On Saturday, March 9 SAYA! hosted it’s 5^th annual Hoops for Hope basketball tournament. This year we had our first team from our Brooklyn-based program and the largest number of both total youth and middle school teams. A special thanks to House of Spices for donating samosas and mango juice for the event.  

The 13% and Growing Coalition, a collective of over 45 Asian led and Asian serving community based organizations, held a press conference on Wednesday, March 6 to respond to the Mayor’s Preliminary budget and call for equity for the Asian Pacific American (APA) community, as well as other marginalized communities.

Formed in 2009, the 13% and Growing Coalition – the first-ever such coalition of diverse Asian Pacific American (APA) community groups – brought together community members, advocates, service providers, and others on the City Hall steps today.  The Coalition called for elected officials to stop budget cuts that affect the most vulnerable community members, invest in services and programs that ensure economic vitality, support small, community based organizations that provide culturally competent and language accessible services and balance the budget by addressing both the revenue and expense sides.

This month SAYA!'s Girls Empowerment Group at MS 137 raised awareness on the issue of Teen Dating Violence. The girls group, funded by 21st Century School Funds, group promotes self-esteem, self-confidence and respect within the lives of the participants.

The youth created their own anti-violence images and messages on t-shirts commonly referred to as "wifebeaters." The "Not a Wifebeater Campaign" allows young women to speak out against teen dating violence.

On Tuesday, February 26 SAYA!'s girls' empowerment group at Irwin Altman Middle School 172 had high chai with Jyoti Menon. Jyoti is a Senior Manager on the Interactive Product Management group at American Express' Global Commercial Card Group. She also serves on the Leadership Council at Barnard College's Athena Center for Leadership Studies and has been a longtime supporter of girls' empowerment at SAYA!

High chais allow for our youth to meet with leaders from various professional and academic fields and expose them to new career paths and opportunities. During high chai, the girls had the opportunity to ask Jyoti about her education and professional development, and Jyoti shared some invaluable advice with the group.

On Friday, February 22 SAYA! held our first ever poetry slam. 20 students presented 2 poems each in front of a panel of judges, including poet Purvi Shah, as well as an audience of family and friends. The event was emceed by NorthStar, a performance poet and partner in the spoken word duo BrownStar. SAYA! awarded prizes for both middle school and high school poets. 

On Thursday, February 14 Senator José Peralta visited with SAYA! youth at Central Queens Academy. The youth had the opportunity to ask Senator Peralta questions about his role in state government as well as the issues that matter to him most. SAYA! youth were particularly interested in the Senator's role in helping the environment. Senator Peralta then gave each youth a book bag filled with school supplies.

This winter our youth across multiple program sites collected coats for New York Cares annual coat drive. The youth collected 3 boxes full of coats for New Yorkers in need.

On Sunday, January 27 SAYA!'s dance group Habibi Express performed at Assemblywoman Nily Rozic's Inauguration ceremony at Townsend Harris High School. The event was a great opportunity for SAYA! youth to engage with the community and gain performance experience.

Thanks to Assemblywoman Rozic for inviting our youth to perform.

On Saturday, January 26 SAYA! hosted a spring orientation, an event that allowed new youth and parents to become familiar with SAYA! programs and learn more about the opportunities we offer. Families met with SAYA! staff to gauge which programs best suited students' needs and to receive some guidance as to how SAYA! can best serve the incoming youth.

On Thursday, January 10 SAYA! partnered with several other Queens-based organizations in a community forum to address the major issues faced as immigrants.  Current staff member and former SAYA! youth Suhail Ahmed testified on behalf of SAYA! on the importance of safe spaces for the youth we serve. Senator José Peralta, and Assemblymen Francisco Moya and Michael DenDekker attended the forum and addressed questions posed by the organizations. Here is a story about the event in Voices of NY.