OCA - Orange County Chapter

Public Allies is a 10 Month paid intensive internship and leadership
development experience. Young adults between the ages of 18-30 get the
opportunity to serve at a community non profit organization doing work
in the community while simultaneously participating in a leadership
development, political awareness and skill building program. Program
participants are expected to work 45+ hours weekly and maintain commitment
to the program for 10 months. Allies are compensated $1500.00 a month
(before taxes) and receive an educational award totaling $4725.00 which can
be used for future schooling or to pay off past loans.

For more details contact us or attend an info session ASAP!!!
You can also visit our web page at: www.publicallies.org/losangeles/.

CONTACT US TO ATTEND AN INFORMATION SESSION TODAY!!!

It is recommended that anyone interested in applying for the Public
Allies Program attend an Information Session. Contact Tafarai Bayne at
Public Allies - Los Angeles, 213.741.2202 x4 or via email at
tafaraib@publicallies.org.

The Information Sessions for the 2006 - 2007 Program are:

Wednesday, March 15th : 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Wednesday, March 29th : 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Saturday, April 15th :11:00am - 1:00pm
Saturday, April 26th :11:00am - 1:00pm
Saturday, May 6th :11:00am - 1:00pm
Wednesday, May 10th : 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Wednesday, May 17th : 6:00pm - 8:00pm

RSVP TODAY!!

Info sessions will be held at Public Allies Office at:
520 West 23rd st. 1st Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90007

Crossing East is a radio series of eight one-hour documentaries on the
history of Asian American immigration, from pre-America to post-9/11.
Crossing East is the first comprehensive series anywhere on Asian American
history and it’s due out in May 2006 on NPR stations. The series is hosted
by George Takei and Margaret Cho, and is produced by Dmae Roberts. One
example is Episode 4 is titled „Exclusion and Resistance‰ and immigration
laws designed specifically to restrict Asian Americans and its affect on the
community. Angel Island Immigration Station features in that episode.

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How to Help Crossing East

Crossing East will be the first Asian American history documentary aired on
public radio. It involves actors, historical documents, archived sound,
interviews, some of the country’s greatest scholars, and George Takei and
Margaret Cho.

BUT YOU MAY NOT HEAR IT!

For Crossing East to air, individual NPR-member stations must agree to air
the program and they decide when. We made the documentary, but YOU can get
it on the air.

Here’s how:

1. Find your local NPR stations here: http://www.npr.org/stations/

2. Click on ‘Visit K/W—’s Web Site’

3. Select ‘Contact Us’

4. Write the station an email saying:

‘I am very excited about hearing the Crossing East documentary. When are you
going to air it? Are you going to have any other events for Asian American
history month? I am a resident of [your city]. I listen to [your station] for my news and
information and I am a subscriber [if you are]. Thank you for all you do to bring our community closer together.’

5. If they write back, forward the message to info@crossingeast.org

THAT’S IT! With your help, we can get this much-needed documentary on
American history into the public consciousness. If you would like to know more,
go to www.crossingeast.org or email info@crossingeast.org with questions.

Love working with high school students?

Looking for a great volunteer opportunity to put on your resume?

The Orange County Asian & Pacific Islander Community Alliance (OCAPICA) needs interns/volunteers to tutor and help develop activities/workshops for our Afterschool Program. This program will be providing youth with a safe environment to receive mentorship and academic advising. The mission is to provide opportunities for academic and character maturity. Funding generously provided by Orange County United Way, the Helping Kids Achieve Program from The Orange County Community Foundation and The Draper Family Foundation and The Weingart Foundation.

Sample activities:

*College Application Essay workshops
*Movie nights
*Field trips
*Financial Aid workshops for students and parents
*Free SAT classes
*Scholarship Application Preparation
*Writing contest, etc.
*Arts Program

The afterschool program runs Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 3PM-6PM. Our Costa Mesa site run T-Th from 6:30PM-9PM. Commitment is for 10 weeks (a minimum of 40 hours per quarter).

