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TCC Meeting Notes: Thursday, October 8, 2009

Published by admin on November 18, 2009 in Meeting Notes. 0 Comments

TCC Minutes
Thursday, October 8, 2009
9:30 AM, Boston Chinatown Storefront Library, 640 Washington Street

In attendance: Pamela Lee, Janice Wong, Richard Goldberg, Norman Eng, Kun Chang, Lian Yu, Megan Cheung, Teresa Wong, Alex Zhang, Lisette Le, Sunny Schwartz, Sue Kim, Fiona Yu, Elaine Ng, Kye Liang, Sherry Dong, Dennis Lui, Samuel Tsoi, Steven Chin, Angela Sun, Chutze Chou, Chin-Wen Lee, Kenny Wong

I. Refreshments, Welcome, & Introductions
II. Boston Chinatown Storefront Library, Leslie Davol
-Opening Wednesday, October 14th, 4-6 PM
-Amy Cheung is the day-to-day program manager
-Opens on Thursday, October 15th for regular operations
-Hours of operation are presently Tuesday-Thursday, 11 AM to 6 PM and Friday-Saturday 10 AM to 5 PM.
-Interns from the Simmons Graduate School of Library Sciences will be active in the library.
-More information can be found at http://www.storefrontlibrary.org

III. TCC Discussion Topic Brainstorming
-Discussion led by Enoch Liao on the following subjects to be used for future TCC meetings in the next year. Discussion was in the format of speaking in smaller groups for several minutes and then presenting to the full meeting body.

-What are one or two issues you are facing in your work in Chinatown?
• Current economic conditions
• Heath education / outreach
• Being aware of grant opportunities / stimulus $
• Advocating for projects such as a library difficult, funding for such
• Difficulty in recruiting bilingual staff
• Outreaching to Boston residents due to funding considerations
• Customer service on the T
• Effective collaboration to avoid overlap/competition, pooling of resources
• Strategy forums / joint planning
• Going green: Saving energy and providing jobs/training in the sector
• Job training for English learners
• Organizations having a stronger presence in Chinatown

-How could another member of Chinatown or TCC really aid you in your work in Chinatown?
• TCC newsletter for hiring/outreach
• Providing collaboration platform for agencies
• Spreadsheet of training/ESL opportunities / Chinatown Educational Pathway
• Guest speakers from Chinatown
• Physical space
• Coming together and implementing vision
• Participation in each others’ events
• Bringing constituents to the table on issues
• Word of mouth information
• Twitter feed
• Coordinated website
• College access
• 2010 Census (for February, due to forms sent in March)

IV. BCEC and Parcel A Update, Pastor Steven Chin

-Overview of BCEC’s present state. In present building since 1979, which was designed for 250.
-Currently, church is using an Annex, Newton campus, Quincy Elementary School, and Quincy Upper School as additional locations to provide services to more than 1000 church members.
-Received tentative designation from the BRA for an equal land swap with the BRA on Parcel A
-$Current projected building to be a four-story construct, tentatively designed in 2007 with an estimate of $18M budget for overall project.
-$8.4 million in pledges over three years since spring 2009

V. Adult Education and Workforce Development, Richard Goldberg and Sunny Schwartz, AACA

-WIA Formula grants are provided to those in need, dislocated workers, and youth workers (including summer grants), comprising of $2.7B of the stimulus.
-For green jobs, City of Boston applied as a bloc, including AACA, the grant application serving a ‘puma’ district, specifically Blue Hill Avenue.
-AACA has secured grant funding for Boston residents in an English for Employment program that would run Monday – Friday from 1:00-5:00, a total of 540 hours of lessons. It starts November 16th and is SBL 4, for advanced beginner/starting intermediate level of English.
-There are specific trade programs for advanced beginner/starting intermediate English comprehension for office skills, building maintenance, and automotive repair.
-For more information on the training programs, contact Wendy Huang at (617) 426-9492, x251
-Funding was provided to AACA for an employment center that provides services including resume writing and critique and job search classes, which runs until at least October of 2010. For more information, call Elena Kuyun at (617) 426-9294, x218

VI. Announcements, Updates, and Kaffeeklatsch
A. Preview of next meeting’s topics

B. Safety Committee (via Barbara Rubel)

Barbara Rubel not present.

Other announcements:

Sue Kim announced that the Harrison-Albany Strategic Planning Study Committee Meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 28th at 6:15 PM @ East Newton Street, the Franklin Square House.

Elaine Ng announced that the 40th Anniversary celebration of BCNC will be held on Saturday, November 7th from 3:30 to 7:00

Kye Liang announced that the Chinatown Master Plan Phase I conclusion meeting will be on Thursday, October 29th at 6:00 PM, to be held at the Metropolitan Building’s Meeting Room.

Angela Sun is seeking community leaders as speakers for monthly training meetings for the directors of Phillips Brooks House Association’s Chinatown programs. Contact asun@fas.harvard.edu.

TCC Meeting Notes: Thursday, September 10, 2009

Published by admin on September 23, 2009 in Meeting Notes. 0 Comments

TCC Minutes
Thursday, September 10, 2009
9:30 AM, Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, 4th floor conference room

In attendance: Andrea Talis, Sue Kim, Kerry McGowan, Richard Goldberg, Kye Liang, Leslie Davol, Sam Davol, Dennis Lui, Kate Chang, Norman Eng, Lydia Lowe, Samuel Tsoi, Chutze Chou, Barbara Rubel, Janice Wong, Shirley Mark, Enoch Liao, Sherry Dong, Megan Cheung, Chin Wen Lee, Kun Chang, Bill Moy, Kaili Xu

I. Refreshments, Welcome, & Introductions
II. Boston Storefront Library Update, Leslie Davol
-Opening October 15th at Archstone
-Will be at the space that was formerly occupied by the W Hotel staff fair at the base of the Archstone Building on Washington Street, approximately 3,000 square feet in size.
-Library modules presently on display at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
-The workstation area will have Pen Power styluses in order to allow for Chinese input.
-It is examining programs presently such as a story hour run by BCNC.
-Currently accepting donations in the form of both materials and cash, materials in the form of browsable items such as non-fiction, current/recent periodicals, and children’s books.
-Hours are Tuesday to Friday 8-10 AM and 4-7 PM, and Saturday from 10 AM to 5 PM.
-Details can be found at http://www.storefrontlibrary.org/.

