Vietnamese American Community Center of the East Bay

02/26/2020

Today we are celebrating Aster, who has been in her accounting job for well over a year now. 🥳🥳🥳 Join us in congratulating Aster!

Happy First Day of Work to Aster from Eritrea! Aster participated in our Jobs Program, and her determination, professionality, and giving heart truly stand out to us. Even before receiving her employment authorization documents as an asylum seeker, she offered to lend her skills as a volunteer in our Jobs Program, interpreting for those who speak Tigrinya and Amharic. She worked as an Accountant for +20 years in Eritrea, but like many other immigrant jobseekers, initially struggled to find work in her field in the US. With her steady diligence, patience, and impressive skill set, Aster secured a great position as an Accountant at a nonprofit in San Francisco. We think this will be a fantastic job for Aster's financial skills and compassionate heart. Join us in congratulating Aster!! 💛

02/25/2020

Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson

The CA Primary Election is exactly ONE WEEK from today! Do you know where your polling place is? Visit https://www.acgov.org/rov_app/pollinglist for the complete Alameda County list.

02/24/2020

VACCEB's Open House & Educational Fair is this upcoming Sunday! 🙌 We will have a variety of health screenings, nutritional information, activities for kids, employment services, information for seniors, food distribution programs, information on classes, legal services and much more. Everyone is welcome! Hope to see you there. 😊

02/22/2020

Fresh oranges galore in the Food Bank this week! 😋🍊

02/20/2020

Barney Hall

Always something going on in Barney Hall! Karaoke and dancing today in our Senior Program. Come join the fun! 🤩

02/18/2020

We are thrilled to share that Senait has been successfully employed in this job for over a year now. Go, Senait! 🥳😄

Happy Three Month Work Anniversary to Senait from Eritrea, who is a graduate from our Jobs Program and has been successfully employed in a San Francisco hotel restaurant for +3 months now! Nice work, Senait. We are proud of you! 😁

02/16/2020

Need help filing your taxes? The Alameda County Social Services Agency (SSA) is providing FREE IRS certified tax preparation assistance to low- and moderate-income taxpayers from January 22, 2020 to April 15, 2020. Appointments are REQUIRED at all sites! Schedule an appointment here: https://alamedasocialservices.org/eitc.cfm

02/14/2020

Happy Valentine's Day! Much love from your VACCEB family. 🥰💗💗💗

02/13/2020

Happy Pho Day! 😋🥢🍜

02/12/2020

From our SF Japantown Senior field trip last year. 🌸🌸🌸 Spring is just around the corner!

02/10/2020

AAPI issues are important and belong in the national conversation. Join APIAVote on twitter for a Twitter Town Hall with some of the Democratic presidential candidates on February 13th at 11AM PST. #AAPI2020

02/08/2020

Sign up for Affordable high speed Internet $9.95 per month. No contract, No Credit Check, No Installation fee plus you get free In-Home Wifi. Apply today at Room 205, VACCEB 655 International Blvd. Oakland CA 94606.

02/07/2020

We are so proud of Ket, who has been working as a Sushi Chef Assistant for +2 years now! 🥳😋

We are thrilled to share that our Pathway to Self-Sufficiency (PSS) participant, Ket from Laos, was offered a job as a Sushi Chef Assistant! Ket showed impressive perseverance and courage throughout her entire job search. She completed THE BREAD PROJECT's Bakery Bootcamp program, and continued to take cooking classes through 18 Reasons to enrich her culinary skillset. We are so proud of her, and so grateful to THE BREAD PROJECT and 18 Reasons for supporting job seekers with valuable culinary training!

Photo Credit: THE BREAD PROJECT

02/06/2020

ESL classes in Oakland now registering!

FREE ESL College and Career Readiness Program offered by Oakland Adult and Career Education!

These ESL courses will help students improve speaking, listening, reading, vocabulary, and grammar skills to successfully transition to community college classes, GED test prep, and/or employment.

