FRIENDS OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS FUNDRAISING GALA
FRIENDS OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS FUNDRAISING GALA
BY Gerrye Wong
October 14, 2023
The families and supporters of the non profit organization FRIENDS OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS are bustling with excitement and anticipation of the group’s third center becoming a reality within the next year. The group is full of anticipation looking for support to help the group make its final push to raise funds for their new Osgood Center’s completion so it can become a dream come true. On November 5 in the Grand Dynasty Restaurant in San Jose, the group wants to “EXPAND OUR DREAM”, the title of their grand gala fundraising dinner as the dream has been in the works for the past two years, and now the end of the tunnel may be coming soon with the added drive to raise funds towards it completion.
Founded in 1996 by 10 Chinese American families as a non-profit organization. Its mission was to “help individuals with special needs and their families find love, hope, respect, and support through integrated community involvement”. In 2006 FCSN completed its first “Dream Project, building the Chenming and Margaret Hu Center in Fremont. In 2017, second center in San Jose opened. In the summer of 2021, FCSN purchased 42080 Osgood Road building. With over 1 year of planning and 8 month of construction, renovation is about to complete and will begin service in early 2024. It will be the new headquarter for FCSN. FCSN currently has 1200 family member and 150 employees, serving over 400 special needs adults and children.
The new “Dream Center’ consists of 6000 square feet in a one story building, connected to a 12000 sf 2-story building. Win it they will be able to expand services, including for adult and children, while increasing capacity for job training and school age children after- school programs. For the last 2 years, FCSN began its services for higher need individuals as their self-care ability is limited, and often have emotional stability issues. It has been a difficult task but they realized such families need them the most. As VP Anna Wang explained, “We have been able to improve this program with much effort. We believe, with the support of our staff, volunteers, and donors, we will serve this population better.”
The “Expand our Dream” fundraising gala on November 5th, 2023, will take place at Grand Dynasty Restaurant in San Jose. As Event Co Chairs Peter Chan and Jacqueline Yu express, “ As inflation hads impacted cost of our renovation project, we ask all to join us and help those with special needs. To make this project a success needed, we need all concerned citizens to either be a sponsor, purchase dinner tickets or raffle tickets for great prizes. For ticket information Contact – Co Chairs Peter Chan 408-887-2612, Jacqueline Yu 408-893-9599
Although FCSN began humbly in 1996 as a family support group, founded by a few families with special needs children and some kindhearted friends. Unbelievably, in 27 years it has grown to over 1000 families, serving over 600 children and adults of many ethnicities with developmental disabilities. As one can understand, these past few years have been especially challenging for the group due to the pandemic. Notwithstanding problems, however, FCSN reopened their two centers and re-started their in-person programs since 2021 to the present. During the shelter-in-place2 year time frame which halted activities for the group’s services, the FCSN Board made the bold decision to take action to address two of its most important needs – the lack of physical space to run programs with the long waiting list of prospective clients.
To solve those concerns, FCSN acquired the 18,000 sf building on Osgood Road in Fremont. Never faltering, in 2022, the design was completed and the renovation began in earnest on March 1, 2023. Upon completion hopefully by the end of this year, the hope is this facility will become their new headquarters in 2024. To make this EXPAND OUR DREAM project to come to fruition, their plan is to strive to raise another $1M over the next two years to help finance this project. And that’s where Fundraising Chairman Limin Hu is asking for everyone’s support to make this dream come true. As he says, “With the community’s support, we can expand this Osgood Center facility and make our dream come true to help many many many more special needs individuals and families.” Echoing his plea for donations to help expand services for those special children in need, are Board Chair Yee-Yeen Wan and Jim Chiao, Board of Director Albert Wang, Co Presidents Jason Hwan and CK Lee, Vice Presidents Anna Wang, Tapin Hu and Edmend Lin, Business Executive Director Sylvia Yeh and Treasurer Lillian Lin.
As Fundraising Chair Leader Limin Hu said, “”The idea of building a community center began way back in 2000 with the conception of our Dream Project. In 2006 FCSN build its Dream Center, now named the Chenming & Margaret Hu Center In Fremont and in 2017 the South Bay Center in San Jose. Now we are fortunate to have the opportunity to repeat our Dream Project again so please share our vision of building a community for our special children and their families. We would like to see everyone at our gala dinner celebration November 5 at the Grand Dynasty Restaurant 5:00pm. However, we appreciate and welcome any and all ticket sales, and donations, no matter how large or small. Please contact me at liminhu@gmail.om
This is a group who saw the needs of so many families with developmentally disabled children, whether it be those who have autism, Downs Syndrome, or many physical problems that handicap their lives. For the past 27 years FRIENDS OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS has impacted the lives of so many of these children and adults. Yet there are just as many more in the community that are asking for their help and services. Let’s help them expand their fine work – and EXPAND THEIR DREAM. Below is a well written description of the group’s plans for the projected Osgood Center for your information.
Let’s all join in this fine crusade to help build community spirit behind those in need. Read on…….
Read on…….
Osgood Project Update
By James Chiao, Osgood Project Lead, FCSN Co-Chair
For the past dozen years or so, on and off, FCSN had been looking for ways to expand its facility in Fremont due to the long waiting lists, and the lack of space for offices and programs. Finally, in May 2021, FCSN acquired an 18000sf building at 42080 Osgood Rd in Fremont. In 2022, FCSN design team worked with architects from T Square Consulting Group and completed the initial design for the building’s renovation.
By Dec 2022, we chose to work with a reputable general building contractor “Pacific General Construction” (PGC) to refine the scope and identify additional cost-saving measures. We submitted our plan as a revision in March 2023, and PGC started the demolition at the same time. We are glad to have PGC as a partner as the following photos show the tremendous progress PGC has made so far during the past seven months.
The construction is now 95% complete, and we hope to reach 100% by the end of October. Soon after, we plan to move in with our Finance and Admin Dept., followed by community-based program in Q1, 2024, and other vendorized programs in Q2, 2024. Once established, Osgood Center will become our new headquarters.
The idea of building a community center began in 2000 with the conception of our Dream Project. In 2006, FCSN built its Dream Center, now Chenming & Margaret Hu Center, in Fremont, and in 2017 South Bay Center in San Jose. Now, we are so fortunate to have the opportunity to repeat our Dream Project again. If you feel our project is worthwhile and you share our vision of building a community for our special children and their families, please support us with a donation. Please contact me at jim_chiao@yahoo.com Limin at liminhu@gmail.com or Albert at aybwang@comcast.net should you have any questions.
