October 26, 2022 IN: Press Room
SEARAC Receives $100,000 President’s Grant from Surdna Foundation
For Immediate Release:
October 26, 2022
Media contact:
Elaine Sanchez Wilson
Senior Director of Communications
202-601-2970
elaine@searac.org
WASHINGTON, DC – This month, SEARAC was announced as a recipient of a $100,000 President’s Grant from the Surdna Foundation. These funds will be used by SEARAC over the next two years to support our immigration policy advocacy as well as our continued efforts to create a workplace culture of care with generous employee benefits and support for our staff’s health and wellness.
“We are so grateful to the Surdna Foundation for its continued commitment to SEARAC and Southeast Asian American communities,” said Quyên Đinh, SEARAC Executive Director. “Southeast Asian Americans are facing urgent health and economic needs while also managing increased violence and hatred directed toward our communities and families. The Surdna Foundation’s investment in Southeast Asian American leaders means that we will have the tools to support ourselves and our communities now and in the future. This funding allows SEARAC to uplift the needs of Southeast Asian Americans in the halls of Congress and in statehouses around the country.”
SEARAC’s immigration policy work uplifts the stories of Southeast Asian American individuals and families impacted by detention and deportation. Recently, we joined our partners in Washington, DC, to introduce groundbreaking legislation to stop the deportation of Southeast Asian Americans. Alongside the Southeast Asian Freedom Network (SEAFN), we introduced the Southeast Asian Deportation Relief Act (SEADRA) to Congress. Our community was being paralyzed by feelings of fear and anxiety surrounding deportation. Through SEADRA, our people can finally start the process of healing and rebuilding within the Southeast Asian community.
Additionally, during the COVID-19 pandemic, SEARAC’s Executive Director, Board, and management team have implemented a number of new policies that support our staff’s health and wellness, including a four-day, 32-hour work week. SEARAC’s focus on health nurtures productivity and team culture. We are creating a new normal to build resilience, so that future generations can inherit a healthy organization and community.
SEARAC is grateful to the Surdna Foundation and its President, Don Chen, for their generous support of our work and the communities we serve.
About the Surdna Foundation: The Surdna Foundation seeks to foster sustainable communities in the United States — communities guided by principles of social justice and distinguished by healthy environments, strong local economies, and thriving cultures. Learn more at www.surdna.org.
About SEARAC: SEARAC is a national civil rights organization that empowers Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese American communities to create a socially just and equitable society. As representatives of the largest refugee community ever resettled in the United States, SEARAC stands together with other refugee communities, communities of color, and social justice movements in pursuit of social equity. Find out more at www.searac.org
