Three weeks ago, we kicked off our essential workers campaign. Whether working from home or within our neighborhoods, essential workers are supporting a strong recovery for those who are too often overlooked, underrepresented, or underinvested in.  

Our fourth essential workers feature focus on Priscilla Fok, CPC’s Resident Wellness Coordinator, and Margaret Wang, TUC’s Administrative Assistant. Priscilla and Margaret work in partnership to provide on-site services for the residents of Hong Ning Housing for the Elderly, a CPC subsidiary.

Chris Kuo, Leadership Council: What’s been your favorite memory from your time at Hong Ning? 

Priscilla Fok, Resident Wellness Coordinator: My favorite memory is from the first ever arts and crafts activity that I hosted at Hong Ning. It was in December around Christmas, and I wanted to bring the residents some holiday cheer. The project involved making paper Christmas trees with a holiday greeting in Chinese. I was really surprised to see how into the activity the seniors got. They were decorating their trees so carefully and interacting with one another. Some of them didn’t know each other then, so the way they were communicating and sharing that space together was very touching for me. 

Margaret Wang, Administrative Assistant: My favorite memory has actually been making our wellness check-in phone calls during the pandemic. Even with my very limited Cantonese, I’ve still been able to communicate with the seniors and check up on them throughout this time. Strangely enough, the calls have allowed me to connect with them on a level that I wasn't able to before. I can hear in their voices that they appreciate what we’re doing for them and that they really feel cared for. That, I think, has been the best reward for me. 

Share Priscilla and Margaret's story using #EssentialWorkers and #AlwaysEssential.

Essential Worker Quick Facts

 Black, Latinx, and Asian people make up
more than 70% of the city’s essential workers.

Human services workers are essential workers.

New York City contracts have not set rates that accurately reflect 
human services workers' commitment to essential work.

All of CPC's staff are essential workers. 

Tweets You Can Use To Share #AlwaysEssential Posts:

Help me lift the voices of #EssentialWorkers. Like and share this post to stand in solidarity with human services workers. #AlwaysEssential bit.ly/cpc-always-essential

#EssentialWorkers risk their health and their families’ health to serve others through COVID-19. As New York begins to recover, orgs like @cpc-nyc will be among the ones helping the hardest hit New Yorkers put their lives back together. Support them here: bit.ly/cpc-covid-19-relief-fund #AlwaysEssential

About CPC
The Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) is the nation's largest Asian American social services organization. Founded in 1965, CPC aims to promote the social and economic empowerment of Chinese American, immigrant, and low-income communities of New York City.

華人策劃協會(華策會)是全美國最大的亞裔美國人及太平洋島民社區服務機構.成立於1965年,華策會專門為紐約市的華裔美國人,移民,和低收入民眾提供金融權力和社區服務.