Registration sessions are happening in February! First come, first served. Spring classes will begin March 2, 2020

02/05/2020

02/03/2020

Food Bank this Week!

This week's fresh produce in the Food Bank: cabbage, oranges, apples, and onions! 😋 This food gets distributed to low-income immigrant/refugee seniors.

02/03/2020

Excellent training opportunity!

Awesome program leading to employment in the banking industry.

02/01/2020

Springtime peeking through in front of our Center! 😌🌷

01/30/2020

Want to learn basic computer skills? We offer free Basic Digital Literacy Bootcamps for two consecutive Fridays, from 9am-1pm. Please come to VACCEB at 655 International Blvd, Oakland from M-F 9am-3pm to register for the next class!

01/28/2020

Big Congrats to Yrgalem (left), who just passed her US Citizenship test!! Yrgalem originally came to the US from Eritrea as an asylum seeker. We helped her get a job at a local hotel over a year ago (where she is still working!) and recently supported her with Citizenship mock interviews. She told us last week that she passed the test and is now a US Citizen! 🤩 Here is Yrgalem with her friend (middle) and Employment Program Manager, Hanna (right).

Congratulations to our Jobs Program participant, Yrgalem from Eritrea, who was just promoted to a full-time job at a hotel in Berkeley! We helped her get a part-time job at the hotel a few months ago, and she has been doing such a great job there, that the hotel just offered her a full-time job. 😁 YAY! Here is Yrgalem (left) with her friend (middle) and VACCEB Employment Specialist, Hanna (right). Way to go, Yrgalem! 🤗

01/25/2020

Happy Year of the Rat! Chúc mừng năm mới!😄😌 We wish you and your loved ones a wonderful year ahead!

01/23/2020

#ThrowbackThursday to our wild Halloween party this past year! 🤩🎃

01/21/2020

Getting ready for our Tết celebration today. Chúc mừng năm mới!

01/18/2020

Did you know that we have Citizenship classes and mock interviews to prepare folks for the US Citizenship exam? Citizenship classes are every Saturday from 9am-12pm and are $25/month. To register or learn more, you can stop by at VACCEB (655 International Blvd, Oakland) from M-F 9am-3pm or email [email protected].

01/16/2020

#ThrowbackThursday to our Tết Celebration last year. Our celebration this year is approaching soon. 😃 Happy Year of the Rat! 🐭

01/14/2020

Alameda County Social Services Agency

**Important benefits information**

Effective January 1, 2020, a new law in California expands full scope Medi-Cal to young adults aged 19-25 who qualify for Medi-Cal regardless of immigration status.

Learn more about the Medi-Cal Program and ways to apply: https://alamedasocialservices.org/public/services/medical_and_health/families_with_children.cfm

01/14/2020

⭐️ CLIENT UPDATE ⭐️ Ahmed has been employed at this job for +4 months now, and says he likes the job and the company treats him well. 😊 Keep up the good work, Ahmed!

We are very proud of Ahmed, our Path to Self-Sufficiency (PSS) Program participant, who recently got an Administrative/Logistics position with a local freight company! Ahmed has an impressive +20 years of experience in logistics/operations in the industrial sector in Yemen. Unfortunately, extensive work experience abroad is no guarantee that newcomers will be able to get a job in their professional fields in the US. With Ahmed's incredible perseverance, and with the support of VACCEB and Upwardly Global's employment counseling, Ahmed secured this position in his field. Congrats, Ahmed! 😊 🚛🚖🚉✈️

01/12/2020

Job success! We are thrilled to share that Ande, a participant in our Path to Self-Sufficiency (PSS) Program, recently secured a full-time $22/hr Driver job with benefits. Ande is a refugee from Eritrea and moved to Oakland +10 years ago. He unfortunately suffered a layoff a few months ago, but we are so proud of him for getting right back into the job search despite this difficult setback. Here are buddies Ande and Rick, our stellar volunteer. 😊 Please join us in wishing Ande all the best in his new job! ✨

01/10/2020

Mark your calendars! Oakland Asian Cultural Center's Lunar New Year Celebration is coming up on Sunday, February 2. Performances, workshops, and fun for the whole family! https://oacc.cc/event/lunar-new-year-2020/

01/09/2020

Check out this great Community Health Worker program offered by Diversity In Health Training Institute! It is for immigrants and refugees who are interested in working as an intermediary between health/social services and the community. Participants will receive a fully-funded course on being a Community Health Worker, an internship opportunity at local clinics, and a $1500 stipend at the end of the program.

