Annual Report 2011 - NNAAC

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Advocacy and Civic Engagement Program Accomplishments 2011 As service providers and grassroots organizations rooted in their communities, NNAAC members are uniquely positioned to tackle the complex, multi-faceted issues facing the Arab American community. The network’s Advocacy & Civic Engagement Program focuses on the following areas: immigrant rights, civil liberties, access to human services, and support for national service programs. In 2011, we confronted heavy-handed immigration enforcement, challenged Rep. Peter King’s (R-NY) McCarthy-style congressional hearings on U.S. Muslims, and engaged with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to end the controversial National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS). Specifically, this year we: • • • • • • Held our 4th annual Arab American Advocacy Week in Washington D.C., where participants attended a briefing at the White House; held meetings on Capitol Hill with members of Congress including Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN); held meetings with officials from the Department of Justice and the Department of Health & Human Services; and met with allies such as the NAACP and National Council of La Raza. Engaged in advocacy around the King congressional hearings and testified at the New York State Senate hearing modeled on those hearings. Administered an immigrants’ rights advocacy grant awarded to two NNAAC members: ACCESS California and Alwan for the Arts. Engaged in immigrants’ rights debates at the state level, organizing around Secure Communities optouts in Illinois and New York; the DREAM Act in Illinois; defeat of Arizona-style legislation; and ending profiling by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in Michigan. Worked with allies to successfully end the controversial NSEERS program. Worked in local and national coalitions to demand an investigation into the FBI’s use of an inflammatory anti-Muslim curriculum to train agents, and for a revision of the Justice Department’s profiling guidelines. • Continued to advocate for the End Racial Profiling Act in collaboration with national partners such as the Rights Working Group. • Hosted US Rising: Emerging Voices in Post 9/11 America, Sept. 8-12, 2011, in partnership with ACCESS and other organizations. This conference focused on the issues still impacting Arab and Muslim communities a decade after 9/11 and how they have shaped the lives of young Arab Americans. StoryCorps, a national organization that records and archives the oral histories of Americans, collected the narratives of 15 Arab Americans during this conference. We also held the nation’s largest 9/11 community service project, with more than 800 volunteers turning out in Detroit to serve their community. 4 NNAAC Annual Report 2011 www.nnaac.org
Arab American Resource Corps Established in 2003, the Arab American Resource Corps (ARC) is the first and only national AmeriCorps program serving Arab American organizations. With 75 ARC members serving in eight states — Michigan, California, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Philadelphia, Massachusetts and Texas, plus Washington D.C. — ARC engages in social services, youth development and education and cultural outreach. Highlights of this year’s ARC program include: • • • • • The new class of ARC volunteers was sworn in by Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) on January 17, 2011. ARC members led a community service project on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, packaging more than 200 food boxes for low-income families. ARC members served more than 38,000 clients in social services nationwide. More than 15,600 people participated in cultural education events, workshops and presentations led by ARC members. More than 1,200 youth were provided intensive one-onone service from ARC members. In addition to day-to-day service, ARC members also work to generate volunteerism among the Arab American community, with a focus on Annual National Arab American Service Day which takes place in the spring. ARC members nationwide partner with other communities to plan service projects in the spirit of “serving communities, connecting people.” This year’s event, held May 14, 2011, marked the seventh annual Service Day. Highlights included: • More than 1,300 volunteers engaged nationally, completing nearly 10,000 hours of service. • In Dearborn, Mich., ACCESS partnered with Focus: HOPE to package food for homebound seniors and clean up neighborhood lots and parks in Detroit. • At the Arab American Community Development Corporation in Philadelphia, members completed a beautification and gardening project at a local high school. • In Anaheim, Calif., Access California Services partnered with the national Stamp Out Hunger food drive, packaging and sorting food for low-income families. • At the Arab American Cultural & Community Center in Houston, Texas, members organized a health and safety fair for Iraqi refugees that featured free dental screenings and other services.
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Annual Report 2011 - NNAAC

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