info@cicau.org
## Children's Institute of CulturalAppreciation and Understanding
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# FOSTERING CULTURAL DIVERSITY
### Fostering cultural appreciation today for better understanding tomorrow.
Our goal is to develop a dynamic digital e-learning platform along with accessible educational tools and resources to connect youth both nationally and globally. Through interactive exploration of various local, regional, and international cultures, we aim to cultivate appreciation and understanding, fostering connections among diverse cultures through shared experiences.
### Who We Are
### Our Mission
### Partner With Us
© 2024 CICAU. All Rights Reserved. CICAU is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization.
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5457 Twin Knolls Road, Suite 300, Columbia, MD 21045
# Donate
Your donation can help support the development and creation of the cultural education curriculum and the online e-learning platform. As a registered charitable 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, your financial contributions and in-kind (non-cash) support to our organization are tax-deductible within the United States. Our FEIN/Tax ID is 88-3996970.
Monetary donations can be made online via PayPal by clicking the button below or by check, made payable to CICAU. If you have any questions about your donation or the donation process, please contact us at donations@cicau.org.
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Please visit our  for additional details regarding your contribution and personal information.
# Who We Are
Children’s Institute of Cultural Appreciation and Understanding (CICAU) is a women/minority-led nonprofit organization founded by Ma’Keva Myricks-Puri and Preeti P. Menon in 2022. The organization is composed of a diverse Board of Directors, all of whom are highly vested in the mission and vision of CICAU. With a unique mixture of both personal and professional experiences, the co-founders and the Board of Directors are driven to bring greater awareness to childhood cultural education and provide accessibility to resources needed to propel cultural education to the forefront.
## Meet Our Leadership Team
### Ma'Keva Myricks-Puri
**Co-President and Executive Director of Operations, Administration and Finance**
### Preeti P. Menon
**Co-President and Executive Director of Program Development, Marketing and Communications**
## Our Board of Directors
### Shaalini Stone
**Chair of the Board**
### Edith Laurencin
**Treasurer**
### Stephen Kiiru
**Member of the Board**
### Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
In addition to various professional experiences, people bring their specific family and cultural background lens to our work. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) helps minimize biases in the workplace and offers a safe space for people to freely express and share their input towards our organization’s activities. As the cultural education curriculum is developed, it is essential to get diverse opinions to ensure our organization’s success.
CICAU’s co-founders and senior leadership embody DEI values and through their diverse backgrounds. As an African American woman married to a Sikh-American man, the Executive Director of Operations brings the perspective of a multi-cultural and multi-racial household. She has first-hand experience providing her two children an understanding of navigating their current cultural environment. The Executive Director of Program Development is an immigrant born in India who arrived in the United States at a young age and personally navigated through cultural differences. Given the backgrounds, environments, and social experiences that both women have had to traverse, they work hard to ensure their children understand, appreciate, and respect all cultures.
As we work towards building this organization, DEI is of the utmost importance. Diversity and inclusion are among the organization’s core values and act as guiding principles for the activities of the Board of Directors, Executive Officers, and the Board Committees. Each Director, Officer, and Committee is responsible within its focus area for promoting broad diversity in the organization’s governance, staffing, outreach, and programs.
While striving to educate young children to appreciate and understand cultural differences, we remember to adhere to those principles in the work we do and those we interact with. Respect for all aspects of diversity is vital for the health and success of our organization. It includes but is not limited to age, culture, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, and physical abilities.
# Our Mission
Our mission is to promote and strengthen cultural diversity through awareness, understanding, and acceptance. We empower young children aged 5-10/grades K-5 to celebrate diversity and foster global citizenship.
The Problem
U.S. grade schools continue to **miss the opportunity** to provide an enriched cultural education experience to young children.
Common core standards place emphasis on mathematics and English literacy, with **no guidelines on incorporating cultural education** or culturally-relevant material.
Our Solution
We aim to provide accessibility to a wholesome cultural educational experience to include **facts about countries and their history**, and specifics such as **lifestyle, regional languages, foods, traditions, festivals, and customs.**
**Through an immersive education** for children ages 5-10, or grades K-5, our goal is to work towards **fostering cultural compassion**, understanding and empathy as a child moves towards adolescence and into adulthood.
Our Audience
By collaborating with schools, K-5th grade students, children's organizations, after school programs, summer school programs, summer camps, homeschooling curriculums, and libraries, CICAU will help create **greater cross-cultural understanding** for the next generation of children.
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## Our Approach
It has been said time and time again that children are the future and that any significant change must start with them. By creating a space where a child is presented with a vast array of cultural experiences, we can produce results that deliver a long-term change of acceptance and appreciation. Through this approach we strive to increase cultural education and enhance children’s understanding of cultural diversity.The start of this change, however, must begin with an introduction.
CICAU helps provide children with cultural exposure to the connected world that we live in today by:
* Advocating cultural competence, acknowledgment, and acceptance.
* Driving children’s inherent compassion and curiosity for learning and understanding other cultures.
* Helping children increase their social and emotional awareness of cultural issues.
* Developing and implementing culture diversity programs for children.
Teaching children cultural appreciation and inclusion through entertaining, immersive, age-appropriate training programs and e-learning tools.
## Our Values and Guiding Principles
CICAU’S core values and guiding principles are the foundation of our organization, what we stand for and how we approach our work.
