Collected Item: “‘We help with loneliness’: With cultural center temporarily shuttered, Iranian American Society of Arizona works to maintain ‘sense of community’ online”
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‘We help with loneliness’: With cultural center temporarily shuttered, Iranian American Society of Arizona works to maintain ‘sense of community’ online
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Text story written by Jessica Myers for the Luce Foundation: Southwest Stories Fellowship
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For younger users of the Arizona Persian Cultural Center, the Scottsdale home of the Iranian American Society of Arizona, the pandemic-driven transition to virtual classes and events has been relatively easy.
But for older members, who’ve struggled to use Zoom and long for the potlucks and Bingo they enjoyed before COVID-19, the road has been rockier.
“Before (the pandemic), we had a hard time getting younger people to come to the center,” vice president and fundraising chair Fariba Ansari said. “Now, we have a hard time getting older people online.”
IASAz’s mission — maintaining a “sense of community” among Iranian Americans and others by promoting Iranian culture and language — has become more important than ever in the face of COVID-19, according to the organization. With its physical location shuttered since March, IASAz had to get creative to continue offering the Farsi classes, discussions and other events it used to host in person.
Ansari and Malie Malihi, the group’s treasurer and outreach programs chair, spoke with the Luce Foundation’s Southwest Stories Project about how the organization is working to keep “disconnected” members and the broader public engaged, while securing funds to help families in need.
But for older members, who’ve struggled to use Zoom and long for the potlucks and Bingo they enjoyed before COVID-19, the road has been rockier.
“Before (the pandemic), we had a hard time getting younger people to come to the center,” vice president and fundraising chair Fariba Ansari said. “Now, we have a hard time getting older people online.”
IASAz’s mission — maintaining a “sense of community” among Iranian Americans and others by promoting Iranian culture and language — has become more important than ever in the face of COVID-19, according to the organization. With its physical location shuttered since March, IASAz had to get creative to continue offering the Farsi classes, discussions and other events it used to host in person.
Ansari and Malie Malihi, the group’s treasurer and outreach programs chair, spoke with the Luce Foundation’s Southwest Stories Project about how the organization is working to keep “disconnected” members and the broader public engaged, while securing funds to help families in need.
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#Southweststories #Lucegrant #ASU
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Jessica Myers
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2020-09-20