Contact: An Chen, Lead Teacher

Buds & Blossoms Early Education and Care Center
87 Tyler St, Boston, MA 02111

617-426-9492 ext 263 for a tour and to register or email budsandblossoms@aaca-boston.org.

At the event, we showed a video “Reaching for Higher Goals” which highlights the success of some of our job training graduates and employers. AACA’s services do not stop at job placement. We provide job retention and advancement counseling to our graduates for two years to ensure their success in their careers.

A special thanks to our 2012 major funders who enable our programs and services to continue growing and excelling: Action for Boston Community Development, Asian American Justice Center, Beatrice Fox Auerbach Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, BNY Mellon Harriet B. Bayley Trust, Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family Foundation, Cathay Bank, Citizens Bank Foundation, City of Boston Economic Development and Industrial Corporation, City of Boston Office of Community Development, Commonwealth Corporation, Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation, Employment Retention Fund at the Boston Foundation, English for New Bostonians, ESC Charity Fund Corporation, Hilton Hotels Corporation, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Metro North Regional Employment Board, Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation, South Coastal Career Development Administration, State Street Corporation, Susan Schiro and Peter Manus, The Bank of America Charitable Foundation, The Hearst Foundation, Tufts Medical Center, U.S. Department of Labor (through SkillWorks), and United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley.

We also want to thank those who came to our party. Look forward to seeing you in our future events!

According to Lee, the grant will be used for the agency’s general operation including supporting the Workplace Development Center.

“AACA has helped thousands of immigrants and disadvantaged individuals achieve economic self-sufficiency through our comprehensive adult education, workforce development and social service programs during the last 45 years,” Lee said. “The grant from the Boston Foundation will give us additional resources to operate our programs and services.”

Founded in 1967, AACA serves over 3,000 clients every year.  Mary Chin is the chairperson of the board of directors.

The Boston Foundation, Greater Boston’s community foundation, is one of the oldest and largest community foundations in the nation, with assets of $850 million. In 2011, the Foundation and its donor made almost $78 million in grants to nonprofit organizations and received gifts on $81 million. The Foundation is made up of some 850 separate charitable funds established by donors either for the general benefit of the community or for special purposes. The Boston Foundation also serves as a major civic leader, provider of information, convener, and sponsor of special initiatives designed to address the community’s and the region’s most pressing challenges. For more information about the Boston Foundation, visit our website, www.tbf.org or call 617-338-1700.

Discretionary grants from the Boston Foundation are made possible through a family of funds known as the Permanent Fund for Boston, the Boston Foundation’s discretionary endowment, which has allowed the Boston Foundation to make critical grants to support Greater Boston for over 90 years. The Permanent Fund for Boston exists today due to the generosity of donors, often through bequests, enabling the Foundation to meet the most pressing needs of our community.

For more information about the Boston Foundation and its grant making, visit www.tbf.org, or call 617-338-1700.

For more information about the Asian American Civic Association, visit www.aaca-boston.org or call 617-426-9492 x206.

When:
Thursday, January 17, 2013
5:00 – 7:00 PM – Reception and Brief Program – guest speakers and student success stories
7:00 – 8:00 PM – Networking time for current and former students

Where:
Asian American Civic Association
87 Tyler Street, 5th Floor
Boston, MA 02111

Congratulatory remarks by Bob Bickerton, Senior Associate Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Next STEP was formerly known as the Massachusetts English Literacy Demonstration (MELD) and later as “The ABE Program.”

Please RSVP by January 8, 2013:
You can do this on-line, via email eric.aaca-boston.org or call us at 617-426-9492 ext. 231

In case of bad weather, the event will be held on Thursday, January 24.

Funding for Next STEP is provided by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation.

Celebrating our 45th year, the Asian American Civic Association has helped thousands of immigrants and disadvantaged individuals achieve economic self-sufficiency through our comprehensive adult education, workforce development, and social service programs. Today, recent immigrants earn 32.7% less than natives and suffer an unemployment rate of 9.9%. At AACA clients like Alice and Lobsang become highly-trained and educated members of America’s skilled workforce.

In Fiscal Year 2012, our workforce development programs aggressively penetrated the job market with exceptionally high placement rates and 82 employer partnerships. We sent the highest number of ESL graduates to college through our Next Steps Transitional English Program compared to all other community based organizations funded by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

AACA’s Successful Outcomes in Fiscal Year 2012:

• 6,212 Client Services Provided
• 338% Increase in Client Wage pre-AACA vs. post-training
• 90% Completion Rate for Education and Training Programs
• 88% One-Year Job Retention Rate
• 91% Job Placement Rate for the Partnership for Automotive Career Education Training Program
• 89% Job Placement Rate for the Careers in Banking and Finance Training Program

Please become a part of our clients’ future by donating to AACA’s “Tree of Knowledge.”

Thank you,

Chau-ming Lee, Executive Director

Lee said the funding will allow AACA to continue its critical programs and services to build competent and strong members to the American workforce.

