The AALEAD Blog has moved!

The AALEAD blog has moved to our new site!

---

---

SUMMER PROGRAM STARTS WITH Camping Trip !

AALEAD took the secondary schools program from DC and Maryland on a camping trip on June 29 - 30 2010. According to the students, the trip was pleasurable and enjoyable. Some of the favorite activities included the canoeing, and how they sung songs around the campfire and ate smores.

The swimming pool was very fancy and had numerous rides and slides . As one student said " I went to the swimming pool and had a blast!"


All of the activities, places, and creatures were delightful, except for the bugs and the mosquitoes. We show great appreciation for the trip and for all you do AALEAD:)!

Introducing our new intern, Shirley Zhang!

Info.

English Name: Shirley Zhang
Chinese Name: Zengwen Zhang
Age: Guess or...ask me..if you want.
M/F: Female.. (obviously)
From: China..yeah.!!! (far away...)
Habits: Shopping. Badminton.etc..


More

I'm a year two finance student in Beijing Normal University Hong Kong Bampist University United International College which is very close to Macow. But I live in Guangzhou, another beautiful city.

This is my 1st time to U.S. It looks really different from China, but I have great fun here. It's exciting to figure out all the things I don't know by myself. Living in a totally different culture enables me to learn more. This is a great time to let me experience the life style in U.S. But I still need more time to get used to the food here. Anyway, I like this trip.

If you want to know more about me, feel free to talk to me anytime !!!

---

2010 Washington Post Best Practice Award Ceremony

On Thursday, June 24th of 2010 The Washington Post and The Center for Non-Profit Advancement Co-Hosted their Annual Best Practice Award. This year Asian American LEAD was one of the 5 finalist along with Byte Back, The Children's Inn for NIH, Global Impact, and PHILLIPS Program for Friends and Family for the Best Practice Award.

With such a small organization and a handful of employees, AALEAD closed down their office and headed over to the Washington Post building where the event was being held. With all the support from every employee, AALEAD stood out as a very supportive, passionate and loving organization, "Even as an intern with 2 weeks under my belt, going to the Best Practice Award Ceremony with the entire office, no one was left behind, spoke true to the relationships that define AALEAD not only as an effective non-profit but also as a loving family." says Summer Intern Ruth Le.

The event was so intense, the Host of the event even called it a "Grammy award ceremony for Non-Profit organizations" as oppose to "Non-Profit Idol", "Oscars", and "Academy award." A very well made video of all the finalist were shown at the beginning of the event that definitely showcased all the wonderful things that each non-profit had to offer. This lovely, intense video was made by WeYo. During the event everyone was so anxious to find out who amongst the 5 finalist have won the Best Practice Award; everyone was ready to jump out of their seats. Two weeks prior to the event The Center for Non-Profit Advancement have already chosen the winner, building the anxiety up in every organization in trying to figure out if they have won or not. Winning the Award came with a cash prize of $10,000.00 and a full scholarship to attend Georgetown University.

Unfortunately, AALEAD did not win the Best Practice Award 2010 but they did receive a beautiful, clear, glass plaque award. Just becoming a finalist for the Best Practice Award has sent AALEAD spiraling upward; they have been receiving wonderful offers from multiple organizations. These offers brings about a new stage for AALEAD. “...Although we were not chosen to be the winner, it was the entire process that proved to be the most rewarding – being able to concretely identify and list the many best practices we are currently using, which has helped us become the successful organization we are today,” expressed Rick Chen, Manager of Development, who along with Kendra Lee (Programs Coordinator) and Rosetta Lai (Executive), poured their heart and soul into the paper work that took place 8 months before. "Although this was our first time applying, we did great for making it this far, as a finalist. We will use where we are today as a baseline for continuous improvement. Excellence is a journey, the process intrinsically is rewarding in itself. Although, it would be great to be recognized as a winnder. We can set as a goal." proclaimed Rosetta Lai.

AALEAD is now looking forward to another great year with hopes in creating better programs and reaching out to more students. "It's not about the award, it's about how well we all work together to create this organization. I am really proud of everyone, especially Rick, Kendra and our board, especially Hansel," Rosetta Lai stated.

We all wish AALEAD the best in the future. "I just know that they will always do great, everyone is so passionate here," says Summer Intern Pam Vang.



Top: Rosetta and Hansel during interview
Middle Top: All employees waiting by table stand
Middle Bottom: All employees anxiously waiting to hear who the winner is
Bottom: Rosetta and Hansel with the Host and Board of Directer accepting Finalist Award


Other photos from the event...




















Top Left: Christine and Masoora
Top Right: Jonathon, Don, Lan, and Alex
Middle Left: Raj and Yamir
Middle Right: Jonathon, Rosetta, Elissa, Ruth, and Pam
Middle: Christine, Masoora, Yamir, and Jessica
Bottom Left: Micah and Jessica
Bottom Right: Hansel, Host, and Rosetta
Bottom Bottom: Chut and Hansel

Intro to Intern 2!

Hey! I'm Ruthie, one of four new summer interns at AA LEAD!

Hailing from the home of the Red Sox, Boston, MA, I just finished my first year at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, studying public policy and law. It's my first time in DC and I think I'm falling in love with it, for me it's a mix of west coast/east coast mentalities.

I love rain, playing and watching sports, adventuring to new places, youth enrichment, jamming on the piano, bass and vocals, meeting new people and learning new things.

All of the interns have been anxiously planning and waiting to start hanging out with the students and learning from them while teaching them some things we've encountered too.

Feel free to ask me anything else, I might just surprise you!

Hey

---

Hey all, I am Chut. I just came back from college and I am working at aalead for the summer. I grew up in DC and graduated from Bell. I been in and out of AALead since I was a kid. Some of the things I like to do are boxing, learning history, football, and biking. See you guys soon.

Left: My posse brother Ibrahim Right: My brother Tuan