On July 30, the Asian American Civic Association will host its annual Gala fundraiser, Their Courage to be New, virtually, to celebrate the successes of the nonprofit and its clients and students over the past year. The Gala also will serve as an exclamation point on AACA’s crowdfunding campaign that is bringing in vital general operating dollars that go directly to support AACA’s highly successful job training programs, social support services, and English as Speakers of Other Languages classes. These programs empower the most at need among the immigrant and low-income communities of greater Boston, helping them access new and better lives.
As part of the Gala, AACA will be recognizing two partners that have provided leadership over the past year and enabled AACA to run some of the most successful job training and community programs in the area. AACA will be presenting Casella Resource Solutions with the Employer Partner of the Year and Tufts Medical Center with the Employer Partner of the Year and Community Hero award.
Casella has been integral to AACA’s efforts to launch next generation job training programs. Casella signed on as one of the first employer partners of AACA’s Green Automotive Maintenance Skills (GAMS) pilot program. This program takes individuals stuck in a dead end and places them into a career path as a diesel technician. Diesel techs start at an average $25 per hour, with the potential to earn promotions up to a six figure salary as quickly as within two years.
In addition to funding training seats, Kelley Robinson, Casella Vice President of Human Resources, collaborated with Edward Hsieh, AACA COO, on curriculum design and mapping out career pathways for the GAMS program. This partnership enabled AACA to launch a new program in an unprecedented six months. “Working with AACA is a great business decision. Their mission of developing talented people aligned perfectly with Casella’s goal of providing opportunity for all types of people,” said Kelley.
Tufts Medical Center has been a steadfast partner of AACA for decades. AACA works with Tufts to provide workplace education to its incumbent employees. By providing ESOL and job readiness classes to entry-level Tuft’s employees, AACA and Tufts empower those workers to move into higher paying positions and career pathways to greater stability.
In addition, Tufts directly collaborates with AACA on the Asian Health Initiative, which tackles challenging health issues faced by Chinatown, such as the disproportionate impact on Asians related to smoking. Tufts also places a social worker in AACA’s Multi-Service Center to help provide social support and public benefits to the community.
During the current pandemic, Tufts Medical Center has kept its doors open, providing countless tests and direct care to members of the community. Tufts has also continued directly injecting support into the community, even providing AACA with a grant to procure equipment to enable AACA’s job training programs to continue remotely at a high level. Mike Apkon, Tufts Medical Center President and CEO, expressed his support for AACA’s “goal of providing economic self-sufficiency and mobility to help people not only survive, but thrive, and we’re proud to support the overall wellness and health of the community.”
AACA is the 501c3 nonprofit that provides education and job training to the most at need among the immigrant and low-income populations around Greater Boston to empower them to find a better career and self-sufficient future. AACA has serves over 4,000 individuals originating from over 85 countries every year. AACA provides ESOL, social support services, and job training programs offering pathways into careers in banking, building maintenance, construction, and diesel fleet maintenance.
