| Founded in 1973, the OCA is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan advocacy organization dedicated to securing the rights of Asian Pacific Americans through initiatives at all levels of the government.
Contact Us
http://www.oca-stl.org
info@oca-stl.org
OCA-STL
P.O. Box 4151
Chesterfield, MO 63006
If you are visiting Washington DC, make sure to check out our national building.
OCA National Center
1322 18th Street NW
Washington DC, 20036
| Introduction Welcome to our first quarter newsletter. We are excited to be bringing you future, current, and past news that OCA has been involved. Our current president, board members, and advisors are hard at work to bring you great events to the Asian community. If you have any ideas, suggestions, or questions, please send an email to info@oca-stl.org. Upcoming Events
June 17th 20th
OCA National Convention
 You are invited to attend the 2010 OCA National Convention in Houston, Texas from June 17-20. Come network with other chapter presidents and board members. There will also be Pioneer award winners, business leaders, book authors, and others. You will get the chance to attend a variety of seminars such as international negotiation, chapter development, secrets of body language, and much more. Please visit the above link to register.
June 5th
Asian Heritage Day
 The St. Louis Cardinals will be selling tickets for Asian Heritage Day. Ticket includes seating in pavilion reserved/box, 1 hour pre-game buffet and more! The St. Louis Cardinals will also provide pre-game entertainment by local performers and in-game heritage day recognition!
Click here to purchase the tickets.
May 15th 16th
Chinese Culture Days at the Missouri Botanical Garden  OCA and MOBOT invites you to attend this celebration. There will be fashion shows, cooking demonstrations, acts by the Shanghai circus, T'ai ji performances, tea tasting, and guided tours available.
Can you answer some of these questions?
How is a Chinese garden built?
Which celebrity wrote the poem by the entrance?
What are the key elements in a Chinese garden?
What are the four elements typical in a Chinese scholar?
The difference between a Scholar's garden and the Imperial garden of the North?
How many plants can be found in the Chinese Garden inside the Botanical Garden that came from China?
Answers can be found, by coming to this fun and exciting event. Click here to purchase the tickets.
May 1st
March for Immigration Reform Come enjoy
this interfaith event with local speakers as well as special guest speaker,
Rigoberta Menchu, Nobel Prize winning Guatemalan Human Rights Activist!
Click here for more details about her. The March will begin at 11:30am at America's Center (710 Convention Plaza,
63101) and end at Kiener Plaza (7th and Chestnut) where the rally will be held! Please consider taking Metrolink because there will be many events going on downtown.
| | Past Events April 24th The board members attended this annual GALA organized by the St. Louis Modern Chinese School at the J. C. Penney Hall of UMSL. It is the school's most participated event of the year. There were 23 performances by not only kids, but also adults. Some involved playing musical instruments, while others sang and dance. OCA was invited to judge the various acts and select their 7 favorite performances that will be chosen to perform at the Chinese Culture Day this May. | April 23rd  Eling Lam and Jason Tang attended the International Institute's annual "Report to the Community". The evening was also a celebration of Ann Rynearson's retirement. She has been a friend of OCA for many years and we wish her the best in retirement. In honor of Ann, OCA donated $200 to support the International Institute's mission.
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April 17th
 OCA, partnered with M&I Bank (formerly known as Southwest Bank), held a seminar on residential and business lending at one of their Clayton locations. Brender Benson discussed the various available personal accounts. There are three choices given for the checking accounts: first is the monthly cash back, another is the rewards points, and the third is the earned interest. All choices include no ATM charges anywhere in the world. Anne Missel discussed mortgage options for first time home buyers, how your credit score affects your approval rating, and the options available to you. Jacki McDaniel discussed the available business solutions accounts. There are two accounts available that receive cash back on your business purchases. For the Solutions Plus, you get .40% back. On the Solutions Premier, you get .50% back. Both accounts include no ATM charges as well. M&I has an Asian Banking program especially tailored for the community, please contact Tina Hsieh or Peter Chang for all your business needs. Based on the feedback, OCA plans to organize a follow up event to discuss M&I banking options for businesses.
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April 11th
 Eling Lam and Thong Tarm were on hand to help sponsored an award for the Outstanding Student of Chinese Language studies at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE). The university gives out awards to students in all the departments to recognize their achievements and to help them out with their expenses. Approximately 1,000 parents, family members, and community friends joined with students and faculty for this celebration of excellence across all disciplines in the College of Arts and Sciences. OCA St. Louis will be listed in the SIUE Foundation Annual Report of donors as well as on the electronic newsletter directed to their alumni.
March 27th - 28thth | |  OCA St. Louis partnered with the U.S. Census to run an information center at the Olive Farmer's Market on these two days. The event was a great kick off to the "March to the Mailbox" campaign and raised awareness to the local Asian community about the importance of participating in the 2010 Census. OCA-St. Louis volunteers encouraged customers to complete their official 2010 Census on site. They also went to the Crown Center for Senior Living and provided Census assistance. Dr. Harold Law, chairman of St. Louis Chinese Christian Community Service Center, St. Louis Chinese Complete Count Committee (CCC) members, St. Louis Chinese American News (Specialists), was all available to answer questions | | **Special Note**
OCA-St. Louis recently joined the Adopt a Highway program and our sign will be posted at the Manchester road and Ruck road intersection in Ballwin. It is half a mile west of Manchester road and Clarkson road.
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National News | OCA Criticizes Arizona's Anti-Immigrant Law Washington, D.C. OCA, a national Asian Pacific American (APA) social justice organization with over 80 chapters and affiliates, raises strong concerns over Arizona's new immigration law, SB 1070. As a community of immigrants, APAs have historically suffered from harsh discriminatory policies based on perceived ethnic heritage. Signed by Governor Jan Brewer last Friday, SB 1070 will further increase discriminatory practices by allowing police officers to detain anyone based on the suspicion that they are undocumented.
For more details on how you can help. Sign the Reform Immigration FOR America petition telling the President and Congress America needs comprehensive immigration reform today - don't let the rest of the nation follow Arizona's lead! petition. | | | | Phillip Lim Signature T-shirt to Benefit OCA Youth Programs Washington, D.C. OCA, is pleased to announce a partnership with Nordstrom during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month to benefit OCA's Youth Programs. In celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Nordstrom has collaborated with designer Phillip Lim on a limited-edition T-shirt that will be sold exclusively at Nordstrom for the month of May.
These limited-edition T-shirts will be available at 16 Nordstrom stores and online at Nordstrom.com/apahm beginning May 1st. T-shirts will sell for $85 each with all after-cost proceeds benefiting OCA. For more details on the locations where you can get the T-shirts and about Phillip Lim, please click here . | Membership Info If you had considered becoming a member of OCA-STL this is the year to do it! We are always looking for energetic individuals to help achieve our mission in empowering the Asian American voice in the St. Louis Metro area and national community.
It is as easy as clicking on this link. Please select "MO St. Louis" in the "I would like to be affiliated with this chapter" drop-down.
For existing members. Click here to renew your membership! You can send in your membership form by mail or in person at one of our upcoming events! If you would like a membership form, please feel free to contact our Membership Chair at: info@oca-stl.org Back to top |
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