III. H1N1 Information and Discussion, Dr. Shira Doron, M.D. Tufts Medical Center Division of Geographic Medicine & Infectious Diseases

-Large affects people under the age of 24 and persists in warm weather, unlike the typical flu.
-Has a 1-7 day incubation and infects from 1 day before to roughly 7 days after a fever.
-Spreads through respiratory droplets, cough/sneeze (6 foot range), physical contact, and inanimate objects (for a few hours).
-Businesses should prepare contingency plans in case of such absences, update sick policies, and allow parents to stay home with sick children.
-People should stay home until 24 hours after the fever resolves.
-In the workplace, signage/reminders of hygiene etiquette, tissues, no-touch trash receptacles, always-available hand sanitizer, and disinfectant wipes available to employees can be helpful. Disinfect high-touch areas such as communal computers/phones, elevator buttons, and door handles.
-Seasonal flu vaccine is recommended for children, people who work with children, those who are pregnant or over 65. One cannot get the flu from the vaccine, though the safety of the flu vaccine is uncertain.
-The CDC recommends flu vaccines for children over 6 months of age. Expect daily health checks on students. Staff and children should stay home until 24 hours after resolution of the flu. Expect some school closures.

IV. TCC Discussion Topic Brainstorming
-What is important to your organization right now?

Action Item: Postponed until October meeting due to time constraints.

V. Announcements, Updates, and Kaffeeklatsch
A. Preview of next meeting’s topics
B. Safety Committee (via Barbara Rubel)

Other announcements:

-Andrea Talis from Tufts Medical Center announced a Clinic Research Education Day called Aware for All on Saturday, October 3rd, running from 10 AM to 2 PM to be held in the main atrium of Tufts Medical Center at 800 Washington Street. Events include health screenings, workshops, and exhibits. For more information, call (877) 633-4376 or visit http://www.awareforall.org/boston.

-Richard Goldberg of Asian American Civic Association released a ‘final’ draft of English as a Second Language (ESL) opportunities available in Chinatown, the Chinatown Educational Pathway chart.

-Kye Liang announced a Chinatown Master Plan meeting slated for Wednesday, September 30th, to be held from 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM at the Metropolitan Meeting Room.

-Flyers were distributed for the 24th Annual Oak Street Fair run by Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, which will be held on Saturday, September 26th from 11 AM to 3 PM. It will be at the Josiah Quincy School Playground and Oak Street. Events include a watermelon eating contest, children’s performances, health/dental screenings, games/activities, and Wally the Green Monster. For more information, call (617) 635-5129 or visit http://www.bcnc.net. In addition, there is a health fair on the same date at 10 AM to 2 PM at the Tufts Medical Center Atrium. Further details will be posted on the TCC website.

Next Meeting: Thursday, October 8, 9:30 AM @ BCNC 4th floor Conference Room

Meeting Notes: Thursday, July 9, 2009

Published by admin on July 16, 2009 in Meeting Notes. 0 Comments

TCC Meeting Notes: Thursday, July 9, 2009
9:30 AM, meeting at BCNC, 4th floor conference room.

Attendees: Enoch Liao, Sue Kim, Richard Goldberg, Shirley Mark, Dennis Lui, Matt Swaidan, Julian Bushman-Copp, Chutze Chan, Barbara Rubel, Bill Moy, Anne Tse, Chinwen Lee, Kye Liang

I.    Refreshments, Welcome, & Introductions

II.    Chinatown MasterPlan 2010, update by Kye Liang–
- Nominated, elected 13 member oversight committee
- Hired consultant for MP process – Tainter Associated from Newburyport
- Divided MP Project into 2 phases
Phase I – “Chinatown Tomorrow” – created shared vision for community
Phase II – Implementation – scenario building
- First Community Meeting on July 22, 2009 6-8pm at the Metropolitan Community Room (38 Oak Street, Boston, MA 02111)
- For more information, go to http://www.chinatowngateway.org/mp2010.htm

III.    Chinatown Storefront Library Project, presentation by Marrikka Trotter, Friends of Chinatown Library. Presentation by Julian Bushman-Copp and Matthew Swaidan.
-Collections donated by various sources. Available for browsing. Won’t have lending services due to the limited resources.
- Latest Update:
Space – Looking at 3 potential spaces. Hope to finalize by the end of July. Seeking  approximately 1500 square feet of donated space.
Materials – Shawmut has donated a significant portion of the materials
- Timeline: Fabricate – July
Install – August
Open – September (fall)
- For more information, go to http://www.storefrontlibrary.org

IV.    Development Updates – Boston Redevelopment Authority, Sue Kim

V.    Announcements, Updates, and Kaffeeklatsch
A. Preview next meeting: if we get Bill Linehan to come, we’ll have an August meeting, otherwise we’ll take our usual break in August.
B. Safety Committee (via Barbara Rubel)
C. Chinatown Educational Parkway Chart – see latest draft and give feedback, if any to Richard Goldberf at Richard@aaca-boston.org.
D. Chinese Gambler’s Self-Help Meeting, On the 1st Monday of the month from 1-2pm at St. James Church (125 Harrison Ave., Boston). Sponsored by Massachusetts Counsel on Compulsive Gambling. For more information contact Chien-Chi Huang at (857) 383-3563.

