NCVA eREPORTER - April 21, 2006
The National Congress of Vietnamese Americans' NCVA eReporter is a regular email newsletter containing information on grant/funding opportunities, events/forums/conferences, available internships and news items pertinent to the Vietnamese American and Asian Pacific American communities.
In this NCVA eReporter:
EVENTS
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
JOBS/INTERNSHIPS
TIPS/RESOURCES
NEWS
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EVENTS
ALC 34TH ANNUAL DINNER
RESERVATION DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MONDAY APRIL 24TH, 2006
The Asian Law Caucus cordially invites you to our
34th ANNIVERSARY DINNER
THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006
San Francisco Marriott
55 Fourth Street (between Market and Mission)
Keynote Speaker and Special Honoree:
Ronald Takaki, Professor of Ethnic Studies, University of California, Berkeley
Law Firm Honoree:
Kevin M. Fong, Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Co-Emcees:
Lisa Chan, Anchor, Weekend Early Edition, CBS 5
Larry Lowe, Senior Counsel, Apple Computer, Inc. and ALC board member
5:30 pm - Reception and Silent Auction
7:00 pm - Dinner and Program
9:30 pm - Post Reception with Asian Crisis
For reservations and information on tickets and sponsorships, click here or please contact Audee Kochiyama-Holman
BY MONDAY APRIL 24TH:
415-896-1701, x131
audeekh@asianlawcaucus.org
(http://www.asianlawcaucus.org)
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CONFERENCE ON ASIAN AMERICAN DEMOGRAPHIC REPORT IN SEATTLE
While there are large Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in states such as New York, Hawai’i and California, significant demographic shifts are also occurring in cities such as Atlanta, Minneapolis-St.Paul, Houston, Las Vegas, and Seattle. Join a panel of national and local experts as we highlight socioeconomic data and explore issues facing the diverse and emerging AAPI communities in Seattle and the United States.
Date: Thursday, April 27, 2006
Time:
9:30 a.m. Registration and Refreshments
10:00 – 12 p.m. Program and Panel Discussion
12:00 p.m. Networking Lunch
Location: Asian Counseling and Referral Service - Community Room
720 8th Avenue South, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98104
Please RSVP by Monday, April 24 to Ming Tanaka, (206) 695-7582 or mingt@acrs.org
Admission is free, but reservations are required.
Each attendee will receive a complimentary copy of A Community of Contrasts: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.
(http://www.acrs.org)
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April 21, 2006
ASIAN AMERICAN ACTOR TO SPEAK ABOUT STEREOTYPES AND IDENTITY AT U OF M PANEL
When: 5 p.m. Friday, April 28
Where: Honeywell Auditorium, Carlson School of Management, 321 19th S., Minneapolis
Who: Actor Parry Shen, U of M students, faculty and staff
Contact: Lan Luu, Minnesota Asian American Collegians, (612) 703-4580
Bob San, University News Service, (612) 624-4082
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL - Parry Shen, the actor who starred in the acclaimed 2003 Asian American film "Better Luck Tomorrow," will head a University of Minnesota panel discussion at 5 p.m. Friday, April 28, in the Honeywell Auditorium, Carlson School of Management, 321 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis. The event is free and open to the public.
The topic of the panel is stereotypes and identity issues involving Asian Americans, especially the way they are portrayed in movies and other mass media. Shen will speak about the Cinderella backstory behind "Better Luck Tomorrow" and the aftermath, reactions and effects the film had on the general public and Hollywood. He also will share his outlooks gained from 15 years of dealing with Asian American issues. As an officer at his university's Asian American Organization, Shen brought in speakers and organized programming. Now, he becomes the invited speaker at different Asian Pacific American conferences and is at the forefront of the latest Asian-American movement with "Better Luck Tomorrow."
Shen will also speak about how current stereotypical images and representations of Asian Americans in the media affect society - revealing how such images "trickle" and affect people outside the entertainment industry.
Other panelists include faculty and students in the U of M Asian American studies program. Highlighted topics include media stereotypes of a “model” minority, discrimination in the professional world, intergenerational conflict, defining identity and cultural expression.
“We hope Parry will be able to attract many students and faculty members on campus, as well as others in the community to discuss the present topics,' said Lan Luu, president of the U of M's Minnesota Asian American Collegians. “We believe his presentation will be immensely informative and educational, and many will find his stories and life experiences very inspirational.”
The evening will end with a social hour where attendees can interact with Shen, and other speakers at the event.
