Latest News and Updates
Support the Nomination of Judge Edward Chen
Posted by Jason on 2010-07-28 11:18:39 EDT
President Barack Obama nominated Magistrate Judge Edward Chen to the federal court in August 2009. Judge Chen’s nomination was recommended by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein of California. Judge Chen received extremely positive support from a diverse group of individuals and organizations, including a ““Unanimously Well Qualified”” rating by the American Bar Association. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Judge Chen’s nomination in October 2009.
Without explanation, Judge Chen’s nomination was returned to the White House in late December. As was anticipated, President Obama on Jan. 20, 2010, renominated Judge Chen for the federal court and we need your help to communicate to the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, that Judge Chen’s nomination deserves to be presented to the full Senate for a vote.
Judge Chen's nomination deserves a straight up-or-down vote in the Senate. You can help make that happen by signing the short online form on http://fairjudges.net/, and your letter will be sent to Majority Leader Reid. For more information, visit FairJudges.net, a website of the Asian Pacific Bar of California.
Fill out the simple online form below!
http://fairjudges.net/
OCA Congratulates Daphne Kwok, former OCA Executive Director, on Presidential Appointment as Chair of Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
Posted by Jason on 2010-07-27 20:28:21 EDT
Washington, D.C. — Yesterday, President Obama announced the appointment of Daphne Kwok as Chair of the Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). In October 2009, President Obama signed an executive order to reinstate the White House Advisory Commission and Interagency Working Group to address issues affecting the AAPI community and increase AAPI participation in federal programs.
As Commission Chair, Ms. Kwok will work closely with the White House Initiative on AAPIs to increase awareness of federal resources for underserved AAPI communities. Initiative co-chairs: U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, and Initiative Executive Director Kiran Ahuja will all work in collaboration with Ms. Kwok to address the critical needs of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Daphne Kwok has been a committed advocate and leader in the AAPI community for over two decades. She served as the Executive Director of OCA for 11 years, from 1990 to 2001, where she also was also the first Chair of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans.
“Daphne is an extraordinarily capable and passionate leader for the AAPI community. The depth of her experiences and what she has already accomplished will prove invaluable to the commission. OCA greatly applauds this appointment and we look forward to working with Daphne and the Initiative,” said Ken Lee, National President of OCA.
Ms. Kwok is currently the Executive Director of Asians and Pacific Islanders with Disabilities of California. She has also served as Executive Director for the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies and Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation. In addition, she is Chair and Co-founder of APIAVote, a founding Board Member of the APIA Scholarship Fund, and has been on the board of the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation, Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, National Coalition of Asian Pacific American Community Development and Asian Pacific American Caucus of the American Political Science Association.
Pennsylvania Institute of Technology (P.I.T.) Asian American Community Reception
Posted by Jason on 2010-07-26 10:48:52 EDT
The ultimate goal of the Pennsylvania Institute of Technology (P.I.T.)
has been to provide a quality educational environment and experience for
its students for more than 57 years.
Recognizing how important a warm and compassionate environment is to
each student in their efforts to earn a quality education, we would like
to invite you, the respected leaders of the Asian community, to come to
visit our caring College.
We cordially invite you to a special reception in your honor -
Date: Tuesday, July 27
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Where: Our campus at 800 Manchester Avenue, Media, Pa.
At the intimate welcoming reception, you will be given a private tour of
our lovely campus, enjoy some light refreshments, meet our
Administrators to learn about what P.I.T. has to offer to make Asian
students feel at home while earning a higher education. In addition, you
will hear about a special Asian Student Scholarship Examination and have
an opportunity to chat with one of our Asian graduates now attending
Drexel University on a scholarship!
PCDC Expo - Saturday, July 24th!
Posted by Jason on 2010-07-19 11:22:40 EDT
Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation is proud to be hosting it's second annual PCDC Community Expo!
What is the Expo?:
A gathering of community organizations, government agencies, and financial institutions to Chinatown to promote their services. Specifically this year they are focusing on organizations that focus on Youth and Seniors.
Learn about how these organizations can help you with you needs: Social Security Youth programming, Identity Protection, Health, Financial Services, and others.
When?:
Saturday July 24th @1 - 4pm
Where?:
Teresa Hu Center
Holy Redeemer Church
915 Vine Street, Philadelphia
Come Check it out!
