants take an approximately 3-mile walk around Safeco Field, there will be traditional Asian performances around the concourse, as well as free massages, T-shirts, a raffle drawing, and giveaways.

To take part in the Walkathon, you can grab the registration form from our office at 611 S Lane St or download it on the homepage of our website: cisc-seattle.org. Forms will also be available at the event. Over the next few weeks ask people you know to sponsor you on the walk, and keep track of their names and donations on the registration form. Remember to bring the registration form, $15 registration fee, and any money you have collected from your sponsors to the event. You are also welcome to form a team at your workplace, as we will have several corporate and community teams competing before and during the event to raise the most money. We hope to see you there!

If you have any questions about the event, please contact Dan Jones at danielj (at) cisc-seattle.org.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Chinese and Other Immigrant Kids

In data just released by the City of Seattle, children in various types of preschool programs were tested on English language vocabulary. Children who score lower than 85 points in this test are known to have more difficulty learning to read and to write in the future.

Not surprisingly, native English speaking kids scored highest, averaging 99 points.


More interesting is that Asian kids scored lower than immigrant children from Africa (but still slightly higher than Spanish speaking kids), further dispelling the myth of the Model Minority.

This further demonstrates the need and importance of CISC's bilingual Step Ahead preschool program - helping to prepare our children to be ready to succeed in school!

Saturday, January 09, 2010

Take Care of Those Who Cared for Us

Wednesday, CISC participated in a press conference along with other senior service providers facing cuts of up to 77% in the governor's first proposed budget. This all-cuts budget would further reduce services for our vulnerable seniors by:
  • Reducing or eliminating programs that provide support to more than 300,000 families including information and assistance, senior foot care, senior transportation, nutrition, and falls prevention.
  • Eliminating home care for 1,400 seniors and people with disabilities.
  • Cutting an additional $55 million from in-home care.
  • Eliminating adult day health services for 600 seniors and people with disabilities.
  • Slashing health benefits for low-income caregivers, leaving thousands without needed health coverage.
  • Eliminating dental, vision, hearing, hospice, podiatry, and physical, occupational and speech therapy for seniors on Medicaid.
  • Eliminating Medicare Part D copayment reimbursements so 85,000 elderly medicaid clients will not longer be able to afford their prescriptions.
What can you do? Please contact the Governor by mail, phone or e-mail with the following message AND send the same message to your legislators via the legislative phone hotline (800-562-6000):

"Please propose sufficient new revenues to preserve the Senior Citizens Service Act. SCSA funding makes it possible for the most frail and vulnerable seniors to stay in their homes."

Friday, January 08, 2010

Chinese New Year Lunch in Redmond

CISC will be holding a Chinese New Year Lunch featuring the cuisine and culture of China at the Redmond Senior Center on Friday, February 5th at 11:30am. Tickets are $5 and on sale now at the Senior Center:

8703 160th Ave NE
Redmond, WA 98052
(425) 556-2314