“We want this event to be a great networking medium for attendees,” Luu said. “It can potentially build a bridge between members of the U of M campus and others in the community.”
The panel is free but please RSVP to Lan Luu at (612)703-4580 or luux0020@umn.edu).
The event is sponsored by the MAAC, the Vietnamese Student Association, Hmong Student Association, Asian Pacific Heritage Committee and the Chinese American Student Association.
(http://www.ur.umn.edu/FMPro?-db=releases&-lay=web&-format=umnnewsreleases/releasesdetail.html&ID=2930&-Find)
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GRAND OPENING OF THE NEW UCSF ASIAN HEART AND VASCULAR CENTER
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
4:00-6:30 pm
1600 Divisadero Street, Second Floor
Herbst Hall, San Francisco
RSVP by May 1 to (415) 885-3678
Refreshments will be served.
Join us to learn about this unique new service addressing the heart and vascular care needs of Asians and Asian Americans. There will be a special address by Dr. Liu Xiaocheng, cardiovascular surgeon and CEO of TEDA International Cardiovascular Hospital, Tianjin, China.
(http://www.ucsfhealth.org/asianheart)
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KCCD 5th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION AND AWARDS GALA
"Transforming Lives and Communities"
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Time: 6:00pm to 9:00pm
6:00pm: Reception & Silent Auction
7:00pm: Dinner & Program
Location:
Radisson Wilshire Plaza Hotel
3515 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90010
Ticket Price:
By May 5, 2006: $125.00
After May 5, 2006: $150.00
To reserve a space or for more information,
Please call (213) 984-4243
Email: kerristrong@kccd3300.org
For the past five years, the Korean Churches for Community Development (KCCD) has trained over 1,000 faith-based organizations and nonprofits across the country and has grown to include multiple affiliates in several states, offering numerous programs. Through their historic $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, KCCD has provided subgrants and technical assistance to organizations who will be serving Asian youth and youth adults, a group that has often been overlooked.
Awardees include Elise Buik of United Way of Greater Los Angeles, State Farm Insurance, and Young Nak Presbyterian Church.
The event will include a special tribute to Paul Higa, L.A. County Chief Probation Officer, who recently passed away, for his work opening doors to KCCD’s Youth Workforce Program.
Come join us as we celebrate this exciting milestone in KCCD's history with other important dignitaries, partners, community leader, elected officials, and supporters!!
(http://www.kccd3300.org)
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FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
BUSH-CLINTON KATRINA FUND ANNOUNCES GRANT APPLICATION PROCESS FOR INTERFAITH COMMUNITY SET TO BEGIN
*Washington*, April 13, 2006 -- The Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund announced that it would begin accepting applications from religious organizations in the Gulf Region hit by Hurricane Katrina. The grants can be used to assist in rebuilding houses of worship and to help reimburse for costs for temporary houses of worship.
*Applications will be accepted from now until July 31* and will be reviewed and granted on a rolling basis. *No applications will be accepted after July 31, 2006.* The Fund intends to award the first round of grants by the end of May and have fully dispersed the approximately $20 million by the end of October 2006. If they meet the eligibility criteria, each faith institution will be eligible for funding up to $35,000.
"We need to help reestablish the faith communities hit so hard by Hurricane Katrina so people can have hope that the foundations of their communities will be there now and in the future," Don Evans, co-chair of The Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund said.
"Houses of worship are the center of many communities in the Gulf region. I know because I grew up there. They are the lifeblood of the people and a way for them to stay connected. It is important to help rebuild," Alexis Herman, co-chair of the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund said.
In December 2005, Presidents George H. W. Bush and William J. Clinton allocated $20 million from the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund for local and regional faith-based organizations. The Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund asked Dallas-based Bishop T. D. Jakes and Rev. William H. Gray, III, of Philadelphia, PA., to co-chair an interfaith committee to advise in the grant process.
The other members of the Interfaith Advisory Committee are Rabbi Andrew Busch, head of Touro Synagogue in New Orleans; Archbishop John C. Favalora, of the Archdiocese of Miami; Bishop Cornal Garnett Henning, Sr., of the African Methodist Episcopal Church for the states of Mississippi and Louisiana; Rev. Dr. Fred Lucas, president and CEO of the Faith Center for Community Development of New York; Dr. William Shaw, President of the National Baptist Convention; Bishop Roy L. H. Winbush of the Church of God in Christ, First Jurisdiction of Louisiana; and Dr. Abdelhafiz Bensrieti of the Abu Baker Al-Sidiqqi Mosque in Metarie, LA and member of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
"Houses of worship are wiped out and waiting for relief," Bishop Jakes said. "Our mission here is to help the helpers -- to open resources and get people lifting each other."