JACL, OCA, and APIAVote Visit Gulf Coast Communities Affected by Oil Spill
Posted by Jason on 2010-07-14 13:52:25 EDT
Washington, D.C. — From July 7-10, 2010, leaders from the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), OCA, and APIAVote visited the Gulf Coast to gather first-hand accounts of how the Asian American community is being affected by the BP oil spill. The explosion on Deepwater Horizon, an offshore drilling rig, has threatened the livelihood of thousands of fishermen in the Gulf region. The Southeast Asian American community in particular, an estimated 80 percent of whom are involved in the seafood industry, has been heavily impacted.
JACL, OCA and APIAVote met with Vietnamese fishermen, local community advocates, BP representatives, and state and federal officials in Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana. The goal of the trip was to assess the needs and current situation of Gulf fishermen in order to better target relief efforts and assistance to the communities.
“Through focus groups with over 25 Vietnamese fishermen, we learned that the most pressing concern for people is finding a job to support their families and pay bills while they are unable to fish. The meager claims provided by BP have not been nearly enough for families with house and boat payments. For most fishermen, the only jobs available are with the BP oil cleanup efforts, but they are frustrated with the lack of transparency in the oil cleanup hiring and claims process,” said Floyd Mori, National Executive Director of the JACL.
George Wu, Executive Director of OCA and chair of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), noted, “There is a strong language access problem for the Vietnamese, Laotian, Cambodian, and Thai community in the Gulf Coast. While some materials are being translated into the appropriate languages and interpreters are available in limited instances, there is still a lack of in-language resources and up-to-date information. This has caused misinformation, confusion, and mistrust.”
“We need to continue to work directly with the people most affected by the oil spill so that they have a voice at the table. These communities will be affected by the oil spill for decades. There are immediate needs and longer term capacity building to be done, but it starts with working alongside communities on the ground,” said Naomi Tacuyan Underwood, Deputy Director of APIAVote.
Findings from this visit will be published in a report detailing recommendations and key areas of need, which will be submitted to the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and the White Houst Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Celebrate APA Heritage Month: Purchase Limited Edition Phillip Lim T-shirt!
Posted by Jason on 2010-05-11 00:06:12 EDT
Help us commemorate APA Heritage Month by purchasing one of these limited-edition tees designed by Phillip Lim. The shirts are available at 16 Nordstrom stores for $85. All after cost proceeds will benefit OCA Youth Programs.
The shirts can also be found online at www.nordstrom.com/apahm
Penn Law Refugee Photo Exhibit and Non-Profit Fundraiser
Posted by Ling on 2010-04-12 23:39:04 EDT
Food and drinks will be provided! This event is free and open to the public!
We have collected over 300 photographs from all over the world taken by Penn students which we will be displaying (and selling for $2.50~12 depending on the size of the photo). Please see this event's Facebook photo album for a small but stunning sampling! http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=105831906121113&ref=mf
All proceeds go to local and international refugee organizations. We will also have a petition and information on the Refugee Protection Act of 2010. Our ultimate goal is to raise money for local refugee organizations and spread awareness about refugees, their plight, and the recent changes in Refugee and Immigration Law.
The entire invite can be found at http://pennlawrefugee.info/.
RSVP to: Penn.Refugee.Law@gmail.com
OCA-GP General Meeting and Lunch Mixer
Posted by Ling on 2010-04-11 23:01:35 EDT
Sunday, April 25, 2010
12:30pm-2:30pm
Mango Moon Thai Restaurant, 4161 Main Street, Philadelphia (Manayunk)
Cost: $15 --($20 for non-members and $10 for children under 10)--includes a delicious lunch!
Please join us for the first OCA - Greater Philadelphia General Meeting of the year!
Meet our OCA - GP members and officers and hear about the exciting and significant programming and advocacy that we are working on, including:
-Mentoring for Philadelphia APA Youth
-Advocacy against anti-Asian school violence in Philadelphia
-Diversity Discussions and Book Club geared towards family and children
-The APA Heritage Month Festival (and other cultural programming)
-Advocacy on APA Health Issues
The meeting and lunch will be held at Mango Moon in Manayunk. (Voted Best Thai in Philadelphia in Zagat 2009). Please RSVP by April 18th to Jason Yu (yusubstitution@yahoo.com)
The AXA Foundation Awards $24,000 to OCA's Scholarship Program
Posted by Jason on 2010-04-11 22:00:54 EDT
Washington, DC – OCA a national organization with 80 chapters and affiliates dedicated to advancing the social, political and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans (APAs), is pleased to announce they received a $24,000 grant from the AXA Foundation.
