A CAMPAIGN WORTHY OF YOUR SUPPORT

The Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia (CAGP), the city’s Center for Cambodian refugees and their families, has achieved extraordinary organizational development and growth over the past twenty-eight years. We are the only organization of its kind specialized in providing innovative and unique bilingual educational and health programs to meet the interrelated social, economic and academic needs of Cambodians in Philadelphia, many of whom are Cambodian genocide survivors or descendants of survivors. In addition to providing programs and services to meet residents' most basic needs, we provide Cambodian cultural programs to preserve, present and integrate our noble heritage into Philadelphia’s rich cultural history. Due to the multi-issue and advocacy grassroots nature of our programming, our nationally-recognized agency directly impact and empower low-income individuals and communities in the Philadelphia area.

Access to services is a vital component of CAGP's mission. Thus, our services and programs are accommodating to Cambodian residents for whom English is a second language. Our bilingual staff members are culturally sensitive, and are capable of providing one-on-one contact with low-income Cambodian community members for moral and emotional support. They are also uniquely able to intercede between parent and child when conflicts between two generations arise. We are thus able to foster parent/child communication, bridging this generational and cultural gap. All of our programs attempt to involve parents in every step of the way; this way we can work collaboratively with our clients to implement plans of action that can benefit the whole family. However, our services and programs to address current community needs and tools to support people and families in transforming their lives are not just limited to this Southeast Asian group.

WE ARE GROWING...

We are an agency that is outgrowing its current office and programming space, both in North Philadelphia and on the first floor of our South Center. The South Center was founded in response to the need for the reaching out and expansion of services currently offered to our low-income and under-resourced communities in the North Philadelphia region. Both spaces are inadequate to accommodate our agency's current staff, volunteers, and constantly-growing client base, and activities services, and therefore limit its capacity for service expansion.

OUR NEED: TO EXTEND, IMPROVE AND ENHANCE SOCIAL SERVICES IN SOUTH PHILADELPHIA

There has been a need for effective programming in South Philadelphia, specifically the area within the 19148 zip code - an economically depressed region that lacks support and resources. This area is home to over 38,521 families, but just 16 recreation centers, 89 after-school programs and 6 libraries (2006). Only a few of these agencies provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services and programs to residents with limited English proficiency.

The majority of families living in these neighborhoods survive on incomes considerably below the poverty level and parents struggle to meet the needs of their families. Further, with virtually no resources that offer culturally sensitive services with convenient hours, families have nowhere to turn. There are no culturally compatible after-school programs or daycare centers for their children, and even the only neighborhood library located between 7th and 8th Streets on Snyder Avenue was closed down over 10 years ago.

YOUR INVESTMENT

We expect that a 1745-square-foot facility will provide the Cambodian Association with the following services and improvements:

• Allow the development of a community organizing space, resource center programs and physical accessibility;

• Expand our Civic Engagement Program; Case Management; Summer Career Exploration Program; Youth and Family/Community Enrichment Program; Traditional Cambodian Cultural Performing Arts Program and many other social and educational services already offered in our North Center;

• Increase our capacity to accommodate 3-4 simultaneous meetings, training rooms, and rooms to operate from;

• Become a welcoming and supportive space for Cambodian immigrants and other low-income community groups in the area;

• Create a comfortable space for enhanced development of youth programming, including a safe haven of belonging for Philadelphia's adults and young people, particularly truant youth and others most often overlooked and label as "at-risk";

• Accommodate a growth in staff and volunteers over the next 10 years to a possible 4 full-time staff, 12 part-time staff, and a growth in our volunteer base to a possible 5 volunteers per week.

Your support is crucial to make this a success!