2023 May Newsletter

Greetings from Our Executive Director

Dear friends and families of CIDA

Happy AAPI Heritage Month! CIDA has many exciting things coming up, so please be sure to check out the entire newsletter to keep up with the latest about CIDA Community Center Programs, the Thrift Shop by CoSpire, volunteering opportunities and more! And please don’t forget to mark your calendars for the CIDA Gala on October 12 at Leonard Palazzo!

Young Seh Bae, Ph.D.
Executive Director

What’s Up at CIDA

Two CoSpire Members are hired!

We are excited to announce two new hires from the CoSpire program members. Conspire is CIDA’s workforce development program for young adults with exceptional needs. Currently, the 2nd cohort of trainees are participating in the job-readiness programs. Andrew K. has accepted a position at the Yankees Stadium as a member of their event staff and Benjamin K. has accepted a position at a local bookstore in Bayside. We are very proud of both individuals who continue to show exceptional growth in taking control of their lives and achieving independence through employment.

CoSpire Pop-up Thrift Shop is Coming Soon!

Following last year’s successful opening of CoSpire, CIDA’s Social Cooperative will open a pop-up thrift shop on May 26th and 27th this year. Through the thrift shop, which started as a retail job practice for CoSpire members, trainees learn cashiering, labeling, dealing with customers, and inventory organization skills. We ask for your participation so that the thrift shop can be as successful as last year. Also, we would like to express our sincere thanks to those who have donated items for the thrift shop program this year.

CIDA’s Volunteer Language Liaison Training Starts

CIDA has actively advocated for the language access rights of parents who face language and cultural barriers. In 2022, CIDA launched the Volunteer Language Liaison Training in collaboration with the NYC Department of Education (NYC DOE). The purpose of the program was to train Korean-American parents to become language access volunteers who can inform the community about language access resources, know-your-rights materials and how to navigate NYC DOE’s website and information. This year again, the NYC DOE is sponsoring the training program for the Korean community. The intensive training will take place during the whole week of May 8.

New Art Teacher at the CIDA Community Center Program

We are very excited to welcome Rebecca Jean-Philippe, an artist and art teacher, to CIDA. Rebecca received her Master’s degree in Fine Arts at the City University of New York, where she worked as a Graduate Teaching Fellow and Teaching Artist before making her debut as a professional artist. She will teach the Adult Art Class (Wednesday mornings) and Summer Youth Art Studio (Wednesday afternoons) at the CIDA Community Center (CCC). To register for the CCC Art Class, please use this link: https://www.cidacenter.com/

CIDA Special Summer Classes are OPEN! Deadline: June 30th

CIDA Community Center will start summer classes for teenagers for 5 weeks from July 10th. Art, cooking, writing, and leadership classes are offered, and early bird discounts are available by the end of May. The writing class provides intensive help with the College Common Application Essay for rising 11th and 12th graders for 5 weeks. The Entrepreneurship class creates a business project for 5 weeks and awards are given to excellent teams. The art class provides intensive guidance for middle and high school students who are currently preparing their art major portfolios. Classes are small, so register early. https://www.cidacenter.com/

Volunteer with CIDA

We are looking for adults, college students, and high school students to volunteer in CIDA’s programs. This year, we are looking for volunteers for various fundraising events at the community center, free programs for young people with disabilities, the Art Festival, and the Annual Gala event in October. If you are interested, please call 718-224-8197 ext 1 or fill out the application form below. (Volunteer Application) https://forms.gle/LGJDhQhZL7fCso1X6

Events