#### Diversity and Inclusion
Diversity and Inclusion are the core focus of our mission. As we strive to educate young children to appreciate and understand cultural differences, we remember to adhere to those principles in the work we do and those we interact with. Respect for all aspects of diversity is important, including but not limited to age, culture, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, physical abilities, and socioeconomic status.
#### Honesty and Integrity
This means doing the right thing even when no one is looking. Honoring a strong moral compass and encouraging ethical, direct, and honest relationships with each other as well as the community we serve.
#### Respect
Respect in the workplace and in the community creates a foundation for acknowledgement, appreciation, honor, kindness, understanding, and trust. It helps build positive long-lasting relationships and sets the tone for future interactions within the organization and with the greater community.
#### Collaboration
CICAU’s open-door policy promotes healthy, safe, and cooperative communication. We aim to support team goals, creativity, and collaborative decision-making processes. All ideas are welcome and valued as part of ensuring the overall success of our mission.
#### Accountability
As a community-focused organization, we always have the interest of the community we serve in mind when faced with tough decisions. We understand the importance of being reliable and taking full responsibility for our actions and words.
#### Community and Partnership
Through outreach and the delivery of need-based resources and services, we strive to become a valuable community leader and partner. By being transparent and forthcoming with information, we hope to build trusting and lasting relationships that benefit the community.
# Insights and Thought Leadership
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**Yolonda Udvardy, Ed.D.
September 28, 2024**
As a college administrator and educator, I believe early cultural education can significantly influence students as they transition into higher education. Introducing young learners to diverse cultures and perspectives helps build a foundation of cultural awareness and empathy, which can resonate throughout their academic and personal lives. 
**Ann Wagner, Ed.D.
September 13, 2024**
With over twenty years of experience in educational administration both in the U.S. and abroad, I’ve thought deeply about what it means for our children to become global citizens. One thing I have come to understand is that as our world grows increasingly interconnected, it is crucial that students develop cultural awareness and a global mindset. 
**Davíd Luna
August 23, 2024**
The offering of any opinion on the teaching and learning of culture would be remiss not to name the identities that inform and limit my understanding of people and their practices, products, and perspectives. I am a young, male teacher of color. 
**Alena Carter
May 31, 2024**
For many children, the first place they experience diverse cultures in one location is at school. As a teacher, it is important to me that my classroom be welcoming of all students. Part of that is creating a classroom culture that allows all students to feel important and seen. 
**Preeti P. Menon
January 30, 2024**
In a world that is becoming increasingly diverse, community organizations play a crucial role in fostering cultural education and awareness among young children. By providing valuable insights and practical tips, community organizations can contribute to building a more inclusive and understanding society. First step in this endeavor is to start by creating awareness about the importance of cultural diversity. 
**Ma'Keva Myricks-Puri
October 6, 2023**
As parents, educators, and community members, we are responsible for shaping the future generation. It is essential to raise children who are both culturally aware and appreciative of the rich tapestry of cultures surrounding them. Cultivating cultural awareness and appreciation in children ages 5-11 is crucial to raising empathetic, open-minded, and globally-minded individuals who will foster tolerance, diversity, and harmony, then pay it forward. This three-part series will explore valuable insights and practical tips parents, educators, and community organizations can use to support, encourage, and share in nurturing cultural education and spreading awareness to young children. 
August 26, 2023**
Elementary school marks the foundation of a child's educational journey. It's during these formative years that young minds are shaped and nurtured. The current cohort of elementary aged children have experienced virtual learning at the start of their grade school learning, a time when they start to develop friendships with those who are different from their own families.
The challenges of children developing multicultural friendships during the pandemic are multifaceted, stemming from limited physical interaction, virtual learning, cultural misunderstandings, mental health issues, language barriers, and restricted cultural celebrations. 
**Preeti P. Menon and Ma'Keva Myricks-Puri
November 26, 2023**
Our inspiration for embarking on this journey of creating and offering cultural education for children stems from our own family experiences. Our familial relationships have offered us incredibly immersive encounters that have benefited the both of us. Our children have had the opportunity to naturally embrace and participate in various family traditions and cultures. 
# Partner With Us
Your support makes a difference! There are many ways you or your organization can partner with us and join our mission.  and let us know how you would like to get involved.
#### Schools and PTAs
Support the development and testing of the cultural education curriculum for elementary schools in your area. Teachers, school leaders, and parent-teacher association leaders have first-hand experience and are valuable resources on informing the cultural education curriculum.
#### National Partners, Non-Profits and Foundations
Partner with CICAU to support, promote, and strengthen cultural diversity.  for an introductory meeting.
#### Research Agenda
Partner with us on research that includes conducting a national survey and special focus groups to better understand the need for cultural education.
#### Event Sponsorship
Support CICAU by sponsoring an information session for a school, at a conference, or as an informational webinar.
#### Charitable Giving
Making a philanthropic gift to CICAU directly supports the development and creation of the cultural education curriculum and the online e-learning platform. 
#### Volunteer
Volunteer with CICAU by sharing your skillset or time to assist with various events and activities.
# Contact Us
To get in touch, find out more, or to reach out with additional inquiries, please provide the information below. Someone from our team will connect with you shortly. We are looking forward to hearing from you!