CPC Bulletin

Volume 1, Issue 3

June 18, 2008

by the Central Office of the Chinese-American Planning Council

150 Elizabeth Street, New York, NY 10013

(212) 941-0920

Questions or comments? Email newsletter@cpc-nyc.org.

1. CPC Prepares for 2008 Walkathon
2. Update: CPC's Efforts to Raise Funds for the Earthquake in Sichuan
3. CPC Summer Internship Program Begins
4. Employment Opportunities at CPC
5. CPC at the APA Heritage Festival

1. CPC Prepares for 2008 Walkathon: Call for Volunteers!
     

     On Saturday, July 26, 2008, the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) will host its biennial Fundraising Walkathon and Family Day Fair. The proceeds of the walkathon will benefit CPC's senior services and the Queens Nan Shan Senior Center expansion project.  

    The walkathon will start at 10am in Columbus Park, cross the Brooklyn Bridge to Cadman Plaza, and return. The Family Day Fair, which starts at 11am in Columbus Park, will host entertainment, games, and booths from CPC's Community Services and event  sponsors.       

     CPC operates two senior centers in Manhattan and one in Queens, and also provides senior services out of its Brooklyn Branch. The combined membership of the four centers exceeds 40,000. The centers offer nutritious, congregate meals and deliver Meals-on-Wheels to the homebound, and offer recreational and educational programs. Seniors also have access to CPC's affiliate, the Home Attendant Program, which provides home care for the homebound.

     Today, CPC's services are threatened by government funding cuts. The surging growth of the senior population also poses new challenges to senior programs and services. We need your help to make the walkathon a success and continue CPC's work!  If your organization would like to become a corporate sponsor and be acknowledged   in the walkathon, please contact Mabel Long at (212) 941–0920 ext. 140 or ext. 141, or email walkathon@cpc-nyc.org. For more information  about participating in the walkathon or volunteering to help plan or set up the walkathon, please visit www.cpc-nyc.org for a pledge sheet, contact Jenn Wong at jwong3@cpc-nyc.org, or call us at (212) 941-0920 x 121. 

 2. Update: CPC's Efforts to Raise Funds For the Earthquake in Sichuan
     CPC programs and centers have been collecting donations for the China earthquake relief effort in Sichuan and nearby provinces that were affected by the earthquake. As of Wednesday, June 4, we have received $19,252 (dates and amount subjected to change depending on the date this newsletter is released) from CPC employees, members and others in the Asian American communities. 100% of the donations we receive will be forwarded to the American Red Cross to provide much needed food and supplies to those affected by this tragedy. We want to thank all those who donated money and effort to support the relief work still going on in China.     
   
     As an interesting aside, some of the younger participants of our CPC programs also pitched in to help their counterparts in China. In response to the widely publicized destruction of schools all over the affected region, youth from the CPC In-School Youth Program (ISY) and the CPC Brooklyn Service Learning Program began their own collection efforts to remedy the situation. ISY is a training program that prepares young men and women to be successful in the workforce; and the Brooklyn Service Learning Program, also called Teen Action, is a weekly volunteering program located in the Brooklyn area.

      The youths, most of them high school students, initiated the donation drive by first soliciting contributions from their family members. Then they went and set up a table outside of HSBC Bank on the Bowery in Chinatown on May 25th to collect donations from community members and visitors.

     Through cooperation with HSBC, the funds raised will be joined with those from Hong Kong. 100% of these funds raised will be directly applied to rebuilding efforts of the many schools that were destroyed by the earthquake. Encouraged by the success of their efforts, CPC youths are planning additional fundraising days in Brooklyn and Flushing in the near future.      

     
3. CPC Summer Internship Program Begins
     The CPC Summer Internship Program debuted on June 9, 2008, when Special Events and Administrative Interns from a diverse array of colleges arrived at our Central Office, inaugurating our first formal summer leadership program. 

     Administrative, Special Events, and Human Resources interns have been recruited based on our organizational needs and projections. This summer's Administrative & Human Resources Interns will be taking on special projects and learning non-profit management; and Special Events interns will gain valuable experience in fundraising and community organizing by planning, promoting, and implementing the 2008 "Honoring the Seniors" Walkathon. The educational component of the Summer Internship Program will feature discussion panels and presentations from guest speakers -- giving interns further insights into the landscape of non-profit organizations and the issues faced by the Chinese-American community.

     Some of the interns have already begun their summer at CPC. For many of them, their internship represents a learning opportunity as well as a chance to contribute to the Chinese and Chinese-American communities in New York City. Jenn Wong, a Special Events intern from Bryn Mawr College, who lives in Livingston, NJ, said, "I remember my parents saying that they participated in the afterschool program when they were kids." Marlene Lam, a Special Events intern from New York University, adds, "I think we're an ambitious group and we're going to work hard to surpass the 2006 interns in fundraising."

     Through the Summer Internship Program, CPC aims to develop new non-profit leaders and provide hands-on experience to these talented young adults. While this summer's internship recruitment cycle is now closed, future applicants to the program can send their inquiries to Melinda Faust, the CPC Summer Internship Coordinator, at mfaust@cpc-nyc.org.

 4. Jobs, Jobs, Jobs…

Below is a partial list of open positions at CPC. Recruit your friends and tell them about the job prospects at CPC. Send inquiries and resumes to cpcjobs@cpc-nyc.org.

Workforce Development Case Manager Assistant: Meet with walk-in clients individually to assess clients' work experience, education, and skills; refer clients to different pre-employment workshops.

Infant Toddler Specialist: Provide technical assistance, coordinate, develop and offer cultural sensitive training to the Chinese-speaking family child care providers. Develop and conduct outreach activities and provide information to parents on best practices in infant-toddler care. Network and establish working relationship with public and private agencies on the infant-toddler care.

Asian Child Care Referral Program Associate/Counselor: Provide intake and counseling service to meet clients' child care needs. Develop and conduct Family Day Care Training Sessions and community workshops on child care.  Administer the applications of Start-up and Health & Safety Grants. Follow up requests and referrals to assess the effectiveness of the services rendered. Outstation in the job center to provide child care referral services.  Conduct fingerprinting to potential family day care providers and their family members. 

Asian Child Care Referral Program Assistant: Provide intake and counseling service on child care. Conduct fingerprinting to child care providers. Assist in program's outreach activities and perform general clerical tasks.

 5. CPC Celebrates APA Heritage Month   
     CPC joined other organizations at the Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival  in midtown Manhattan on Saturday, May 10th to celebrate the beginning of APA Heritage month.

     One of the largest annual pan Asian-American events, this year's festivities went by very smoothly. The festival featured film screenings, arts and crafts activities, martial arts demonstrations, performances by traditional and contemporary musicians and dancers, information tables set up by advocacy groups, and other activities.

     Student volunteers from CPC were very active during the events, passing out flyers, introducing CPC's services and promoting the 2008 Walkathon to those at the festival. The Youth Division's STEP Dancers performed a few routines to the delight of their surrounding audience. 

    CPC staff members had the opportunity to speak with some former CPC program participants, and network with members of other non-profit organizations. Volunteers made baked goods to raise much needed funds to organize and promote the 2008 "Honoring the Seniors" Walkathon.

     The Walkathon will generate much-needed funds for the Queens Nan Shan Senior Center expansion project and other senior programs.  We are in the midst of the pre-planning for the Walkathon, but tax-deductible donations can be made to the preparation effort on the CPC website, www.cpc-nyc.org. Your contributions will be greatly appreciated.