OCAPICA

Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance, OCAPICA

OCAPICA was established in 1997, it is a nonprofit organization that provides programs for people to get involved in to help the community of Asian Pacific Islanders out through volunteer or internship.

I heard about this program through my school (CSUF) and it grabbed my attention because I know there are not a lot of programs that primarily focus on the Asian Pacific Islander community and I thought it was great that OCAPICA did that.

OCAPICA’s mission statement is:
The Orange County Asian & Pacific Islander Community Alliance (OCAPICA) was established in 1997 with the mission to build a healthier and stronger community by enhancing the well-being of Asians and Pacific Islanders through inclusive partnerships in the areas of service, education, advocacy, organizing, and research.

The programs that OCAPICA has presently are:

CANCER PREVENTION PROGRAMS

AANCART/Asian American Network for Cancer Awareness, Research and Training

WINCART/Weaving an Islander Network for Cancer Awareness, Research and Training

PATH for Women/Promoting Access to Health for Pacific Islander and Southeast Asian Women

GANDMA/GRANDPA, KEEP ME SAFE!

PACIFICISLANDER HEALTH CAREERS PIPELINE Program (PIHCIPP

OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM

PROJECT FOCUS/For Our Children’s Ultimate Success

SOAR AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM

COLLEGE BOUND

PROJECT CAL 24

YOUNG LEADING WOMEN (YLW)

BROTHAS FROM OTHA MOTHAS (BOM)

API MARTIAL ARTS PROGRAM

API UNITY GAMES

MENDEZ V. WESTMINSTER CIRRICULUM

VIETNAMESE AMERICAN EDUCATION CIRRICULUM

I was surprised to see so many programs OCAPICA offers and how they hit important topics for the Asian Pacific Islander community. I love OCAPICA because their goal is to help out the Asian Pacific Islander community. If anyone is interested in expanding their knowledge and experience and want to help out, please get involved with OCAPICA. For more information their website is http://www.ocapica.org you can also call them at (714) 636-9095 or email them at volunteer@ocapica.org their address is 12900 Garden Grove Blvd., Suite 214A Garden Grove, CA 92843

Since I love what OCAPICA does, I talked to one of the workers and asked her some questions about the program and I paraphrased her responses as best as I can.

1. How did OCAPICA get started?

In 1997 the current executive director used to work in the Los Angeles area working with nonprofit organizations and wanted to start one in Orange County focusing on public health and Asian Pacific Islander Americans. So it originally started off with health organizations and then stemmed off to other important issues as well.

2. What are OCAPICA’s goals?

The mission statement (above)

3. Why did you get involved with OCAPICA?

She wanted exposure to a nonprofit organization because her friends were involved in a lot of nonprofit organizations and liked it. She started off with a position in voting in a different field that she saw was open then landed her position with OCAPICA.

4. Why do other people get involved?

She felt that other people got involved because they really do want to help out the community. She feels that everyone is truly passionate about what they do. They see that there still are stereotypes about the Asian Pacific Islanders and how the Model Minority effects people differently. But ultimately, they are just passionate about what they do and want to help out the community.

5. Do you feel that OCAPICA’s goals are being met?

Yes definitely! OCAPICA works with other partnerships (as it states in the mission statement). There is a lot of research involved and data crunching as well that plays an important role.

6. What advice do you have for the young Asian Pacific Islander American generation?

It is important that the younger generation cease opportunities. There is always something they can do to help and to look at the big picture. They can contribute so don’t be closed off to opportunities that arise. By being involved in nonprofit organizations, a lot of different elements come into play and can get good exposure, good networking, and experience. Also by volunteering, they can learn a lot about themselves as well. Stay open-minded and take advantage of opportunities that come.

Those were just some of the questions that I was curious about. OCAPICA is a wonderful nonprofit organization! I hope you enjoyed learning more about them and please get involved and help out!