The grant provides for 12 scholarship awards of $2,000 each to graduating APA high school seniors who demonstrate ambition and drive, determination to set and reach goals and the ability to succeed in college.
"We developed AXA Achievement because we understand how challenging the road to college can be” said Faith Frank, president of the AXA Foundation, which underwrites AXA Achievementsm scholarships. " OCA-AXA Achievementsm Scholarship winners are young people who have accomplished something special, who show the determination to set and reach goals."
Since 2004, the AXA Foundation has provided more than 60 scholarships for APA high school students through the OCA Scholarship Program.
“Scholarships like OCA-AXA Achievement provide necessary assistance to hard-working students in their academic careers,” said OCA National Executive Director George C. Wu. “OCA believes in the power of education and wishes these and all college students great success.”
The AXA Foundation is the philanthropic arm of AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company and its related entities. The Foundation directs the company's philanthropic and volunteer activities, working to improve the quality of life in communities across the country where AXA has a presence. Since 2003, the AXA Foundation has awarded $17.5 million in scholarships through its multifaceted flagship program, AXA Achievement, which provides resources that help make college possible: access and advice. More than 3,600 students, known as AXA Achievers, have received scholarships. For more information visit www.axa-achievement.com.
Dafodil Days - Help NAAAP Philadelphia Support the American Cancer Society
Posted by Jason on 2010-01-31 21:05:15 EST
The daffodil is a symbol of hope and renewal. To the American Cancer Society, daffodils represent the hope we all share for a world with less cancer and more birthdays – one where cancer never steals another year from anyone’s life.
Please join NAAAP Philadelphia in the Fight Against Cancer by supporting the American Cancer Society Daffodil Days Campaign. By making a Daffodil Days donation, you will be doing more than giving or receiving beautiful flowers; you will be sharing hope for a future free of cancer by raising funds and awareness to beat the disease.
You can donate on this Web site until February 22, 2010. Actual daffodil delivery will be available during the week of March 15, 2010. Please make your donation using the Get Daffodils link on the top left hand side of this page.
NAAAP Philadelphia gives you our heartfelt thanks for supporting Daffodil Days and for helping save lives from cancer.
Visit the NAAAP Philadelphia Fundraising Page Below! (Cut and paste to your browser bar)
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?px=12864748&fr_id=26961&pg=personal
Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership Internship - Deadline March 1
Posted by Jason on 2010-01-18 10:53:56 EST
Based in Washington, DC, the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership (CAPAL) is a nonprofit committed to the development of APA leadership in the public sector.
CAPAL is recruiting undergraduate and graduate student interns for the summer of 2010. Nine interns will receive a stipend and a placement within the US Department of Agriculture.
Three interns will receive a scholarship to intern with the organization of their choice. All students will receive mentorship and professional development from CAPAL's network of APA professionals in DC.
Applications are due on March 1.
For more information, please visit http://www.capal.org/ee/pages/index.php?/Programs/index
or email scholarships@capal.org.
Mayor’s Commission on Asian American Affairs - Inaugural Benefit Reception
Posted by Jason on 2010-01-16 18:26:14 EST
SAVE THE DATE
The Philadelphia Mayor’s Commission on Asian American Affairs will be hosting its Inaugural Annual Benefit Reception, “Bridging Cultures Celebration 2010”
When: February 16, 2010, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Where: Mayor’s Reception Room in City Hall
------------------------
Philadelphia, January 08, 2009 – Mayor Michael A. Nutter signed an Executive Order (No. 01-09) re-establishing the Mayor’s Commission on Asian American Affairs and announced his appointees to the Commission.
The Commission is charged with keeping the Mayor and Administration officials apprised of issues and concerns in the community; proactively reviewing issues of concern to the various communities and monitoring the impact of and satisfaction with the delivery of City services within the communities; and with serving as a connector between social service, community, cultural and other organizations and City government. Dr. Nina Ahmad will serve as the Chair of the Commission.
The Mayor’s Commission on Asian American Affairs was first constituted in 1990 by Mayor Goode. For many years, the Commission served as an important link between City government and the Asian American communities, but became inactive in recent years. After meeting with Asian American community leaders interested in bringing back the Commission, the Mayor requested nominations and applications to the Commission in the fall.