Mandatory Volunteer Informational Training

Please RSVP to only ONE of the six meetings:

Tuesday, April 11th 6:30PM-8:00PM
Wednesday, April 12th 6:30PM-8:00PM
Thursday, April 13th 6:30PM-8:00PM
Tuesday, April 18th 6:30PM-8:00PM
Wednesday, April 19th 6:30PM-8:00PM
Thursday April 20th 6:30PM-8:00PM
All trainings will be at the OCAPICA conference room

OCAPICA’s conference room
12900 Garden Grove Blvd. #240A
Garden Grove, CA 92843

To RSVP or for more information please contact:

Jennifer Kuo jkuo@ocapica.org
Jason Ackermann jackermann@ocapica.org
(714) 636-9095
www.ocapica.org

For application http://www.ocapica.org/documents/Volunteer-InternRecruitmentFlier_Winter2005_PR2.pdf

Act today to ensure that undocumented workers, students and refugees are protected and allowed to continue to contribute to our society and given the opportunity to fully participate in the social and economic fabric of our communities.

There is a movement to add two amendments to the current legislation that is being discussed in the Senate Judiciary Committee, both of which would provide a means for undocumented workers and students to earn legal permanent residency. The two amendments are:

The Kennedy Amendment - would allow undocumented workers to earn legal permanent residence. This amendment is similar to the provision included in the McCain/Kennedy bill introduced last year.

The Durbin Amendment - would allow undocumented students to adjust their status by attending two years of college or serving two years in the military.

YOU CAN HELP BY MAKING A CALL!!

Ask Senator Feinstein (and the other Senators in the Senate Judiciary Committee) to support the Kennedy Amendment and the Durbin Amendment on the DREAM Act.
***(FYI - Senator Dianne Feinstein has expressed interest in signing on as a co-sponsor of the DREAM Act.)

Thank you for taking the time to make these calls. It really will make a difference!

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Main Judiciary Committee Phone Numbers and Chairman Arlen Specter, (R-PA),
202-224-4254

Sen. Charles Grassley, (R-IA), 202-224-3744

Sen. Lindsey Graham, (R-SC), 202-224-5972

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), 202-224-6521

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), 202-224-4242

Sen. Joseph Biden Jr. (D-DE), 202-224-5042

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), 202-224-3841

Sen. Orrin Hatch, (R-UT), 202-224-5251

Sen. Mike DeWine, (R-OH), 202-224-2315

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), 202-224-2934

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), 202-224-6542

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), 202-224-4543

Sen. Herbert Kohl (D-WI), 202-224-5653

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), 202-224-5323

April 13, 2006
11:30AM – 4:00PM

Garden Grove Community Meeting Center, Room A
11300 Stanford, Garden Grove, CA, 92840

Grandma/Grandpa, Keep Me Safe! is a project of the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance (OCAPICA), Asian American Senior Citizens Service Center (AASCSC), and the Orange County Korean American Health Information and Education Center (OCKAHIEC).

Come and learn about how to work with the Asian American community regarding childhood injury prevention. This program is made possible through a grant from the Children and Families Commission of Orange County.

The REACH 2010 conference will be held on May 17-18, 2006 at the Wilshire Grand in Downtown LA. REACH 2010 (Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health) is a federal initiative that parallels the focus of Healthy People 2010, the framework for the nation’s health objectives for the decade. Since 2000, the California REACH 2010 coalition, representing California REACH projects and other partners, have organized statewide conferences to build California’s capacity to address disparities in health among racial and ethnic communities. This year’s focus is on looking back and moving forward by reflecting on past successes and challenges and mobilizing ethnic communities to move forward through capacity building, professional development, and collaboration.

Please visit the website to register, find scholarship applications and more information on the event. You can click on this link www.careach2010conference.org.

A Community of Contrasts: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States identifies challenges facing our nation’s fastest growing community

Washington, DC, March 23, 2006 –Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) are often perceived as a financially successful and well-educated community. Yet a new national report indicates that a large number of AAPIs are faced with poverty, overcrowded housing, and below average high school graduation rates. A Community of Contrasts: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States details one of the fastest growing populations in the United States and examines both the contributions and the needs of this diverse community. The report is a publication of the Asian American Justice Center and its affiliates, including the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, who was the principal researcher of the report. (Click here for a copy of the report).

