By Pallavi Rudraraju, VA Middle School Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff This week marks the first full week of Spring (regardless of what Punxsutawney Phil has to say about it), and with fast-approaching, warm weather and bright sunshine comes a new focus on leadership and career exploration in the VA Middle School programs. Last week, VAMS youth had wo
By Neel Saxena, Executive Director Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Board The AALEAD Board is a group of individuals who are responsible for overseeing the AALEAD's activities and meet periodically to discuss and vote on the affairs of the organization. AALEAD's Board is made up of 12 individuals representing 8 Asian ethnic groups as well as a balance of other identities that reflect AALEAD’s families including varied religions, educational attainment, age, gender, and careers. The primary r
By Neel Saxena, Executive Director Aspire to LEAD is about getting involved with Asian American LEAD to impact the lives of low-income and underserved Asian Pacific American youth. One of the ways to get involved is joining AALEAD at a powerful 1-hour fundraising breakfast on April 6, 2018 at 8:30 am at Top of the Town in Arlington, VA. You will learn about the amazing impact our programming is having on our low-income and underserved Asian Pacific American young pe
By Mecca McPherson, MD Middle School Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff In 1926, Black History Month was first established in by
By Kenny Lam, DC Elementary School Program Intern Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff The AALEAD Internship program is an excellent opportunity for folks to get involved in the community and learn about youth development. K
By Pallavi Rudraraju, VA Middle School Program Coordinator
Photos Courtesy of Pallavi Rudraraju
As you may know, AALEAD’s theme for this 2017-2018 school year is “AALEAD Origins: Rooted in Our Past, Creating Our Future.” Our goal is to learn about our past and use it to create the future we want to see in the world. For the past few weeks in the VA MS After School Program, we have been focusing on just that!
By Vi Bui, Youth Mentoring & Volunteer Programs Coordinator
Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff
The end of National Mentoring Month (aka January) marks 11 months that I have worked at AALEAD as the Youth Mentoring & Volunteer Programs Coordinator and over the course of this year I have learned so much about the importance of mentors in the Asian Pacific American community. Here are just a few ways mentors impact lives.
How Mentors Impact Lives
By Vi Bui, Youth Mentoring & Volunteer Programs Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff Did you hear? January 2018 is National Mentoring Month and this year, AALEAD, as well as our Mentoring Programs, celebrate 20 years of serving youth in the DC area community. In 1998, Ms. Sandy Dang founded AALEAD and the Youth Mentoring Program has been with us ever since as one of our oldest programs. Although the model of our Youth Mentoring Program has changed throughout the years, in its curr
By Neel Saxena, Executive Director Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff The title of this blog pays homage to the film, “13 Going on 30” which is the story about a girl who makes a wish on her thirteenth birthday, and wakes up the next day as a thirty-year-old woman. The story of AALEAD began 19 y