Annual Report a Word from the Executive Director
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YEAR 2019 ANNUAL REPORT A WORD FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Seeing our team in action throughout 2019 meant seeing their passion and commitment to serving the community. Whether we’re faced with opportunities or challenges, we remain grounded in our efforts to bridge cultures, communities and generations. This philosophy has guided our work over 47 years to develop programs and take on new, ambitious projects to serve the entire family and community. Research shows the critical brain development that occurs between birth and age five. To ensure the families we serve have access to quality early childhood education programs, CISC embraced the Best Starts for Kids initiative approved by voters in 2015. In 2019, we continued to build and expand programs that enable parents, grandparents, and caregivers to develop their children’s social, emotional, cognitive, and bilingual skills. At our graduation events, smiles from family members showed their appreciation for and pride in the progress their children made toward being ready for kindergarten. For the first time, the U.S. census is being conducted primarily online. With critical federal funding at stake that supports health, education, social services, and more for the next decade, CISC launched efforts to promote full participation in the 2020 Census. Our entire staff were mobilized to educate our immigrant communities about the importance of the census. We are focusing especially on our seniors to ensure they have the language and technical support they need to be counted —particularly since programs like Medicare and caregiver support are federally funded. CISC is partnering with HealthierHere to improve health and advance equity in King County. HealthierHere has brought together numerous organizations to collaborate and innovate together to improve health outcomes. As a community-based organization, CISC’s work promotes social and economic opportunities that impacts a person’s ability to experience healthier lives. We are excited for the possibilities of this partnership to benefit the communities we serve. The lives we improved and partnerships we embarked on in 2019 were made possible by your support of and belief in our mission. Thank you for enabling our team to make a tremendous impact in strengthening our community. MICHAEL ITTI EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CISC YEAR 2019 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS Government and Organizational Funders Asian Counseling and Referral Service Cathay Bank Foundation Child Care Resources City of Bellevue City of Bothell Financials City of Issaquah City of Kirkland City of Redmond Revenue City of Sammamish Government grants and contracts $7,041,398 City of Seattle Contributions & special events $285,840 Comcast In-kind contributions $201,791 East West Bank Other income $191,608 Friends of Mercer Island Library Total Revenue $7,720,637 HealthierHere King County Expenses King County Library System Program Services: National Council on Aging Elderly $3,735,669 Office of the Insurance Commissioner Family and Youth $2,683,139 OneAmerica Supporting Services: Public Health - Seattle & King County Management and general $618,230 Seattle Foundation Fundraising $135,867 Seattle University Total Expenses $7,172,905 Sheng-Yen Lu Foundation State of Washington Stolte Family Foundation United Way of King County US Bank Foundation CISC YEAR 2019 SERVICE SITES CISC provides services at community-based sites throughout King County: CISC Bellevue Office Issaquah Senior Center Renton Housing Authority Office CISC Kent Office Lake City Community Center Sammamish Library CISC Redmond Office Lake Hills Library Seattle Housing Authority CISC Seattle Office Laurelwood Gardens, Federal Way - Beacon Tower Aegis Gardens Newcastle Mercer Island Library - Gideon Mathews Gardens Beacon Hill Library Newcastle Library - International Terrace Crossroads Community Center North Bellevue Community Center - Leschi House Crossroads Mini City Hall Peter Kirk Community Center South Bellevue Community Center Greenwood Senior Center Redmond Hopelink Food Bank Walnut Park Townhomes, Kent International House Redmond Library Wisteria View Manor Issaquah Library Redmond Senior Center Yesler Community Center CISC YEAR 2019 OUR IMPACT 1,935 156 12,449 children improved their immigrants applied to participants and clients skills and readiness for become a naturalized U.S. served through our activities kindergarten through our citizen with our assistance and programs on the early learning programs Eastside 918 1,750 visits for legal clinic seniors connected to questions, benefits caregivers and specialists assistance, and educational to live more independently classes in our Family Center at home 7,793 13,313 questions answered visits by seniors to our regarding Medicare and other Chinatown ID office for help health care programs accessing crucial services Data may include duplicate client visits PROGRAM & EVENT HIGHLIGHTS Early Childhood & Youth Development From early years to grade school, CISC programs support a child’s physical, social- emotional, and cognitive development and academic success. We utilize linguistically and culturally-relevant strategies to build on the strengths of each student and family. Bilingual Preschool in Seattle Intergenerational Activity Bilingual Preschool in Newcastle Honoring Cultural Traditions Family Support in South King County Grandparents cherish the bond with their grandchildren. Every Friday morning, families arrive at our Kent Center Our Child Care Health Consultation Program, which for interactive activities that support both parents and promotes a nurturing, healthy, and supportive environment children and revolve around three elements: support, for children, featured a Dragon Boat Festival celebration. involve, and enjoy. Parents enjoy meeting other parents The event involved hands-on learning with arts and crafts while supporting their child’s development through games, to create a dragon boat for grandparents and song, reading, and culturally-relevant programs. grandchildren to play together. The activity brought out smiles and laughter and promoted the sharing of culture The Kent Center is where our ParentChild+ Program is and values with the next generation. based. Our early learning specialists, who speak Vietnamese and Chinese, provide weekly home visits to Early Learning in Numerous Languages prepare children for pre-school and kindergarten. In July, the program organized its first field trip to Woodland Park Quality early education experiences are crucial for Zoo with 24 families, including children, parents, and success in school and in life. CISC is proud to provide free grandparents. For many families, the trip was their first Kaleidoscope Play and Learn programming. In 2019, we visit to the zoo. We included group activities and shared partnered with libraries, community housing and food together during lunchtime. community centers to offer 14 program sites across the county in multiple languages including English, Hindi, The Kent Center has become a welcoming place for Mandarin, Somali, and Ukrainian. These weekly structured young families to support their child’s development, make playgroups provide an inviting space for caregivers and new friendships, and support each other. children (0 to 5 years) to learn together through play. Promoting Family Engagement CISC Bilingual Preschools The After School Program recognizes the importance of Our preschools create a learning environment that values embracing and empowering parents as they support their and embraces the rich cultural and language backgrounds children’s education. We raise the voices of more than 60 of families and children. Teachers strive to prepare families by facilitating meetings with Seattle Public Schools children for their first day of kindergarten and support their superintendent, principals, and teachers. We worked physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development. closely with a community-based partner, the Southeast One highlight of our Bilingual Preschool at Yesler Seattle Education Coalition, to provide an opportunity for Community Center in Seattle was a visit from a dentist and parents to contribute their feedback in the Family his staff who provided a hands-on presentation about the Engagement Survey in their own language. Through our importance of good dental hygiene. The students saw the efforts, more than 200 surveys were collected in Chinese. daily habit in a new light as parents informed us about their The After School Program is committed to advocating for child’s newfound enthusiasm for brushing their teeth. students and their families to advance educational justice Students at our Bilingual Preschool at Aegis Gardens in and promote academic success by supporting family Newcastle enjoyed a visit to the Sheraton Grand Seattle’s engagement. Annual Gingerbread Village to see examples of design and construction. During our Winter Celebration, the children were inspired by what they saw as they created a gingerbread house together during an intergenerational activity with seniors. Bilingual Preschool at Yesler Community Center Kent Office Family Support Program Child Care Health Consultation Outreach Kaleidoscope Play & Learn at Sammamish Library PROGRAM & EVENT HIGHLIGHTS Thriving and Independent Seniors Taking care of and respect for our elders is a time-honored tradition. Our programs for older adults support their health and well-being. Our staff are committed to providing services and connecting seniors to resources that maintain and enhance their quality