You can still sign up for DHTI's Community Health Worker Fellowship Program for Feb 12-May 7, 2020 Wednesdays & Thursdays 1-4pm. This program partners with Alameda Health Consortium (AHC), Castro Valley Adult & Career Education (CVACE) to develop a workforce of diverse and qualified Community Health Workers for Alameda Health Consortium and Community Health Centers. Contact us today! https://healthpipeline.wufoo.com/forms/sbet23v0mdj44s/

01/08/2020

Please be aware of the current/upcoming minimum wage increases in 2020 in the East Bay!

01/06/2020

Learn English, have fun! Our English classes are now enrolling. Visit our Center at 655 International Blvd, Oakland this week to enroll.

01/04/2020

Congrats to all the graduates from our ESL class last quarter! We wish you great success in all your future endeavors. 🙌✨

01/02/2020

We're back! Come on by and practice your English, get help with your citizenship application, or play some checkers. :)

01/02/2020

Vietnamese American Community Center of the East Bay's cover photo

12/23/2019

VACCEB will be closed starting today, Monday, December 23 and re-opening on Thursday, January 2. We hope you have a relaxing and joyous remainder of 2019, and we'll see you in 2020! 🥳😎

12/21/2019

The team behind VACCEB at our Staff Holiday Dinner (complete with ugly Christmas sweaters!).✨🙌 Happy Holidays!

12/19/2019

Dancing in Barney Hall

A taste of life in Barney Hall. Dancing, music, and Christmas cheer! 😃🎶⛄️

12/17/2019

Happy Holidays from VACCEB!

We hope you are enjoying the Holiday Season in good health, and surrounded by loved ones and community.

This year, we are proud to share that we have:
* distributed over 8,000 bags of food & over 10,000 Vietnamese hot meals to low-income seniors and their families.
* taught +500 students in English, Computer Literacy, and Citizenship.
* provided information and assistance (public benefits enrollment, low-income housing applications, etc) for +3,500 service units per year.
* assisted +100 job seekers in employment placement services and attaining higher education.
* provided health screenings and vaccinations for over 200 community members.
* served as a space for cultural celebrations, social gatherings, and fun!

If you are financially able, please consider making an end of year tax-deductible donation to help us keep our Center running and thriving in the years to come.

Thank you so much for ongoing support. Here’s to a 2020 in good health and community!

All the best,
The VACCEB Team

12/15/2019

Did you know that this year, VACCEB taught +500 students in English, Computer Literacy, and Citizenship? 😄🎓📖 We

12/13/2019

Tis' the season! Mark your calendars for our upcoming Senior Christmas Celebration on Thursday, December 19 at noon. Hope to see you there! ⛄️

12/11/2019

Golden fall colors outside of VACCEB. 🍂😌

12/09/2019

🌟UPDATE 🌟We are thrilled to share that Nazmoon has been successfully working in this job for +3 months now. Congrats, Nazmoon!

Big Congrats to Nazmoon, a Path to Self-Sufficiency (PSS) participant from Bangladesh, who recently got a job offer from a local university cafeteria! Here is Nazmoon (right) with Doris (left), our PSS Employment Counselor. Nice work, Nazmoon and Doris! ☺️

12/08/2019

Women of VACCEB! 💪

12/06/2019

With this cold weather coming up, a full stomach is a warm stomach. Consider chipping in a few dollars to our food bank in support of our community members! 🍎🍊