"Twenty million dollars alone can't rebuild a region, but it can renew spirits and lay the foundations for people to help each other," Rev. Gray said. "Logistics and leadership are in place now."
The Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund also announced the appointments of the Rev. Angela Williams, former vice president and deputy general counsel for Sears, as the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund liaison to the Interfaith Advisory Committee and to the community, and Mr. Alvin Brown as executive director of the Interfaith Advisory Committee. Mr. Brown is also the chair of the National Black MBA Association and president and CEO of the Willie Gary Foundation.
In addition, the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund announced that Public/Private Ventures will administer the grant application and selection process. Public/Private Ventures, headed by the Frederick Davie, is a national non-profit organization that provides technical assistance and administers community and faith-based programs.
Anyone with questions regarding the application process can visit www.bushclintonkatrinafund.org, or contact, Rev. Williams at 202-289-2732 or Mr. Brown, at 202-477-9657.
For more information on the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund and a copy of the application visit:www.bushclintonkatrinafund.org.
(http://www.bushclintonkatrinafund.org)
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MADD/STATE FARM GRANTS
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and State Farm are partnering to provide ten $1000 grants for the 2006-2007 school year for service-learning projects. The service-learning projects must address one of three topics:
* Underage alcohol use prevention
* Vehicle safety
* Adult impaired driving
The deadline for grant applications is June 15, 2006. Both grant winners and non-selected applicants will be notified by August 1, 2006.
Applications can be downloaded from www.pypm.org
(http://www.pypm.org/youth_leaders/index.cfm) or can be requested from:
State Farm / MADD Good Decisions Service-Learning Grant
c/o Kappie Bliss, Project Director
5221 Cove Canyon #A
Park City , UT 84098
(http://www.pypm.org/youth_leaders/index.cfm)
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COCA-COLA FOUNDATION FUNDS EDUCATION PROGRAMS
The Coca-Cola Foundation aims to provide youth with the educational opportunities and support systems that they need to become knowledgeable and productive citizens. The Foundation encourages new solutions to countless problems that impede educational systems today, and it supports existing programs that work. The Foundation offers grants to public and private colleges and universities, elementary and secondary schools, teacher training programs, educational programs for minority students, and global education programs. Applications are accepted throughout the year, and reviewed quarterly.
(http://www2.coca-cola.com/citizenship/foundation.html)
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NATIONAL CENTER FOR OUTREACH GRANT PROGRAMS SUPPORT PUBLIC RADIO STATIONS
The goal of the National Center for Outreach (NCO) is to assist public television stations to provide outreach to local communities, helping to foster existing community partnerships. NCO supports local efforts through the following three grant programs. Local Community Leadership Summit Grants are designed to help public broadcasting stations better serve their community by convening Local Community Leadership Summits. (Applications are accepted throughout the year.) Community Commitment Grants are designed to help stations respond to a critical community need following a Leadership Summit or similar process that identifies a focused community need. (Deadline: May 17, 2006) Connector Grants are designed to help stations build a sustained effort around a particular issue, theme or audience. Deadline: May 31, 2006)
(http://www.nationaloutreach.org/BuildingOnBroadcast/Grants/index.cfm)
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TARGET CORPORATION STORE GRANTS FUND COMMUNITY PROGRAMS
The Target Corporation Store Grants support nonprofit organizations and schools in the communities where the company's stores are located. There are currently stores in every state with the exception of Alaska, Hawaii, and Vermont. The company's Store Grants focus on the following three areas: arts, family violence prevention, and early childhood reading. Applications will be accepted until May 31, 2006, and should be submitted to the local Target store team leader.
(http://sites.target.com/site/en/corporate/page.jsp?contentId=PRD03-001818)
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CIT CORPORATE GIVING PROGRAM FUNDS COMMUNITY PROGRAMS
The CIT Corporate Giving Program supports nonprofit organizations in communities in 20 states where company employees live and work. (A list of company locations is available on the website by clicking on "Locations.") CIT provides funding to organizations, institutions or programs within the following categories: education; arts; diversity; and social services, with emphasis on programs that improve neighborhoods through community development. Applications are accepted throughout the year.
