Grant Continues Asian Leadership Program

WASHINGTON – OCA, a national organization with 80 chapters and affiliates dedicated to advancing the social, political and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans (APAs) has announced securing a $25,000 grant from Southern California Edison (SCE) to support local chapter leadership development programs.

APAs still remain one of the most under-served populations in the Southern California landscape--linguistically and culturally disadvantaged in the areas of access to educational and economic opportunities. Local chapter leadership development is one of the key strategies for addressing the socio-economic gaps in the communities served by OCA chapters and SCE.

“With this grant, Southern California Edison enables OCA to support these leadership programs which aspires to achieve greater equity and equality for all APAs,” stated OCA President, Ken Lee.

SCE’s commitment through this grant represents their continued dedication not only to their customer communities, but the APA community and their families.

“SCE is proud to support the vital work that OCA does to help empower the Asian Pacific American community. SCE’s support of OCA and other organizations that assist underserved populations is rooted in longstanding partnerships with the communities we serve,” said Veronica Gutierrez, SCE’s vice president of corporate communications.

OCA-Orange County (OCA-OC) serves communities in Orange County such as Santa Ana, Westminster, and Garden Groves. OCA-OC strongly believes in educating APA professionals in the areas of leadership, community building, advocacy, and environment. OCA-OC recently held a workshop as part of their OCA-OC Professional Development Series which touched on professional development skills. This series will continue with OCA leadership programs such as Bamboo and Mentoring Asian American Professionals (MAAP).

“OCA-OC is honored to have this partnership with Southern California Edison. We are grateful for the company’s generous support of our social justice, community building and professional development events and programs in Orange County,” says Lisa Akiyama, OCA-Orange County chapter president, “because of SCE we are able to continue to serve, empower and mobilize the APA Community in Orange County.”

OCA-Greater Los Angeles (OCA-GLA) has fostered active participation of APAs in both civic and national matters since its inception in 1991 by instilling a sense of social responsibility in the APA community through leadership opportunities and community empowerment activities. OCA-GLA continues to impact the Los Angeles community through community service, community organizing, education and leadership development.

“OCA-GLA is extremely grateful for SCE's generosity and partnership. We are very pleased to continue to partner with SCE in expanding our programmatic capacity to meet the increasing needs of the APA community in the greater Los Angeles area during this period of great economic difficulty,” states Bryant Yang, OCA-GLA chapter president.

This grant will directly support professional development and social justice advancement programs for OCA-OC and OCA-GLA. Both chapters are in areas where there is a large population of SCE customers. More specifically, the SCE grant will support professional leadership programs such as Bamboo and MAAP, as well as other advocacy and cultural public programming for which both chapters have been known for.

In 2010, OCA-GLA will continue to deliver high impact programs such as Mentored Path to Citizenship Grant, which provides financial and legal assistance for an eligible immigrant to naturalize and become a U.S. citizen, and "Imma Be," high school career talks that connect first-generation students with leaders in different fields. OCA-OC will host Bamboo on September 16th at the Montage Laguna Beach, where over 50 aspiring APA professionals will have the chance to network and participate in a professional development session.