Center for Asian Americans United For Self Empowerment (CAUSE)

Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment (CAUSE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan, community-based organization founded in 1993 with a mission to advance the political and civic empowerment of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community through nonpartisan voter outreach, training, and education as well as leadership development.

Center for Asian Americans United For Self Empowerment (CAUSE)

About the Organization:

National

The Issue:

The diverse needs of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities were brought to light during the Covid-19 pandemic. Informing hard-to-reach communities in multiple languages often fell to under-resourced nonprofit organizations to translate and help communities navigate complex application processes in a culturally relevant way. Amidst challenges directly related to Covid-19, AAPIs were also the target of anti-Asian hate incidents creating an increased fear across the United States. With so much change and uncertainty, AAPI students and families began falling through the cracks as inequities revealed themselves nationwide, and hard-to-reach communities missed out on relief opportunities because of a lack of information.

The Solution:

Moving forward, how do we ensure that AAPI communities are connected to the resources that are available to them? Who are the leaders who can relay that information? What are the ways that AAPI communities' needs can be met through policy and civic engagement?

CAUSE has partnered with Teach For America AAPI Alliances to create a program and framework that empowers AAPI educators to assume leadership positions through civic engagement and advocacy. Through AAPI K-12 teachers, this project will:

Connect AAPI students and families with direct services that provide language access and are culturally sensitive
Inform communities about how legislation impacts education and how they can shape policy through voting and civic engagement
Provide opportunities to collaboratively build solutions that meet the diverse needs of AAPI communities.

By collaborating with AAPI teachers, hard-to-reach AAPI students and families will connect to existing resources and advocate for their needs through civic engagement.

Center for Asian Americans United For Self Empowerment (CAUSE)