South Asian Youth Action Saya Inc

A YOUTH DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION PROVIDING VALUABLE LIFE SKILLS AND HOLISTIC, IMPACTFUL PROGRAMMING TO UNDERSERVED NYC YOUTH.

THIS PAST YEAR PROVED AGAIN THE RESILIENCE AND DEDICATION OF OUR YOUTH AND STAFF. BETWEEN JULY 2021 AND JUNE 2022, OVER 1,950 YOUTH IN ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE, HIGH SCHOOL, AND COLLEGE PARTICIPATED IN SAYA PROGRAMMING. DURING THIS PERIOD, OUR PARTICIPANTS CONTINUED TO MAKE STRIDES IN MULTIPLE AREAS, INCLUDING DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP SKILLS AND GAINING CRITICAL SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING (SEL) COMPETENCIES THAT HAVE SHOWN TO HAVE A LONG-TERM, POSITIVE IMPACT. RESEARCH HAS SHOWN PROGRAMS USING THIS APPROACH RESULT IN: I) BETTER ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, II) IMPROVED ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS, III) FEWER NEGATIVE BEHAVIORS, AND IV) REDUCED EMOTIONAL DISTRESS. (DURLAK, J. A., WEISSBERG ET AL, 2011, META-ANALYSIS OF 200 SCHOOL-BASED SEL PROGRAMS INVOLVING 200,000 K-12 YOUTH). THROUGH SAYA-AUTHORED SURVEYS, YOUTH IN KINDERGARTEN TO 8TH GRADE SHOWED AN AVERAGE RATING OF 4.0 OUT OF 5.0 IN RELATION TO THEIR PERCEIVED ENJOYMENT AND LEARNING OF SAYA PROGRAMMING. WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY CENTER PROGRAMMING, 100% OF OUR HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS GRADUATED AND WERE ACCEPTED INTO COLLEGE, WHILE 96% OF OUR COLLEGE STUDENTS REMAINED ON TRACK TO GRADUATE WITHIN FIVE YEARS. IN ADDITION, 18 YOUTH IN OUR COLLEGE ACCESS PROGRAMMING IN 2022 WERE GRANTED EDUCATION AID THROUGH OUR SCHOLARSHIP FUND, AN INDIVIDUAL DONOR-SUPPORTED INITIATIVETHROUGHOUT OUR WORK, WE UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF-CARE AND ENSURING OUR YOUNG PEOPLE DEDICATE TIME TO ACTIVITIES THAT GROUND THEM OUTSIDE OF ACADEMIC WORK. IN ADDITION TO ACADEMIC AND LEADERSHIP PROGRAMMING, SAYA PROGRAM FACILITATORS CONTINUED TO GROW OUR WELLNESS AND SELF-CARE EFFORTS THROUGH INCREASED ONE-ON-ONE CHECK-INS AND SMALL GROUP DISCUSSIONS. IN 2022, SAYA WAS AWARDED FUNDING FROM THE ASIAN AMERICAN FEDERATION AND COALITION FOR ASIAN AMERICAN CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN SUPPORT OF MULTIPLE WELLNESS INITIATIVES. AS PART OF THESE PROGRAMS, OUR YOUTH TOOK PART IN NON-VIOLENT MEDIATION TRAINING, HEALING WORKSHOPS, DISCUSSION, SELF-CARE ACTIVITIES, AND MENTORSHIP.OVER THE PAST YEAR, WE HAVE ALSO INTRODUCED SEVERAL INITIATIVES FOCUSED ON RESPONDING TO LEARNING LOSS AND INCREASING ACADEMIC SUCCESS; REBUILDING RESILIENCE, CONFIDENCE, AND OTHER KEY SEL SKILLS; INCREASING INDIVIDUALIZED MENTORSHIP; AND INCREASING CAREER EXPOSURE - ALL OF WHICH HAVE BEEN INFUSED INTO OUR PROGRAMS. BY OFFERING RESOURCES AND SUPPORT OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL, SAYA IS WORKING TO LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE FOR UNDERSERVED YOUTH AND COMMUNITIES. OUR PRIORITY HAS ALWAYS BEEN INTENTIONALLY INSTITUTING PROGRAMS THAT SUPPORT UNDERSERVED YOUTH, AND WE ARE CONFIDENT IN OUR ABILITY AS AN ORGANIZATION TO DO THIS WORK FOR AS LONG AS IT IS NEEDED.