Next Meeting: Either Thursday, August 13, 2009 @ BCNC 4th floor Conference Room
OR Thursday, September 10, 2009, depending on availability.

Meeting Notes: Thursday, June 11, 2009

Published by admin on June 24, 2009 in Meeting Notes. 0 Comments

Click here to download June Minutes (pdf)

TCC Meeting Notes: Thursday, June 11, 2009
9:30 AM, meeting at BCNC, 4th floor conference room.

Attendees: Amy Koo, Barbara Rubel, Carolina Garcia, Chin-Wen Lee, Chutze Chou, Dennis Lui, Elaine Ng, Kerry McGowan, Kun Chang, Lian Yu, Lisette Le, Micky Lee, Nancy Wilson, Nilushka Nethisinghe, Rachel Szyman, Richard Goldberg, Samuel Tsoi, Sherry Dong, Shirley Mark, Suzanne Hinton

Agenda Items

I.    Refreshments, Welcome, Introductions

II.    Issues Facing Chinatown Youth: Follow-Up. A-WAY, presented by Elaine Ng and Lisette Le

-    A-WAY meets at 11AM after TCC meetings for youth worker leadership / professional development. A-WAY is a method to create a nexus of youth workers and related organizations.

III.    Chinatown Storefront Library Project, presentation by Marrikka Trotter, member of the Friends of Chinatown Library

-    The proposed storefront library project is contemplated as a three-month installation, ideally to be sited in several storefront settings around Chinatown. Friends of the Chinatown Library members have been or will be in contact and discussion with local property owners with potential space for the storefront library.

-    The Harvard Graduate School of Design has designed and is assembling the storefront library, intended to be portable, in the form of three component pods that contain all the necessary elements for the library. One pod is designed for select books and periodicals, another for children, and a third for computing, such as web access. The pods contain the furniture necessary to function within them, and intended to be readily able to be assembled and disassembled. The Boston Public Library is lending support to the Friends of Chinatown Library in the form of two advisors and the Friends are presently fundraising. The Friends of Chinatown Library are presently carefully collecting materials for the storefront library, since available space for such is at a premium. More information can be found at http://www.storefrontlibrary.org.

IV.    Tapping Into College Students for your Organizations, presentation & discussion facilitated by TCC’s Chinatown Intercollegiate Partnership (CIP). How can you tap into the college student population and engage them in your work for mutual benefit?

-    Carolina Garcia and Micky Lee of Suffolk University presented the university’s S.O.U.L.S. Center that connects community needs and education of the students. The school offers a community service track with service learning courses; students also have the opportunity to volunteer in one-time volunteer opportunities. There is direct application for example in the media arts, like when students created a documentary on life in East Boston. There will be an Asian studies major / minor available starting in the fall of 2009.

-    Suzanne Hinton from Emerson College presented the offerings available for students that pertain to community service, including 30 courses that delve into subjects such as community media and writing for marketing. Soon, Emerson will be posting projects on their website. 300 hours of service is required for AmeriCorps volunteers.

-    Kerry McGowan presented for Phillips Brooks House Association of Harvard University. It is a student-run non-profit managed by students. It has 77 programs and comprised of ~1,200 undergrads. There are 7 programs in Chinatown including a 6-week summer program that serves ~70 kids, including teenage counselors, an afterschool program, a teen mentoring program, and adult programs in ESL/Citizenship.

-    Shirley Mark presented for Tufts University. She focused on three particular websites that Tufts uses to link with the community. http://activecitizen.tufts.edu/ is the website for the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service. http://outreach.tufts.edu/ contains information about how organizations can work with Tufts and has information on projects in each community, including Boston Chinatown. http://tuftstoolkit.pbworks.com/ is a wiki for engaging students in the community. In addition, the TuftsLife.com website can have postings for organizations to put up volunteer opportunities. All medical students are required to perform 50 hours of community service in health services over the course of 4 years. Opportunities may also include engaging faculty or employees in community-based participatory research or other community activities.

V.    Announcements, Updates, and Kaffeeklatsch

A.    Chinatown Events Calendar online at Chinatown Main Street’s website.
-    Contact Courtney at (617) 350-6303 to list organizations and/or events. http://www.chinatownmainstreet.org/events.php.
B.    Safety Committee (via Barbara Rubel)
C.    Chinatown Educational Pathway Chart by Richard Goldberg
-    Richard Goldberg presented a preliminary pathway chart that will be refined that consists of different pathways for people to achieve jobs and voting rights. It was created in cooperation with English for New Bostonians. For feedback, contact Richard Goldberg at Richard@aaca-boston.org. Also, on June 19th, 9 AM at the Wolff Auditorium, Tufts Medical Center, 800 Washington Street, is the annual graduation for the AACA workforce development programs. Governor, Deval Patrick, may be in attendance (updated 6/16/09, the governor will be in attendance according to Richard Goldberg).

-    In additional announcements, Barbara Rubel announced that soon, the green space between the Jaharis and Posner buildings will be open to the public from 8 a.m. to dusk. It is still undergoing some finalization in the construction before opening. Request to open the space earlier in the day, 7 a.m. perhaps, to accommodate potential community activities such as Tai Chi.

Next Meeting: Thursday, July 9, 2009 @ BCNC 4th floor Conference Room.

Meeting Notes: May 14, 2009

Published by admin on May 19, 2009 in Announcements and Meeting Notes. 0 Comments

Click here to download May Minutes (doc)

TCC Meeting Notes: Thursday, May 14, 2009

9:30 AM, meeting at BCNC, 4th floor conference room.

