Happy Holidays!

Thank you for visiting as we know this is one of the busiest times of the year. As you consider your year-end giving, we would like to assure you that your donation is supporting a cause that makes an immediate difference in our local community.

Since 1998, AALEAD has been the Washington region’s leading resource focused on improving the lives of low-income Asian American students. Because of the positive impact in the community, we were recognized as one of the top non-profit organizations in the Greater DC area by Washingtonian magazine. This year, we were recognized for our management practices as a finalist for the Washington Post’s Excellence in Nonprofit Management Award.

In 2010, thanks to the support we received from our donors, we are proud to highlight the following student achievements:

1) We served over 400 students. Over 98% of our students advanced to the next grade level.

2) Over 89% of our youth improved or maintained their English grades and over 80% of our youth improved or maintained their Math grades.

3) 98% of AALEAD students attended school at least 85% of the time.

4) We provided over 200 hours of service learning opportunities to our students, which benefitted our community and taught our youth about the importance of giving back.

As you can see, your donation enables us to make a real difference in the lives of hundreds of Asian American youth. However, the need has only increased in 2011, while resources have decreased.  Because of our commitment to our youth, we gladly take on this challenge.  But to do so, we need your help. Your support ensures that our youth continue to have opportunities to become future leaders.

Thank you and warmest wishes for the New Year!

Sincerely,

Rosetta Lai

Executive Director

Please click here to make a secure online donation

AALEAD held its second Friendraiser event on December 2nd, hosted by Board member Jimmy Lynn at his cozy home in Arlington. Over 20 guests were in attendance to learn about our mission and hear compelling program experiences from our student representative, Kevin Nguyen. Throughout the evening, attendees networked while enjoying wine and delicious hors d’oeurves.

We want to particularly recognize the following guests for showing their generous support:

AALEADership Circle members

Jerry Bouchard

Terry Hsiao

John Tobe

Michael Wong

Additional contributors we’d like to thank

Wilson Chang

Julie Mazzoccoli

We had a wonderful time meeting everyone and thanks again for coming out to learn about AALEAD. Enjoy the photos from the event below:

Last December 17th was the DC Holiday party with almost 150 people who joined us for this event.  This is a joint event with the DC Secondary School Program and Elementary After School program.  It was indeed an enjoyable time with the students who participated in the different activities. Our students’ parents who watched their kids performances and A Santa giving gifts to the students.  The best way to describe our holiday party is through the smiles captured during the event.

Smiles as students enjoys the asian food…..

students enjoying the different workstations that the high school students have prepared..

smiles as students having fun times with volunteers and staff…

And of course, smiles as students received their gifts through our generous sponsors this year…..

Happy Holidays and Have a blessed New Year!! – AALEAD Elementary after school program

Hi, my name is Thomas Lee and I have been interning with AALEAD for the past three months. Considering this is my first internship and first time working with a non-profit, interning at AALEAD has been a fresh and enjoyable experience. As an intern, I worked in the Maryland office and volunteered at the after-school program at Eastern Middle School.

Working with the students at Eastern was an eye-opening and fulfilling experience. I have some volunteering and teaching experience but only abroad (I lived abroad in China for some time). I had never worked with American or Asian American middle school students. The students were great. From day one, they quickly grew on me and embraced me as a fellow AALEAD’er. During my time at Eastern, I assisted Maryland MS coordinator and my good friend Edison Park. As an assistant, I led some activities & discussions and helped the students with projects & homework. When Edison’s duties forced him elsewhere, I even led the program for a couple days. I want to thank Kendra Lee and Alex Cena again for coming in on those days to help me lead programs. I know I benefited from working with the students, not just in increasing cultural awareness but also learning about the same topics the students did: human trafficking and homelessness. I also benefited in working with Edison, who helped me develop my leadership skills in the classroom. I hope the students benefitted as much from my presence at Eastern as I did from meeting them.

The other half of my internship I was working in the Maryland office. I shared the space in our small and cozy office with Jonathan Henry, Micah, Duabhav, Edison, and another fall intern, Hyun Jun. It was a fun, learning experience working with such great staff. I got to see how a non-profit works from the inside and took on many relevent duties including preparing for programs, research, and organizing data. In addition to the great amount of work I got done in the office, the staff and I shared some good conversations and laughs.

I just want to say thank you again to the AALEAD DC staff for opening up the office and taking the time to sit down and talk about their various departments and duties. I want to say thank you for the AALEAD Maryland staff for the opportunity to intern out of their office, for welcoming me in and making this internship a great experience. I want to thank the Board and Executive Director of AALEAD for the great work they’re doing in running the organization. Last, but not least, I want to thank the students at Eastern and  other AALEAD students for making AALEAD what it is and accepting me as a fellow AALEAD’er.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and have a Happy New Year!

The four months that I interned at AALEAD were both extremely gratifying and enjoyable. As an intern I worked with both elementary and high school students, volunteering at Bancroft Elementary and also participating in the Secondary School Programs (SSP).

Working at Bancroft was not as easy as I had imagined it to be. However, my time there was both fulfilling and fun! At Bancroft I aided in everything from one-on-one tutoring to homework help to just playing with the kids.

As for SSP, I worked closely with SSP Coordinator, Alex Cena. Together we came up with ideas on how best to provide academic support for high school seniors during the college application process. From this, AALEAD’s College Prep Program was born. Starting in September I worked closely with a group of DCPS seniors, we covered everything from the college search, SAT/ACT Prep, and college essays.

One of the best parts of interning with AALEAD was forming relationships with students. Getting to know them, hearing about their lives, and having them really open up to you, made this internship more than just a “job.” I had such a great time at AALEAD, I miss will working with such a generous and giving organization. Thank you for the wonderful experience!