President & Ex. Dir. Welcome Letter

President & Executive Director Welcome Letter

After 2 years of Virtual Galas, we are very excited to welcome you all, in person, to celebrate the 29th anniversary of Metropolitan Asian Family Services.

We celebrate with you all today because 15 years ago The Governor of Illinois proclaimed October 17th to be METROPOLITAN ASIAN FAMILY SERVICES DAY and encouraged all citizens to follow its model of exemplary community services and empowerment.

2021 started with mixed feelings – Fear in the back of our minds that another lockdown was looming along with a ray of hope that getting vaccinated can help us stay safe and face this deadly disease. This is a year to heal the people who were wounded from the year 2020, which took many loved ones despite the precautions.

I am proud to say that the MAFS family met the challenges and reached out to the community HEAD ON! Our staff went above and beyond to help the community by continuously providing services during the Pandemic. Many programs required rapid modifications to follow the guidelines set by the CDC and IDPH.

During the Pandemic, we made more than 250,000 home visits to check the well-being of seniors and their families. Also, we connected through Apps like “Zoom” to keep seniors connected and engaged on a daily basis. To say that during this time our seniors were satisfied with our services is an understatement. Throughout the Pandemic, we received heartfelt messages and letters of appreciation from seniors and their family members expressing their gratitude for helping them during difficult times and expressing their sincere appreciation for our staff. Over and over we heard that our support made a huge difference in fighting the odds of the disease and surviving it. I am very thankful to the Federal Government for providing the timely Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) which helped staff members receive their paycheck continuously. Our centers, and our kitchens, more importantly, have reopened and a new day is dawning. Our seniors can eat hot nutritious meals with the company of old friends again.

As we continue to fight the pandemic, I urge you to support our noble cause by joining us for MAFS’s 29th Annual Gala, an eventful in-person fundraiser centered around the theme of “Thank You to Our Frontline Warriors”. This platform also brings together elected officials, Congressman, Senators, Mayors, global thought leaders along with major stakeholders and gatekeepers of the Senior Community. This platform will feature groundbreaking ideas, innovative experiences, successful coping mechanisms, leaders, and achievers who will determine our future. I strongly believe that significant conversations are the way to generate effective solutions to tackle the current crisis and show us ways to adapt to the new normal.

Sincerely,

Santosh Kumar, Executive Director, MAFS