Attendees: Amy Li, Angela Sun, Anna Tse, Chien-Chi Huang, Chin-Wen Lee, David Mashburn, David Vo, Debbie Ho, Elaine Ng, Emily Wu, Enoch Liao, Karen Gately, Kenny Wong, Kerry McGowan, Kun Chang, Kye Liang, Leslie Davol, Linda Wells, Lydia Lowe, Megan Cheung, Norman Ng, Pamela Lee, Richard Chin, Richard Goldberg, Sam Davol, Samuel Tsoi, Sherry Dong, Shirley Mark, Sophia Kim, Weijie Huang

Agenda Items

I.    Refreshments, Welcome, Introductions


II.    The Chinatown Lottery Agent Outreach Project, presentation by Janice Wong and Yin Lin

-    A community-based field study done by Tufts students under the supervision of the Mass. Council on Compulsive Gambling. The goals of the Project include providing outreach and information to Chinatown lottery agents regarding the Council and its services, as well as collecting and compiling preliminary data for future research and outreach efforts.
-    Refer to attachment of presentation.

III.    Children’s Behavioral Health Initiative (CBHI) by Parents/Professional Advocacy League Chinese Outreach Coordinator Chien-Chi Huang

-    A state-wide initiative to create and provide community-based mental health services for Children and Youth who are on MassHealth. There are 29 community service agencies contracted to hire and train family members of children with mental and behavioral health issues, and to help those family members become mentors for other similarly situated families.
-    Service agencies working directly with Chinese families should be made aware of the Initiative and of its efforts to help inform and recruit family members.
-    See attachments for more information.

IV.    Panel Discussion: Issues Facing Chinatown Youth

-    Boston Asian Y.E.S. (David Vo, Kenny Wong)
-    Boston Chinese Evangelical Church (Enoch Liao)
-    Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (Sophia Kim)
-    Castle Square Tenants Organization Youth Education Program (Linda Wells)
-    Phillips Brooks House (Weijie Huang, Amy Li, Angela Sun)
-    Wang YMCA of Chinatown (David Mashburn, Richard Chin)
-    Chinese Progressive Association (Lydia Lowe)

Questions:
1.    Define the population that your organization serves.
2.    What issues, challenges, strengths, and emerging needs do you see?
3.    What is a take-away for TCC, providers who care about the community?

Summary of discussion:
-    Common issues: youth violence; health (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual); self-esteem; communication; disengagement in school; family; theft; financial concerns

-    Take-aways: Give youth options about what they can do vs. telling them what to do; Opportunities for adults to cross generation lines and interact with young people; Teen jobs will be cut from state budget; Raise up youth to develop new leadership within the community.

V.    Announcements, Updates, and Kaffeeklatsch

A.    Adult Education and Literacy Awareness Week: May 18-22 (Richard Goldberg)
-    Exhibit in Tufts Medical Center Atrium

B.    AACA Educational Pathway Chart by Chinatown Community Educational Partnership (Richard Goldberg)
-    See attachment. Would like to present at June TCC meeting.
-    Refer tech-savvy / graphic designers to Richard Goldberg.

C.    Chinatown Storefront Library (Friends of Chinatown Library) – Sam and Leslie Davol
-    http://storefrontlibrary.org
-    Hope to set up temporary Chinatown neighborhood library in vacant storefront.

D.    Master Plan 2010 Survey
-    See attachment. EDs and Front-line workers should fill out the survey and e-mail responses to lydia@cpaboston.org or to info@chinatowngateway.org.

Next Meeting: Thursday, June 11, 2009 @ BCNC 4th floor Conference Room.

Attachments:

Meeting Notes: April 9, 2009

Published by admin on April 10, 2009 in Announcements and Meeting Notes. 0 Comments

Click here to download April Minutes (doc)

TCC Meeting Notes: Thursday, April 9, 2009

9:30 AM, meeting at BCNC, 4th floor conference room.

Attendees: Amy Li, Angela Sun, Barbara Rubel, Beverly Wing, Candice Montalro, Chrasandra Reeves, Chutze Chou, Dennis Lui, Elaine Ng, Enoch Liao, Jessica Goldberg, Joseph Rodriguez, Kelly Diep, Kendra Thomas, Kerry McGowan, Kun Chang, Kye Liang, Lian Yu, Megan Cheung, Pamela Lee, Richard Goldberg, Sherry Dong, Weijie Huang

Agenda Items

Outcomes / Action Items

I. Refreshments, Welcome, Introductions

II. Federal Stimulus Funding (ARRA): Update and How Do We Influence the Priorities and Meeting Community Needs? TCC sub-committee report by Beverly Wing

- Sub-committee of TCC met to strategize and identified a range of priorities

- Produced written testimony to forum at Boston Public Library

- Sub-committee to reconvene on April 17, 2009 (9:00 AM at BCNC) for the next steps to advocacy and mobilizing commitments

III. MBTA Jobs Lottery, Joe Rodriguez, Kendra Thomas

- Job lottery for bus operators, train operators, and station workers.

- Lottery runs every two years.

- The next lottery opens in August 2009, for 8 weeks.

- Contact Joseph Rodriguez (617-222-4580, jrodriguez@mbta.com) or Kendra Thomas (617-222-3140, kthomas@mbta.com).

- See attachment for more information.

