ASIA Latest News & Events

ASIA is pleased to announce Gothai Jayaraj as its Program Assistant in Community Health Promotions and Allison Arsouzy as the Program Assistant for Northeast Ohio Asian Women’s Leadership Initiative (NALI), a domestic violence resource and prevention project.  The agency also welcomes Bishnu Samal, Nar Pradhan, Ea Hal, and Monarath Adhikari as Program Assistants in the Newcomer Family Support Center; and Heather Morris to Program Assistant position with the Children, Youth & Family’s ICEP Program (International Community Empowerment Project).

The organization is also happy to announce that Eunice Park has been promoted to the new Program Coordinator position for NALI and Yoon Kim as ASIA’s new Community Legal Advocate/General Counsel.

Welcome Gothai, Allison, Bishnu, Nar, Ea, and Monarath; and congratulations Eunice and Yoon!

The Woodruff Foundation awarded Asian Services In Action, $15,000 to support the Asian Mental Health Initiative (AMHI), a project that reduces the linguistic and cultural barriers to mental health services for Asian Americans and provides education and awareness to the broader Asian American community to de-stigmatize mental health issues and to promote help seeking norms, attitudes and behaviors.

“Language and culturally appropriate mental health services in the Asian American is a major unmet need in our communities.  ASIA regularly receives calls from families and individuals in distress with little or no options for treatment and support.  With the Woodruff Foundation’s generous gift, we hope to begin to address this critical service void,” said Michael Byun, ASIA’s Executive Director.

During this pilot project year, AMHI will conduct a series of mental health workshops that are linguistically and culturally appropriate for the Asian American population in Cuyahoga County. The goal is to reach 200 people.

About Asian Services In Action (ASIA)
Founded in 1995 by four immigrant women, the mission of ASIA is to empower Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Northeastern Ohio to access quality, culturally and linguistically appropriate information and services. The agency was founded under the premise that with the right support to individuals and families, the community will flourish and thrive. Annually, the organization touches over 4,000 lives through five program areas.

About the Woodruff Foundation
The Woodruff Foundation was established in 1986 to enhance, through financial support, the development and delivery of mental health services in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Specifically, the Foundation seeks to fund projects that will foster and enhance:
* the treatment of persons affected by mental disorders and chemical dependency
* educational programs related to mental health
* the coordination of mental health resources in the community
* research into the causes, nature and recurrence of mental illness
Given the rapid changes that are transpiring in local mental health and substance abuse services, the Trustees have adopted the following as high priority areas of interest:
* encouraging the implementation of innovative prevention and treatment programs
*strengthening the effectiveness of existing service delivery systems
Visit:  www.fmscleveland.com/woodruff

The Northern Ohio Golf Charities Foundation (NOGCF) awarded $22,000 to ASIA for the purchase of a passenger van to reduce the transportation barrier for clients who wish to access valuable programs and services to improve their lives.

“According to formal and informal assessments conducted over the years, transportation consistently ranks one of the top reasons why ASIA clients cannot regularly attend programs and services.  This is especially true for older adults with limited mobility and for youth who have parents working non-traditional hours (second or swing shifts) and are still too young to drive.  We are grateful to NOGCF for this generous gift,” said Mao Vue, ASIA’s Manager of Programs and Operation.

The van will used to transport youth to and from ASIA’s after school and summer mentoring, tutoring and enrichment programs; support the weekly transportation of older adults to congregate meal and wellness activities; and help work-ready adults continue to attend critical ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages) classes and skills-training workshops.

About ASIA
Founded in 1994 by four immigrant women, the mission of ASIA is to empower Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Northeastern Ohio to access quality, culturally and linguistically appropriate information and services. The agency was founded under the premise that with the right support to individuals and families, the community will flourish and thrive.  Annually, ASIA touches the lives of over 4,000 people through its five program areas.

About Northern Ohio Golf Charities Foundation
Visit:  www.nogcf.org

Asian Services In Action has received a $12,500 grant from Akron Community Foundation to support its READY (Readiness through Expanded Acculturation Development of Immigrant/Refugee Youth) Program. Foundation President and CEO John T. Petures Jr. announced the grant after it was approved by the foundation’s board on Friday, Feb. 19.

READY Program Specialist Ed Kollin said the funding will expand the original eight-week summer pilot project to a year-long program in 2010. This is the second year ASIA has received a grant from Akron Community Foundation to support the project, which prepares children in refugee families for kindergarten.

“We made a great impact on families with limited English skills in the first year of the READY Program,” Kollin said. “This additional support will enable us to continue working with families who need extra help to get their young ones ready for school while also expanding the services to new families.”

The READY Program addresses the lack of English language skills in immigrant children from birth to age 5. The program will serve 10 to 12 families from the countries of Myanmar and Bhutan, whose refugees are considered to be an emerging high-need population in Summit County.

The READY Program uses Born to Learn, a research-based curriculum taught in bilingual/bicultural programs across the country.

About Asian Services In Action
Founded in 1995 by four immigrant women, the mission of ASIA is to empower Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in northeastern Ohio to take advantage of high-quality, culturally and linguistically appropriate information and services. The agency was founded under the premise that with the right support to individuals and families, the community will flourish and thrive. Annually, the agency touches the lives of more than 4,000 people through five program areas.

About Akron Community Foundation
Celebrating 55 years of building community philanthropy, Akron Community Foundation is a $124 million philanthropic endowment with a growing family of more than 320 funds. In 1955, a $1 million bequest from the estate of Edwin Shaw established the foundation, which works to improve the quality of life in greater Akron. It accepts charitable gifts and bequests from individuals, families, organizations and corporations committed to making a difference in the community for generations to come. To date, the foundation and its funds have awarded more than $85 million in grants to qualified nonprofit organizations. To learn more about Akron Community Foundation or to donate, call 330-376-8522 or visit www.akroncommunityfdn.org.