“The grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, Inc. will give us additional resources to provide skills training and job placement for vulnerable residents,” Lee said.

Operating for 46 years, AACA serves over 3,000 clients every year as a premier agency for occupational training and college preparation for Massachusetts’ new immigrants and economically disadvantaged individuals.

About AACA
Founded in 1967, the Asian American Civic Association (AACA) is a non-profit organization based in Boston Chinatown providing a wide range of services to immigrants and other economically disadvantaged people, including English classes, social services, job training, early childhood education, a bilingual newspaper, and youth initiative for teens. For more information, please visit www.aaca-boston.org.

Boston (May 7, 2012) – The Asian American Civic Association (AACA) announced today that jazz saxophonist sensation Grace Kelly will perform at its 45th Annual Gala, Their Courage to be New, on May 18, 2012, at the Park Plaza Hotel.  The evening, co-chaired by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and First Lady Diane Patrick, will celebrate milestones and great achievements of immigrants and their families in greater Boston.

At only 19 years old, Grace Kelly has already accomplished more than most do in a lifetime. She has been voted “Best Jazz Act” inBostonfour consecutive years in the FNX Phoenix Best Music Poll, received the ASCAP Foundation’s Young Jazz Composers Award in 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2011 and won “Jazz Artist of the Year” at the Boston Music Awards in both 2008 and 2010.  Kelly has released 7 albums, performed with musical giants, including: Wynton Marsalis, Harry Connick, Jr., Hank Jones, the Boston Pops and many others. In addition to these accomplishments, Kelly was invited to join the ensemble at theKennedyCenter’s Eisenhower Theater inWashington,D.C.for President Obama’s Inauguration Celebration.

“We are thrilled to welcome Grace Kelly to perform at this year’s Gala event,” said Mary Chin, president of the AACA. “She possesses an incredible amount of talent and continues to amaze audiences all around the world.  We’re sure it’s going to be a performance to remember.”

The evening will an award ceremony, sit down dinner, silent and live auction, and a Dragon Dance performed by Wah Lum Kung-Fu. Proceeds from the evening will allow AACA to continue expanding its workforce development programs, English classes and social services, including the operation of Sampan, the only bilingual English/Chinese newspaper in New England and Buds & Blossoms Early Education and Care Center, the first Chinese Mandarin-immersion childcare center in Greater Boston.

To purchase ticket(s) or become a corporate sponsor, please contact Georgiana Tam at (617) 426-9492 x203, or gtam@aaca-boston.org.

For event details, press images, or for press RSVP, please contact Teresa Cheong at  (617) 426-9492 x206, or teresa@aaca-boston.org.

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About AACA:

Founded in 1967, Asian American Civic Association (AACA) is a non-profit organization based in Boston Chinatown providing a wide range of services to all immigrants and economically disadvantaged people, including education, occupation training and social services which enable them to realize lasting economic self-sufficiency.  For more information, please visit www.aaca-boston.org.

About the Gala:

The AACA Annual Gala 2012 “Their Courage To Be New,” will celebrate the brave immigrants–past, present and future–who make this country the shining beacon of hope for all the world. Set at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel, the Gala will feature ethnic performances from the four corners of the world, and an exciting auction featuring unique gifts. The Gala is scheduled to take place on Friday, May 18, 2012 at 6 pm.

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Our free internet ESL program provides English as a Second Language students with opportunities to learn English online at any place in any time.  The program was also featured in a promotional video made by English for New Bostonians.

To put your name on a wait-list for this program, email or call:

AACA Recruitment Coordinator
617-426-9492 ext. 251
intake@aaca-boston.org

Diana Satin, Coordinator, Distance Learning ESOL Program
dsatin@aaca-boston.org
617-942-0433 (home office)

The Asian American Civic Association Youth Council kicked off its first-of-its-kind free tutoring service to children grades K-8 on March 18 at the AACA headquarters.

The new service is aimed at providing academic support to elementary school students as well as engaging the youth to community services and civic contribution.

According to Chau-ming Lee, AACA’s Executive Director, this unique service provides mutual benefits to both the youth and children.

“Through mentoring a young child, the youth will learn how to be responsible and show compassion towards others.  At the mean time, the children can learn from the big brother/sister who grew up in an immigrant family like theirs,” he said.

Twelve AACA Youth Council members have already committed to being teen tutors, and nine children are enrolled in the growing program.  Each child will be paired with a tutor who will continue to work with him or her on a weekly basis.

Chinatown resident Miaowen Wu enrolled her two sons in the program, nine-year-old Adam and seven-year-old Brian, right after she heard about it.

“We are immigrants and education is different in theU.S.fromChina.  I hope that my children can learn from the teen tutors who receiveU.S.education,” said Wu, who moved to theU.S.thirteen years ago. “Other than learning English and Math, they can also pick up some social skills.”

The group meets every Sunday at AACA headquarters.  For more information, please contact Alex Lucas, (617) 426-9492 x205.