IV. MasterPlan 2010 Update, Kye Liang

- Contact Kye Liang for more information on the MasterPlan 2010. (info@chinatowngateway.org)

V. Establishing Agenda Topics for Next Meetings

A. Going back to list of topics generated at September 2008 TCC meeting:

  • Jobs (good jobs, trends) Economic Trends
  • Traffic and safety Community development/MP
  • Health svcs for new immigrants Keeping community’s vitality
  • Helping members work with students Space for new programs
  • Educating community on issues/elections Youth and families
  • Sexual health/AIDS prevention Economic well-being
  • Financial literacy Poverty in Chinatown
  • Expanding TCC’s “boundaries” and Focus to connect broader community
  • Spiritual health of the community

B. Future TCC meetings will begin to focus on these topics.

VI. Announcements, Updates, and Kaffeeklatsch

A. Safety Committee

- Open meeting on the first Wednesday of each month, 10:00 AM at the DoubleTree Hotel in Chinatown (821 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111)

- Chinatown Neighborhood Council (CNC) has a sub-committee in the Safety Committee

- Barbara Rubel will begin bringing the Safety Committee meeting minutes to TCC.

B. Announcements

1. Community Connections hosted by TCC and The Boston Foundation, April 15, 2009

2. Candidate’s Forum (Third Suffolk State Representative Race)

Tuesday, April 28, 6:00pm-8:00pm

Location: Quincy Elementary School cafeteria, 885 Washington Street, Chinatown

Co-sponsors to date: Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, Leather District Neighborhood Council, Chinese Progressive Association

3. Candidate’s Debate (Third Suffolk Representative Race)

Tuesday, April 21, 12:00-1:30pm

Location: AACA, 87 Tyler Street, Boston, Ma 02111

Contact Sunny Schwartz for details. schwartz@aaca-boston.org

4. Friends of Fort Point Channel – various family activities, more details to come.

5. Boston Alliance for Community Health

The Boston Alliance for Community Health will be hosting its Annual Event. The theme is “Wellness and Obesity”.

Wednesday, May 6, 4:00-7:00pm
Location: goulston & storrs (next to Rowes Wharf) 400 Atlantic Ave, Boston, MA 02110

Contact Chrasandra Reeves, Alliance Coordinator. (617) 279 -2240 ext. 516

6. IRS Job Fair

Gee How Oak Tin Association of New England will be hosting a Job Fair given by the Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service.

Explore Careers in: Accounting, Finance, Information Technology, Revenue Collection, Criminal Investigation, Customer Service and More

Saturday, May 2, 12:00-3:30pm

Location: Gee How Oak Tin Association, 77 Harrison Avenue, third floor, Chinatown

No age restrictions but a minimum of a bachelor’s degree is required. Bring your resume. No pre-registration is required but please RSVP or send questions:

Contact Paula Chan – 781-789-0713 or Man Hoo Chan – 781-439-7489

Barbara Rubel will bring Safety Committee minutes to TCC.

Next Meeting: Thursday, May 14, 2009 @ BCNC 4th floor Conference Room.

Attachments:

Meeting Notes: March 12, 2009

Published by admin on March 27, 2009 in Announcements and Meeting Notes. 0 Comments

Click here to download March Minutes (doc)

TCC Meeting Notes: Thursday, March 12, 2009

9:30 AM, meeting at Sackler Building, Room 853 of Tufts University.

Attendees: Alex Zhang, Andrea Talis, Angela Sun, Anna Tse, Barbara Rubel, Beverly Wing, Bill Moy, Carrie Tang, Dennis Lui, Elaine Ng, Enoch Liao, Kerry McGowan, Lara Merida-Fernandes, Marie Moy, Megan Cheung, Nick Cetrulo, Nilushka Nethisinghe, Pamela Lee, Samuel Tsoi, Sherry Dong, Weijie Huang

Agenda Items

Outcomes / Action Items

I. Refreshments, Welcome, Introductions

II. Organizational Presentation: Sharewood Project (free healthcare clinic), Nick Cetrulo

Please spread the word and visit www.sharewood.info for more information.

III. Effects of the Stimulus Package: How Chinatown can Advocate for Resources, discussion facilitated by Elaine Ng (Agency Director of BCNC) and Alex Zhang (ACDC).

- Funds allocated to be mostly distributed through existing channels.

- Monday, March 23, 2009: Public hearing at the Boston Public Library to hear from service providers on workforce development.

- Be aware of these hearings, as time is short.

- Meeting with senior management to discuss advocacy on Thursday, March 19, 2009 at 10:00AM. Strategy meeting for stimulus. Contact Elaine Ng and Alex Zhang for more information at elaine.ng@bcnc.net and alex@asiancdc.org

Elaine Ng and Alex Zhang will coordinate this meeting.

All: please let your agency directors know of this meeting.

IV. Announcements

1. CHNA grants, Sherry Dong

Contact Sherry Dong at sdong@tuftsmedicalcenter.org

The Boston Alliance for Community Health has issued its General Mini-Grant for 2009. In years past, they have been able to issue several mini-grants per year, general, pediatric and cancer focused topics. This year, this will be the only mini-grant opportunity. Given that, it is important that we submit a proposal on behalf of TCC with the strongest chance of being funded.

Reminder that only current dues paying organizational members may be considered on behalf of TCC. As your Link Team Leader, please contact me with your interest in submitting an application, with concept and brief description if possible, and with questions. The RFP is attached for your perusal.

The RFP will be due on or before Monday, April 6, 2009 by 5:00 pm so the sooner we discuss and confirm which member organization will be submitting, the sooner the application can be written, reviewed, revised, etc. before submission. Sherry will be away from 3/26 – 4/2, so the sooner the better.

2. Purposed / Codified TCC Grant Admin Costs

As a volunteer driven entity, The Chinatown Coalition relies upon officers and members to share the work which includes coordinating meetings and communications and printing materials. The costs of meeting refreshments, event sponsorships, and other minor operational expenses are paid for with the annual dues from members. On occasions, TCC receives contributions from community members because it has assisted with an event such as the annual job fair which is now run by Betty Yau after thirteen years of TCC leadership or under-spends on some minor grants it receives.

