S for Snake, Service, Seniors

On February 7th, in light of the upcoming Lunar New Year of the Snake, CASL AB held a happy hour/gift drive at the upscale sushi lounge Ara On. We had over 40 guests in attendance despite the weather and, with everyone's generously donated gifts and dollars, surpassed our goal of 70 gifts for the seniors at the CASL Adult Day Services (ADS) program!





We also filled out a giant Happy Lunar New Year card for the ADS seniors, and some of us got to showcase our calligraphy skills :)

With the help of extra funds contributed by AB, we delivered 120 gifts to the ADS Lunar New Year party the next day and saw MANY smiling seniors! 

More about ADS
This program provides on-site care for older adults, ages 60 or above, to promote their social, physical, and emotional well-being in a supervised and structured group setting. The program provides seniors with social, recreational, therapeutic, and culturally sensitive activities, including but not limited to arts and crafts, fitness classes, outings, and singing and dancing groups. Participating seniors receive transportation services to and from the center if living within the service area, nutritious meals, and regular health monitoring by a registered nurse. To read some client stories, click here.

"Why We Give Back To The Community"

On January 26th, CASL Associate Board kicked off the New Year with our first general membership meeting. Members had the chance to catch up with old friends, meet new ones, and learn more about CASL and our cause. 

Jing Cheng, AB Co-Chair, presenting an overview of CASL, its mission, and the vital role AB plays as the young-professional arm of CASL

Bernie Wong, founder of CASL, telling us about the history of CASL. Hearing how the organization has grown over the past 30 years - from 10 to hundreds of staff, from a handful to 700+ volunteers - was incredibly inspiring and humbling.

We had an amazing speaker panel consisting of Joanie Lum, a Fox News journalist and advisory board member; Anne Shaw, an attorney who started the Pro bono Legal Clinic at CASL, and candidate for 1st Ward Democratic Committeeman in the 2012 election; and Karen Chiu, a physician and co-founder of Project:VISION.

The panelists describing their ideal superpower - Joanie wanted to be able to instill compassion in everyone, Anne wanted to be able to provide justice for all, Karen wanted to be able to be in multiple places at once.

All our speakers gave great insight into their views of community issues, as well as the importance of volunteerism and leadership in helping make changes around us. 

After a tour of the CASL facilities, some of us joined two of the panelists, Anne and Karen, for a delicious lunch at Sweet Station! 

What a great way to start the New Year with the goal helping out and doing more for our community. Thank you all for attending!