OCA Accepting Applications for Summer Internship Program
Posted by Jason on 2010-01-11 17:05:47 EST
Washington, DC--OCA, a national organization dedicated to advancing the social, political and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans (APAs), is now accepting applications for its 2010 Summer Internship Program.
Celebrating its 21th year, the OCA Internship Program seeks to cultivate future leadership by providing students from all over the country an opportunity to be involved in the political process through a national organization. The program has successfully led past interns to become more active on their college campus and increased the presence of the APA community in local, state and federal governments.
In addition to connecting interns with the APA community and developing their leadership, OCA also brings summer interns to the OCA National Convention, the largest APA conference in the country. The 2010 National Convention will be in Houston from June 17-20. The convention will feature speakers, entertainment, workshops, and our signature gala. Applicants are strongly encouraged to make sure they are able to attend.
For the summer session, interns are expected to commit to working full-time for ten weeks between the dates of May 24 – Aug 13, 2010. Applications will be reviewed by the Internship Committee and a telephone interview may be scheduled.
For more information on the OCA Summer Internship and to apply, go to OCA’s website at www.ocanational.org and click “Internship” under “Programs.” We highly encourage applicants to apply online. Applications for internships need to be postmarked or submitted online by March 1, 2010 for the summer session.
Please contact the OCA National Center at 202-223-5500 or iho@ocanational.org if you have any questions
Penn Museum Welcomes the Year of the Tiger at the 29th Annual Chinese New Year Celebration
Posted by Jason on 2010-01-10 19:31:18 EST
PHILADELPHIA -Roar into the New Year with the power and courage of a Tiger! The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology presents the 29th annual Chinese New Year Celebration, in the honor of the Year of the Tiger, Saturday, January 23, 2010, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm! Music and dance performances, healing and martial arts demonstrations, games, workshops, children's activities, and much more - topped off with the traditional Chinese Lion Dance grand finale - are all part of the spectacular day-long celebration. The celebration is free with Museum admission donation ($10 general admission; $7 seniors; $6 students with ID and children [6-17]; free for children under 6, Museum members and PennCard holders).
OCA-GP will be participating in the festivities with children's story telling.
For more information see
http://www.penn.museum/press-releases/698-penn-museum-welcomes-the-year-of-the-tiger-at-the-29th-annual-chinese-new-year-celebration.html
UPS Foundation Awards $100,000 to OCA for Scholarship and Mentoring Programs
Posted by Jason on 2009-12-10 16:12:46 EST
Washington, DC—OCA, a national organization dedicated to advancing the social, political and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans (APAs), is pleased to announce they received a $100,000 grant from The UPS Foundation, the charitable arm of UPS (NYSE:UPS). The grant will be utilized in 2010 to support OCA’s UPS Gold Mountain Scholarship and the Mentoring Asian American Professionals (MAAP) Program.
“OCA is so honored to have this relationship with UPS and we are grateful for their continued support,” said Ken Lee, OCA national president. “Because of UPS, we have been able to provide future leaders with the tools they need for success.”
The OCA-UPS Gold Mountain Scholarship Program provides an opportunity for APA high school students who are the first in their family to attend an institution of higher education. For ten years, UPS has provided scholarships to 118 APAs to help reach their full academic potential.
In 2009, OCA launched the three-month MAAP program, designed to cultivate the next generation of confident, empowered, equipped, and collaborative APA professional leaders through mentoring, skills-building, and networking. With the generous support of The UPS Foundation, MAAP was launched in Atlanta, San Francisco and Washington, D.C .
“The UPS Foundation is committed to funding impactful programs that make a meaningful difference in our communities—so we are proud to support OCA’s efforts to provide scholarships and mentorship opportunities,” said Ken Sternad, president of the UPS Foundation.
Established in 1951 and based in Atlanta, Ga., The UPS Foundation identifies specific areas where its backing clearly impacts social issues. In support of this strategic approach, The UPS Foundation has identified the following focus areas for giving: nonprofit effectiveness, economic and global literacy, encouraging diversity, community safety and environmental sustainability.
In 2008, The UPS Foundation distributed $46.9 million worldwide through grants that benefit programs such as the UPS Gold Mountain Scholarship and MAAP, and provided support for building stronger communities.
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