One of the areas that TCC consistently invests time and effort is helping members with their grant proposals, especially the CHNA grants were TCC is the applicant of record. TCC calls upon its officers, or RGNs, to review the funders’ goals, the proposals and proposed program activities to ensure that they are aligned, competitive and responsive to the needs of the community. This involves a commitment from TCC to also ensure the integrity of the program. For this reason, TCC will be instituting a 5% administrative fee for all grant proposals for which it is the applicant of record. The funds will be used for TCC operational expenses, special projects, or event sponsorships undertaken by TCC. None of the RGNs will receive compensation for the work they perform on behalf of TCC.

3. Community Needs Gathering

On April 15, 2009 The Boston Foundation will come to speak with EDs in the Chinatown community.

4. Candidate’s Forum (Third Suffolk State Representative Race)

Quincy Elementary School cafeteria (885 Washington Street, Chinatown)

Tuesday, April 28 from 6:00-8:00pm

Co-sponsors to date: Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, Leather District Neighborhood Council, Chinese Progressive Association

5. Candidate’s Debate (Third Suffolk Representative Race)

Tuesday, April 21 from 12:00-1:30pm at AACA

Contact Sunny Schwartz for details. schwartz@aaca-boston.org

6. Job Postings: Childcare Director and ESOL Teacher for AACA

See website for details: http://aaca-boston.org/opportunities.

7. Survey regarding attitudes of indoor smoking & smoke-free housing policy

Conducted by ACDC, contact Alex Zhang at alex@asiancdc.org

8. Survey by AAPIP / AGM (Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy and Associated Grant Makers) on how the current fiscal crisis is impacting API organizations and communities in Greater Boston. AAPIP is using this information to update our colleagues in the philanthropy world about the how API organizations have been impacted.

Each organization should only fill out the survey once: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=kxtqS3_2fUJXmjnfvqPcbQOw_3d_3d

Thanks to Tufts University for the meeting space and refreshments!

Next Meeting: Thursday, April 9, 2009 @ BCNC 4th floor Conference Room.

Attachments:

Meeting Notes: February 12, 2009

Published by admin on March 27, 2009 in Announcements and Meeting Notes. 0 Comments

Click here to download February Minutes (doc)

TCC Meeting Notes: Thursday, February 12, 2009

9:30 AM, meeting at Chinese Economic Develop Council (CEDC) at 65 Harrison Ave., 7th floor

Attendees: Barbara Rubel, Beverly Wing, Dennis Lui, Enoch Liao, Jane Leung, Kerry McGowan, Nilushka Nethisinghe, Richard Goldberg, Samuel Tsoi, Sherry Dong

Agenda Items

Outcomes/Action Items

I. Refreshments, Welcome, Introductions

II. Announcements

A. Emergency Preparedness Planning (EPP) Part 4, Beverly Wing

· Boston providing EPP for past 3 years

- RFP on January 26 due last Monday

o Application: choose 1 of 2 or both components:

- Initiate new collaboration

- Further education / outreach

- TCC applied for both – $20,000 maximum. Grant period ends June 30.

o Work more closely with Coalition members and integrate EPP into curriculum, on-going activities.

- Offer staff training

o Bring information out to another venue

- Relied on press to get message out

- Work with new constituency of youth, work with YES youth program, possible comic or video on YouTube or Facebook

o YES, AACA, Greater Boston Chinese Golden Age Center, BCNC on behalf of TCC

  1. CHNA Mini-grants, RFP will be issued soon, due in March, Sherry Dong

· Sherry is the link team leader for TCC to mini-grants

- This year early issue one RFP as pooled funds

- Only 1 application from TCC, so interested groups should contact Sherry

- Due March (late)

- Contact Sherry Dong if your group is interested in CHNA mini-grants

III. Organizational Update, Phillips Brooks House Association. www.pbha.org

Kerry McGowan, PBHA’s Director of Programs

· PBHA is a student-run, staff-supported, non-profit

- Governed by student cabinet, officers elected every year

· About 70+ programs – all volunteer

- About 1,200 Harvard undergrads involved each year

- Only student-run homeless shelter in the country is at Harvard Square

- Prefers to run community-based programs

· Dual mission:

(1) Serve communities

(2) Train undergrads in non-profit management

· 12 staff supporting programs, don’t really handle operations

- Serve as links to communities and as institutional memory with student turnover

- Step in to address issues of liability, financial advisors, etc.

- Kerry is 1 of 4 program directors but they just advise, don’t “direct”

· Funding

- Budget is about $1.5 million annually. Raised by students, through grants, alumni, and some events.

· Talk about Chinatown programs (see handout)

- 6 programs which allow PBHA to serve Chinatown year-round

(1) Chinatown Afterschool Program

(2) Chinatown Big Sibling

(3) Chinatown Teen Program

(4) Chinatown Citizenship Program

(5) Chinatown ESL Program

(6) Chinatown Adventure (CHAD)

IV. Follow-up: Coalition Readiness Assessment, Nilushka Nethisinghe, Greater Boston Center for Healthy Communities

- October 9: Nilushka came to administer Coalition Assessment Tool

- Working with YES for a community prevention strategy and implementation

- 12 members filled out survey at regular meeting

- Go over strengths and area concerns

A. Coalition Structure

- Challenge: agreement in current org chart may be refined by not comprehended

- Unclear on decision-making process

B. Coalition Capacity

- Half of the members unsure if coalition actively engaged all members

- Unclear difference between paying and non-paying members

- Should engage more residents, business members

C. Community

- Agree

o All members agree TCC works actively in the community

o Use resources in TCC and community

o Did not intentionally collect data on substance abuse

- Disagree

o Half of the members felt substance abuse issue

o Majority members agree substance abuse control needs more work

D. TCC Readiness

- Members well-networked, understood community

- Participation in members

- Agree community is aware of TCC presence

- Nilushka provided document with more information

o Member direction

o Mission / vision

o History / accomplishments

o Engage members in strategic information

o Clear defined roles, dues

o Update decision process

o New and seasoned members more interaction

- Discussion

o Good that TCC invited David Moy to talk to new members re: background

o Make membership dues more clear

- Confusing. Good to have clear payment structure.

