ARI Welcomes Mimi Nguyen as Associate Director-  October 14, 2011

Say hello to Mimi Nguyen!  After growing up in Stockton and becoming a champion for youth in the city, Mimi has recently joined ARI as our Associate Director.  Mimi is very excited to bring her experience and managerial skills to ARI, even if that means currently commuting from Stockton to Sacramento every day.  A little more about Mimi:

ARI:  Where did you grow up?

MN: Stockton, California

ARI: Favorite things to do when not working?

MN: Reading, running, cycling, spending time with my family and friends

ARI: The last book you read?

MN: The Time Traveler's Wife

ARI: What intrigued you about joining the staff of ARI?

MN: The clientele that is being served. Having grown up in a low income family in an area filled with drug trafficking, gangs and violence, it's important to me to serve and help those in need and help them become productive members of the community.

ARI: Favorite childhood memory? 

MN: Building a makeshift roller coaster in the back yard with my older brother.  Growing up we had a huge back yard, filled with mostly dirt and tamed weeds, that we hung out in from the time we woke up to the end of the day.  My brother and I decided it would be really fun to make a roller coaster in our back yard -- using a dolley, some boards for comfortable seating, and big dirt mounds throughout the backyard.  We laid the dolley with the wheels facing down, sat on the boards on top of the dolley and pushed each other up and over the dirt mounds and throughout the backyard.

ARI: Favorite movie and why? 

MN: Now and Then. It's my favorite because it reminds me of my girlfriends and I, and it's set in such an innocent, carefree world.  During the movie, the summers are spent riding bikes, exploring the world, going on adventures, and taking risks-- just like my girlfriends and I did growing up.  

ARI: What inspires you? 

MN: My family.  My parents and older siblings immigrated to the US in the early 80s.  They escaped Vietnam on a small fishing boat with nearly 50 people in it, in the middle of the night, hoping to make it to the US or to get picked up by folks to get taken to the refugee camps.  The big dreams and the huge risks that my family took to give my siblings and I amazing opportunities in the US inspire me every day.  

ARI: What album are you currently listening to on your IPod?

MN: I'm always listening to John Mayer, but I typically like to add some others to the mix including Adele, Matt Kearney and Glee Soundtracks.

ARI: One accomplishment you are most proud of? 

MN: A few years ago, I was a coach at a city run gymnastics program, where many of the students came from low income, troubled families.  The group of students I worked with continually shared with me their struggles in school and their desire to be successful.  I spent time each week before and after their class, sharing stories about my life, bringing them information on various colleges, providing them resources for fee waivers, and inspiring them in every way possible.  Today, I'm proud of to share that 100 % of the students in my classes have successfully started college at a 4 year institution and have overcome the barriers of their troubled childhood.

Local business emphasizes the need to play- Sacramento Press, October 14, 2011

A pair of Sacramento entrepreneurs are building a business centered around what they say adults are missing in their lives – play. Jeff Louie and Chris Chu, both 30, founded Asobuyo in April as a way for like-minded locals to get together, play games, sample food from local businesses and get to know one another. Asobuyo is planning an event to benefit ARI on Sunday, October 23rd.  Click here to find out more and to purchase tickets!

Asobuyo Interns reflect on their experience- Capsity Offices, August 3, 2011

Last year, Capsity had over 10 interns during the Summer. This year we decided to be a little more focused and the primary interns were with one of the new companies in the office: Asobuyo. Meet Susan and Ronado! We asked them to write a little bit about their experience working with Asobuyo and the coworking environment.

Internships give teens work experience in a tough economy- The Sacramento Bee, July 24, 2011

The children had read their stories, finished their drawings and were getting antsy, squirming in their seats inside the small community center and waiting for the words they longed to hear.

"OK, guys," Alexis Rodriguez called out to the class. "Time for recess."

It's Rodriguez's second week at her first job. The 17-year-old is a recreational aide and tutor for local nonprofit agency Mercy Housing at its Kennedy Estates complex in south Sacramento.

Alexis' summer job is a paid internship through a program run by Sacramento community services group Asian Resources Inc.

Access Sacramento to start Neighborhood News Bureaus- Sacramento Press, March 11, 2011

Access Sacramento is putting together a network of news bureaus in the South Sacramento area. The goal is to get youth to report for their communities, producing news stories about South Sacramento. The effort is based around a website that access Sacramento has set up called accesslocal.tv.

Census officials: Sacramento ethnic groups need to be counted- News 10, April 1, 2010

Brimming with a wide variety of ethnicities hailing from around the globe, Sacramento has often been called one of the most racially-diverse cities in America. While that's a frequent point of civic pride for many in California's capital city, reaching all those communities for vital information like compiling the current 2010 Census can make Sacramento's racial diversity a steep hurdle to clear.

Community groups ramp up efforts to build day-labor center- Sacramento Business Journal, January 21, 2010

Plans for a day-labor and community center in south Sacramento, stalled for months due to the bad economy, are gaining traction. Backers of the proposed 41st Avenue Community Center have acquired two adjacent properties and cleared the land at the corner of 41st Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Grant-getting curriculum prepares students for work force- Sacramento Business Journal, April 15, 2009

Wyatt Brown is confident in his ability to evaluate which community grant applications deserve funding, and doesn’t back away from heated debates with fellow board members in making his case.

Mina Phan and her project team recently received funding from the board. They are gratified their proposal and budget were convincing, especially after they studied up on their grant-writing skills. Now they’re starting to implement their project, which will educate the community on how bats benefit the environment.