Between 1990 and 2000, the Asian American population grew by as much as 72%, with the Pacific Islander population growing by as much as 140%. The rapid growth is occurring both in states with large, established AAPI populations, like New York, California and Hawai’i, as well as in states with emerging AAPI communities. Nevada, for example, is now home to the nation’s fastest growing AAPI population. In Las Vegas alone, Asian Americans grew as much as 272% and Pacific Islanders grew as much as 632% from 1990 to 2000.

Other findings in the report include:

While some AAPIs have achieved the American dream, other still struggle to reach it. While four of the 20 Asian American ethnic groups have per capita incomes greater than non-Hispanic Whites, the poverty rate of 12 AAPI ethnic groups - mostly Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander - surpass the national average.
Huge disparities exist with regards to educational attainment. While 43% of Asian American adults age 25 years and older have graduated college (compare to 27% of non-Hispanic Whites), nearly half or more of Hmong, Cambodian and Laotian adults have not completed high school.
Asian American and Pacific Islanders have above average rates of living in overcrowded housing. One fifth or more of AAPIs live in overcrowded housing, compared to 6% of the U.S. population. Forty percent of Cambodians, Bangladeshi and Tongans live in overcrowded housing.
On the other hand, AAPI buying power has tripled over a 14-year period increasing from $118 billion in 1990 to $363 billion in 2004, contributing to the economic growth in the United States.
“The Asian American and Pacific Islander population features a rich diversity, including numerous ethnic groups, cultures, and languages,” said Karen K. Narasaki, president and executive director, Asian American Justice Center. “Not only does A Community of Contrasts provide a national overview of AAPIs, but it also provides a unique perspective on the new emerging AAPI communities. Corporations, policymakers, foundations, and governments should take notice of the significant contributions of these communities and needs that are currently unrecognized and unaddressed.”

“A Community of Contrasts is not another statistical handbook,” said Stewart Kwoh, executive director, Asian Pacific American Legal Center. “A Community of Contrasts offers key findings and policy recommendations in addressing the AAPI community, dismantles the myth of AAPIs as the model minority, and it guides how all communities can work together to develop solutions to becoming a more engaged in our nation’s social, economic, and political fabric.”

A Community of Contrasts also focuses on five key geographic areas of significant growth and change in the AAPI community. Holding its first briefing in Atlanta today with local partner Georgia Asian Pacific Islander Community Coalition, AAJC will be holding briefings in the upcoming months with the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Asian American Legal Center in Houston, National Federation of Filipino American Associations in Las Vegas, and the Asian Counseling and Referral Service in Seattle.

The report was made possible through the generous support of Carnegie Corporation of New York, Bank of America, Washington Mutual, Chung Ying Tang Foundation, Verizon, and Anheuser-Busch, Inc.

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The Asian American Justice Center, formerly known as NAPALC, is a national organization dedicated to defending and advancing the civil and human rights of Asian Americans. It works closely with three affiliates – the Asian American Institute of Chicago, the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco, and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center in Los Angeles – and over 100 community partners in 47 cities and 24 states in the country.

Time commitment – estimated at 2.5 - 3 hours

Where – from the comfort of any computer with Excel and internet access

When – whenever it fits into your schedule!

Duration – beginning March 22nd and ending April 24th

Want to hear what California’s youth think about college access? Over 5,000 entries to be reviewed!

This is an opportunity to read Save Me a Spot in College Youth Scholarship Contest entries submitted by California’s youth in 6th – 12th grades. Volunteers will be emailed a batch of 50 entries in the written word category (i.e. poems, letters, short essays, etc.). Each batch will consist of students in similar grade levels and regions of the state. Entries shouldn’t be more than 400 words, and many are much shorter than that!