- Beverly: Historically there were 2 membership levels.

o Full membership, dues paying – must attend 4 meetings before

o Associate membership – non-voting

- We wanted TCC to stay welcoming / open, so didn’t make a big deal about dues.

- Next Steps

o Exec Committee come back with something, even if just materials as a starting point.

o Pursue funding sources for staff.

o Include next Executive meeting dates in future agendas.

- Exec Committee come back with something, pursue funding sources for staff

V. Announcements:

  1. Focus Group
  2. Tufts Organization Update, Sharewood Clinic
  3. CEDC – space available on 5th floor – incubation space for small businesses, discounted prices

Next Meeting: Thursday, March 12, 2009 @ BCNC 4th floor Conference Room

Meeting Notes: December 11, 2008

Published by admin on March 27, 2009 in Announcements and Meeting Notes. 0 Comments

Click here to download December Minutes (doc)


TCC Meeting Notes: December 11, 2008

9:00 AM, meeting at Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center

Attendees: Anna Tse, Barbara Rubel, Carrie Tang, Chutze Chou, David Moy, Debbie Ho, Dennis Lui, Elaine Ng, Enoch Liao, Janelle Chan, Kerry McGowan, Kevin Peng, Lisa Chice, Lisette Le, Marie Moy, Richard Goldberg, Sarah Cluggish, Sherry Dong, Shirley Mark, Stephanie Fan, Sue Kim, Thomas Lee

Agenda Items

Outcomes/Action Items

I. Refreshments, Welcome, Introductions

II. TCC’s Historical Context & Perspective with Founding member David Moy (formerly BCNC Executive Director, current Program Officer at the Hyams Foundation)

· 1990 or 1991 – Started talking about The Chinatown Coalition when he first came back to Chinatown in the economic downturn cycle.

· Create coalitions so communities could collaborate on how to use funding, how to make the community healthy.

· Got funding for 2-3 years’ operations to work with youth and families.

· TCC kept meeting monthly, but it was more important than money. First time in Chinatown organization history to bring organizations together, and brought in institutions (NEMC, Tufts, etc.) but they didn’t get a voice / vote.

· Over time, this built up trust.

· Over time, mini-grants, assessment of Asian youth, etc. Basically, things happened through the trust that would not otherwise have happened. And people had questioned why Chinatown couldn’t get it together.

· Compared to Jamaica Plain, David saw many divisions, in-fighting, etc. It took almost 2 decades of work to build this trust.

Moving forward, what’s going to happen?

· Economically, worse than previous cycles – deeper cuts, so organizations are going into survival mode.

· But it’s different because groups are actually talking with each other.

· Many government services / funds have been cut. Foundations are losing one-third of their endowments.

· Suggest letting funders know what’s going on. Otherwise, they won’t be thinking of you, or they’ll assume you’re okay.

· Foundations calling for strategic alliances and mergers to save costs. But that only works with groups that have trust. Foundations need to put money into technical assistance for groups to explore this.

· Coalitions also discussing changes in public policy – e.g. rising costs for health care have re-surfaced discussions of group health insurance like the trade unions.

· Foundations also need to put funds into Public Policy discussion.

· Other benefits:

- Coming back from the State House to encourage people to call legislators.

- Large list of organizations / coalitions is harder for politicians to ignore.

· Two more things:

1. As you make staff cuts, reserve some funds / staff for organizing, otherwise you’ll be lost behind funding.

2. Keep donors personally involved and updated.

- Giving from individual donors, especially since they give out of a passion for the cause; and they usually keep giving as long as they have jobs!

- These folks are not only pockets of money, but partners. They need to be part of the organizing effort, contacting legislatures, etc.

3. Developing younger leaders – like Thomas Lee – who rise up and get opportunities.

- TCC gives opportunities to younger leaders to get broader experience and exposure.

Thomas Lee: TCC can be a place to collaborate, discuss issues. Different elements of Chinatown claiming to speak for the community. TCC tries to be a place to discuss this with civility.

Debbie Ho: You need to advocate to non-profits to get them to come out to meetings to get more power and influence. Honestly, there are a lot more organizations out there that could use / benefit from TCC.

David Moy is also the co-chair of Asian-Americans in philanthropy. David proposes regional hearings to discuss / find the impact of the economy on Asian non-profits. Ask: what’s happened to your organization, your services, your constituents? Convene either in Chinatown or Boston city Asian-American non-profits.

Shirley Mark: Non-profit Congress. Non-profit Strategy Group: MA Non-Profit Network.

Stephanie Fan: Developing Charismatic Non-profit Organizations. The Charismatic Organization by Deborah Jospin. Can come do a workshop for free since Chinatown is a partner of Tufts University.

III. Tufts University Institutional Master Plan update

- Meeting by BRA tonight (December 11, 2008) at 6:00 PM at Posner Hall Auditorium for more information.

- Master Plan now includes entire Health-Science Campus. But no new projects from 1993 plan.

a. Will convert part of Posner parking into open green space for the foreseeable future. But in the long-term it will be a building.

b. Signage and kiosks for campus.

c. Windows, brick of buildings on Harrison Ave face.

