South Asian Council for Social Services (SACSS), a non-profit advocating for underserved immigrant communities, has received $850,000 in funding from U.S. Rep. Grace Meng to purchase a new space and expand its services.
Meng presented the non-profit with a check at the SACSS Senior Center at 143-02 45th Ave. in Flushing on Thursday, Oct. 24, which will go toward SACSS’s efforts to purchase the building where it currently offers workforce development programs, including sewing, English language and computer classes.
SACSS said acquiring the building would secure a permanent and expanded space for these programs and launch new initiatives to address the needs of immigrant communities. The organization said the space would provide a platform to offer various services, including educational programs, cultural programs, and social support services.
Meng praised SACSS for its work advocating for South Asian and other immigrant communities in New York and said the funding will ensure that as many people as possible have equal access to government funding.
“It (the funding) is a token of our appreciation for SACSS and how much it does to uplift our community and make sure that as many people as possible have equal access to government services,” Meng said in a statement.
Sudha Acharya, executive director of SACSS, said the funding helps bring the organization closer to expanding its services for the local community that it has served for over two decades.
“This generous contribution brings us closer to achieving our goal of expanding SACSS’s programs and services in a space that has become a stable, long-term home in the Flushing community we have been serving for 24 years,” Acharya said in a statement.
SACSS was founded in 2000 to empower and integrate underserved South Asian and immigrant communities into the economic and civic life of New York City by providing access to fundamentals such as food, security and healthcare. The non-profit also provides senior services and workforce training and provides free programming in more than 20 languages.