Volunteer Readers will read all the entries and identify ones they think are strongest for review in the next round of judging. Volunteer Readers will be given, and need to follow, basic judging guidelines, have access to Microsoft Excel and the internet. Entries will be available for review beginning March 22nd and we ask Volunteer Readers to complete their judging on or before April 24th. To volunteer your time, please send an email to info@collegecampaign.org.

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Save Me a Spot in College: sponsored by the Campaign for College Opportunity, this scholarship contest was intended to inspire young people to go to college, increase awareness in the media and with policymakers about the importance of providing a place in college for California’s growing young population and will provide $50,000 total to over 40 winners. It was open to all California youth in 6th – 12th grades and had written word, poster, and TV ad categories. The deadline for entries was March 15th.

Our goal of 1,000 entries was surpassed with over 6,000 students that responded and submitted an entry! To learn more, please visit www.collegecampaign.org.

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The Campaign for College Opportunity is a bipartisan, broad-based effort devoted to ensuring access to college as promised by the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education. The Campaign was founded by the California Business Roundtable, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the Community College League of California. For more information, please visit www.collegecampaign.org or www.nuestrofuturo.com.

Saturday, April 22nd
6:00 pm - 9:30 pm
Seafood Place #2
420 S. Brookhurst St.
Anaheim, CA 92804

Cost (must register by April 16!)
OCA Members: $30
Non-Members: $35 through April 7, $40 after April 7
Table of Ten: $300 ($30 per seat; only through April 7)
Buy and reserve online! http://ocamurdermystery.mollyguard.com
Questions? rsvp@oca-orangecounty.org

“It’s tough to make it in the music business, but someone’s about to
make a killing on their next record when someone dies on the set
of “Asian American SuperIdol!” Whodunnit? The disdainful and
insulting judge? The desperate starlet? The jealous ex-boyfriend?
The scheming corporate executive? And the hapless detective needs
your help to break the case! Join us for a night of fun, comedy,
intrigue - and murder - as OCA-Orange County hosts its first
fundraising dinner with a unique murder mystery format and an Asian
American spin. Enjoy a 9 course Chinese banquet while the story
unfolds on stage, then put your sleuthing caps on! Can you solve
the mystery before the murderer gets away?”

NETWORK AND TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR CAREER AND LIFE: SEMINAR AND MIXER
Thursday, March 23rd, 6:30 p.m.- 9 p.m.

Do you want to have a productive and enjoyable career and life? If yes, you need to network effectively. Come to this session and we will show you how. You will learn how to use your networking time more productively, how to build relationships that lead to referrals, and how to communicate so you can move yourself to the powerful position of having many options to choose from at any given time in your career. We will walk you through the basics of effective
networking, and then give you an opportunity to practice what you’ve learned by meeting other attendees in a networking setting. You’ll leave with a clear idea of how to build a powerful network, and with some new contacts to start working with.

Nahid Casazza, MBA, is the founder of Aspyrre. She works with people who want to make a big professional change like starting a business, taking a business to the next level, changing careers, or establishing a strong image in a new corporate environment. In addition to private coaching, Nahid facilitates workshops and success teams to support clients as they challenge themselves to rise to the next level of success. She also speaks regularly at Pepperdine’s Graziadio School of Business and other professional groups in Southern California. Nahid has a Master’s in Business Administration from Pepperdine University, a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology from Michigan State University. To learn more about Nahid and her coaching programs, visit www.aspyrre.com.

Thursday, March 23rd, 6:30 p.m.- 9 p.m.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Garden Grove
10540 Chapman Avenue
Garden Grove, CA 92840

Cost: Free for RSVP OCA-OC/YGAP Members
$5 for RSVP Non-members and at the Door

Include: Free parking, drinks, snacks and raffle
RSVP: rsvp@oca-orangecounty.org

Schedule: 6:30 p.m. Networking Mixer
7:00 p.m. Seminar
8:00 p.m. Q & A Session
8:30 p.m. Networking Mixer

The raffle winner will receive a free one hour telephone coaching session with Nahid. Bring plenty of business cards to network. This is a joint event with Young Generation Asian Professionals, http://www.ygap.org/default.asp . For more information, contact Vicki at vickita@adelphia.net or 562-832-7998.