Stephanie Fan requests Tufts consider first floor of R1 site for library.

d. Comment period for Master Plan amendment: address letter to Katelyn Sullivan at Katelyn.Sullivan.bra@cityofboston.gov or mail to:

Katelyn Sullivan, BRA, One City Hall Square, Boston, MA 02201.

e. For a copy of the Chinatown Community Report in both English and Chinese, contact Tufts Office of Community Relations (617) 627-3780.

IV. The State of the Economy: Discussion of financial impacts for community service providers

Discuss – convene Asian American non-profits to hold a hearing to assess the impact on the economy.

V. Announcements:

  1. AACA has a new website for communicating at work: http://aaca-boston.org/caw
  2. City Council hearings on bilingual ballot on Monday, December 15 at 10:00 AM on new Home Rule Petition.
  3. Chinese Historical Society of New England exhibit at Radcliffe still on, and will try to move it to Chinatown.
  4. Mayor wants to put $40 million into Filene’s and Kensington. Consider calling city and learning more about this.

Next Meeting: Thursday, January 8, 2008 @ BCNC 4th floor Conference Room

Meeting Notes: January 8, 2009

Published by admin on January 23, 2009 in Announcements and Meeting Notes. 0 Comments

TCC Meeting Notes: Thursday, January 8, 2009

9:30 AM, meeting at Asian American Civic Association, 87 Tyler Street, 5th floor

Attendees: Anna Tse, Barbara Rubel, Beverly Wing, Bill Moy, Chau Ming Lee, Chutze Chou, Cody Yu, Enoch Liao, Jane Leung, Liau Yu, Megan Cheung, Nicole Newendorp, Richard Goldberg, Samuel Tsoi, Sherry Dong, Sue Kim, Sunny Schwartz, Susanna Zweig, Weijie Huang

Agenda Items

I.       Refreshments, Welcome, Introductions

II.     Organizational Update, Asian American Civic Association – Richard Goldberg, Director of Adult Education

5 Components: (Richard)

-          Education

-          Training Programs

·         Automotive Education

·         Office Skills

·         Facilities Management

-          Workforce Development (Sunny)

·         Retention Services up to 2 years after helping them find a job, keep job, work with supervisors, get another job.

·         Incumbent Training

·         Employment Center with walk-in services

-          don’t need training but need job

-          free-for-service until they get funding

·         Language capacity for Quincy Career Center

-          Initiatives

·         Youth Initiative (started planning in 2008) – working / serving families. Want to work with another community youth providers – exciting because they provide services up to 6PM. Also develop young leadership, join board, work with Sampan to provide youth voice. Plan there but iron out priorities.

·         Meeting January 21 for youth providers.

-          Early Child Education Project – have child care center on ground floor. Distinct for Mandarin immersion. About 51 spots. Most difficult to hire staff with license, speaking Mandarin.

-          Constituency – beginner / intermediate level ESOL

-          70-80 % women, young 20s

-          Evening ESOL very diverse, training programs

-          PACE Automotive Repair Technicians

-          20% Moroccan, 15% Albanian, 50% Chinese

III. State of Child Care & Early Education: Update & Discussion – Bernadette Davidson, Director of Child Care, BCNC

-          Infant / Toddler care NEEDED

-          Because it is the most costly, highest legalized mandated ratio

-          E.g. $290/ week at BCNC (private market)

-          State reimburse less than others

-          Need pre-school programs supplemented to help offset infant/toddler

-          Wanted in “family childcare home”

-          But most agencies don’t have Infant / Toddler care because:

-          Higher labor

-          Work well with parents

-          Only 6 children at a time (including your own kids), with only 2 kids < 2.9 yrs

-          Rigorous with housing requirements (issue for Chinatown)

-          Child Care High Costs (issue for Chinatown)

(NB: nobody makes money on this; barely breaking even.)

(centralized, computerized waiting list state-wide for all child care)

-          Two basic ways for low-income to pay

1.      Contracted care by state – more stable

2.      Voucher – have to go to Resource & Referral to demonstrate they are low-income. But problem now with economy is that the state has restricted vouchers to those coming off welfare or identified by DSS.

-          this is not really applicable to Chinatown families

-          at BCNC, the last time it happened, our program turned 90% (?) non-Chinese, not from our community. That hasn’t happened yet.

-          As standards and education goes up, our teachers tend to move on to public school jobs because BPS pays much higher.

-          150 children from Chinatown community lose child care because of inability to afford care.

-          Multi-lingual Action Council (grant to work across communities on such issues)

Announcements:

  1. Nicole Newendorp, professor of Anthropology at Harvard: Drawing up research proposals on Cantonese-speaking overseas born immigrants over the age of 55. She is looking for concrete suggestions for targeted groups she can have in-depth involvement with over a longer period of time.
  2. Sue Kim from the BRA –

    (1) Harrison Albany Strategic Planning (South End) study. Taking nominations for Advisory group until the end of the day tomorrow.

    (2) Maternity leave in a few months. Temporary contact people.

  3. AACA‘s Community Forum with Suffolk County D.A. Daniel Conley. Topic: Crime, Justice, and the Immigrant Community. Date: Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 12:00-1:00PM. Location: AACA 87 Tyler Street, 4th Floor. RSVP: 617-426-9492 ext. 312 or rsvp@aaca-boston.org

V. Attachments:

1. ESOL Flyer for Chinatown ACCESS

2. Summary of presentation on State of Child Care in Boston by Bernadette Davidson, BCNC


Next Meeting: Thursday, February 12, 2009 @ BCNC 4th floor Conference Room

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