Newsletter

Welcome to the August 2011 edition of AACI’s newsletter!

As summer comes to a close, it’s time for our youth to return back to school. While school accounts for much of a young person’s day, we here at AACI have found that it takes much more than just going to class to equip our youth with a sense of empowerment and belonging. Much of this newsletter is dedicated to AACI’s Youth Programs, which provides an array of activities that help our youth develop leadership and social skills. Also included in this issue is an update from our Voices Project. Thanks to your support of AACI, we are reaching the next generation and building community.

Sincerely,
Michele Lew
President and CEO
Asian Americans for Community Involvement

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AACI’s First Annual Basketball Tournament

AACI held its First Annual Youth Basketball Tournament on August 6th at the Independence High School Gymnasium in San Jose. This basketball tournament was a special event that provided a safe and positive activity for San Jose youth and their families to engage in during the summer.

Hanley Chew, an AACI board member, was inspired to volunteer his time to organize the tournament. “I organized this basketball tournament because of the important role that team athletics played in my own childhood. Being part of a team builds friendships and camaraderie and teaches kids the value of working together to achieve a common goal.”

AACI’s First Annual Youth Basketball Tournament was made possible by major support from the City of San Jose Safe Summer Initiative grant, Trader Joe’s, Big 5 Sporting Goods, PG&E, and several generous community members. To learn more about AACI Youth Development Services, click here.

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AACI wins “2011 People’s Choice Award” at BOOF Spotlight Festival

The AACI Center for Addiction Recovery & Empowerment (CARE) was recognized for a public service announcement created by our youth prevention program, Betting on Our Future (BOOF). Betting on Our Future is a Youth Gambling Awareness Campaign sponsored by the California Friday Night Live Partnership and the State Office of Problem Gambling. BOOF is part of an established statewide media campaign to communicate the risks, signs and consequences of gambling among youth. The mission of this youth-led project is to create and execute interactive, high-energy media and live performance presentations on youth problem gambling.

CARE’s youth recently organized a community screening at the Tully Library Community Branch in San Jose. The purpose the public service announcement of this community screening was to raise awareness about problem gambling and how it impacts young people and their community. CARE’s youth also participated in the 2011 BOOF Spotlight Festival in Anaheim, CA to showcase their work. They attended workshops on problem gambling among teens and learned from other youth about youth problem gambling. AACI is proud to have received the “2011 BOOF People’s Choice Award” for the public service announcement titled, “Bet on Help”.

Click here to view the public service announcements and short film that were created for BOOF.

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Asian American Voices Project Promotes Cross-Cultural Understanding and Community Action

In 2010, AACI launched the Silicon Valley Asian American Voices project to facilitate immigrant integration in Santa Clara County. Through its 18-minute “Asian American Voices” film, community dialogues, and other multimedia tools, the Voices project deepens understanding of immigrant experiences and contributions, bridges relationships between diverse communities, and inspires people to take action in support of immigrant newcomers.

Voices community dialogue programs have prompted many to build supportive relationships with their immigrant peers, neighbors, clients, and colleagues. After participating in a dialogue event, Dan and Rebecca DeNardo, active members in the Jewish community, began talking more frequently with other families in their north San Jose neighborhood, many of whom are from Mexico, the Philippines, and other Asian countries. Through the couple’s outreach, the neighborhood has now come together to form a community garden and is planning to cook what they grow for a neighborhood Harvest Festival potluck in the fall.

AACI’s Voices project was awarded a Beacon of Light Award from the Santa Clara Office of Human Relations and a CreaTiVe Award from CreaTV San Jose this past year. The project has received another year of funding from Silicon Valley Community Foundation to continue its work in 2011-2012. For more information on how you can get involved, please visit the Voices website at http://asianamericanvoices.org or contact Beverly Wong, Voices Project Coordinator, at (408) 975-2730 x462 or beverly.wong@aaci.org.