Flushing nonprofi t expands community center
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TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | AUG. 27 - SEPT. 2, 2021 5
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Queens lawmakers joined
the South Asian Council for
Social Services (SACSS) — a
20-year-old nonprofit organization
dedicated to empowering
underserved South Asians
and other immigrants in the
borough — to celebrate the
opening of its new community
center with a ribbon-cutting
ceremony on Thursday, Aug.
12.
SACSS, located at 143-02
45th Ave., is a two-story building
with a finished basement
housing an expanded food pantry;
more space for senior immigrants
to gather; increased
healthcare access; youth leadership;
ESOL and computer
classes; and civic engagement
and education — all of which
serve as a one-stop gateway for
holistic social services.
SACSS embarked on a capital
campaign to establish a
new, larger permanent community
center where they can
expand their services for immigrants
from Flushing and all
across New York City. The new
center will open to the public in
the fall.
Sudha Acharya, executive
director and founder of SACSS,
said from the very beginning,
SACSS has strived to respond
to its community’s needs, such
as offering counseling post-9/11
when they had only been open
for a year.
“Twenty years in, as we
served more than 30,000 people
per year, it was vital to have
a welcoming, warm space
for community members,”
Acharya said.
Acharya thanked local
elected officials, donors and
many others for their efforts
and generosity.
“It is said that it takes a village
to raise a child. We now
know that it takes a city to
raise a community center —
city with a small c, and the one
with the big C,” said Archarya.
She added that it was a dream
come true, especially in light of
the continued need for services
such as the food pantry as a
result of the pandemic and its
devastating impact on immigrant
communities.
As part of the effort to raise
awareness for the expanded
food pantry, which is the only
one in the city to offer culturally
palatable groceries, Chef
Surbhi Sahni of Tagmo Treats
prepared a take-away box of
healthy South Asian foods, including
a chick pea salad made
out of ingredients from SACSS’
grocery bag.
In 2020, SACSS served more
than 30,000 people struggling
to feed their families, pay their
bills, stay healthy and survive.
The pantry serves healthy
vegetarian meals which suits
the palate, as well as religious
beliefs of its clients — particularly
Hindus, Jains and
Muslims.
The pantry provides nutritious
food items that are basic
to the South Asian diet such
as rice, dal (lentils), atta (whole
wheat flour) and spices (chili
powder, cumin, turmeric, coriander
powder and mustard
seeds), as well as fresh seasonal
produce such as vegetables and
fruit, milk, cereal, oatmeal,
pasta and bread.
Local elected officials such
as Congresswoman Grace
Meng, Senators Toby Ann
Stavisky and John Liu, Assemblywoman
Nily Rozic, Queens
Borough President Donovan
Richards, Deputy Queens Borough
President Rhonda Binda,
and New York City Council
members Peter Koo, Daniel
Dromm and Barry Grodenchik
were gathered at the site
to inaugurate SACSS’ new
community center.
Meng commended SACSS’s
exceptional work in
responding to the needs of the
community.
“The center is for the community,
which is not limited
to South Asians; SACSS works
for all immigrants who need
them,” Meng said.
Koo, who represents Flushing
and contributed discretionary
funding for the building,
said the organization has always
been there for the people
in the community.
“During the last year and
a half, they have gone above
and beyond, they have literally
been saving people’s lives,” Koo
said.
For more information,
contact sacss@sacssny.org or
call 201-920-1976.
Queens elected officials join SACSS Executive Director Sudha
Acharya (third from r.) and SACSS’ board of directors to cut the
ribbon at the organization’s new community center that will open
this fall. Photo courtesy of SACSS
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