(http://www.cit.com/main/AboutCIT/corpgiving.htm)
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NATIONAL NEIGHBORWORKS WEEK CELEBRATES NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION
National NeighborWorks Week is a celebration of the accomplishments of the NeighborWorks network and an opportunity to increase the network's visibility and build partnerships. During NeigborWorks Week, local NeighborWorks organizations mobilize tens of thousands of volunteers, businesspeople, neighbors, and civic leaders in a week of neighborhood change and awareness. Volunteers repair homes, paint and landscape properties, conduct neighborhood tours, and recognize successful partnerships. A number of educational events and training activities will be held across the U.S. during National NeighborWorks Week, June 3-10, 2006.
(http://www.nw.org/network/neighborworksProgs/nww/default.asp)
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CFED OFFERS IMPLEMENTATION AND CATALYST GRANTS
The Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) is currently accepting proposals for its Innovations in Manufactured Homes initiative. The grants are aimed at improving the financial security of low- and moderate-income families through their ownership of manufactured homes. Organizations can apply for either implementation grants of up to $150,000 or catalyst grants of up to $50,000. Applications are due April 28.
(http://www.cfed.org/imageManager/_documents/IM_HOME_RFP_2006.pdf)
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ITVS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FROM INDEPENDENT PRODUCERS
Independent Television Service is accepting applications for its annual Local Independents Collaborating with Stations (LINCS) grant program. Independent producers who have forged collaborations with local stations are eligible to apply for funding in support of projects in any stage of production that address regional, cultural, political, social, or economic issues. LINCS will match up to $100,000 in funds secured by the producer. Applications are due May 25.
(http://www.itvs.org/producers/lincs_guidelines.html)
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JOBS/INTERNSHIPS
ASSISTANT EDITOR OF UCLA ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES CENTER PRESS
Requisition Number: 6627
Salary: $2681-$3212
Closing date: Open until filled
Description
Under the supervision of the UCLA Asian American Studies Center Press editor and working with the publications coordinator, the assistant editor helps to: Evaluate and edit materials of average difficulty for stylistic consistency; Edit and write copy for official publications where there is no final responsibility for planning, design, or determination of production schedules; Serve 50% time as assistant editor of Amerasia Journal (produced three times a year). Specific journal tasks include: under the supervision of the editor, solicit and review manuscripts-read and evaluate, contact referees, reviewers, members of the Editorial Board, and other authorities in the field for manuscript evaluation; develop articles by reorganizing and rewriting as necessary; create promotional materials such as press releases, brochures, and flyers; work with Asian American Studies Press publications coordinator on meeting production quality, editorial format, and deadlines; proofreading; Serve 35% time as assistant editor of AAPI Nexus: Policy, Practice, and Community Journal (produced twice a year). Specific journal tasks include: Correspond with authors about copy-editing of manuscripts, production timeline, production requirements, revisions, as well as permission forms, galleys, deadlines, and other special publication needs, such as permissions and copyrights; Assist Senior Editor in reading and copy editing for grammar and style manuscripts and revised manuscripts rewriting, and organizations to maintain Press standards. Input changes on manuscripts. The assistant editor will also work on related publication duties including newsletters, promotional materials, and proofreading.
Qualifications
Advanced graduate degree with major work in English, journalism, Ethnic Studies, history, social science, or an allied field strongly preferred.
Requires excellent editing, writing, analytical, and communication skills, and some knowledge and experience in production, in addition to knowledge of Asian American Studies. Demonstrated editing and writing abilities outside of the classroom, and at least three full years of professional editorial experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience preferred. Working knowledge of at least one Asian Pacific American community is necessary. Knowledge of germane interdisciplinary research issues and community trends of other publications in the field of Asian American Studies. Knowledge of Microsoft Word, PageMaker, Photoshop, and other computer experience.
Apply to: Melany Dela Cruz, Assistant Director
DEPARTMENT: UCLA Asian American Studies Center
CAMPUS ADDRESS: 3230 Campbell Hall, 405 Hilgard Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90095.
No emails accepted.
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TIPS/RESOURCES
FIVE TIPS FOR FINDING MAJOR GIFT DONORS
When identifying your best prospects for a major gift, it takes a multidimensional approach combining a donor’s ability to give, affinity and attachment to your organization, as well as their propensity to make a charitable gift.
According to David Lawson, general manager of prospect relationship management for Kintera, here are five tips for finding and prioritizing major gift donors.
* Understand the donor’s true ability to give. An individual’s discretionary assets and income, not their gross income, is the best measure of how much money they have available for a major gift. Identify a donor’s access to money. An individual whose dominant assets are liquid is far more likely to make a major gift than someone whose dominant assets are non-liquid, such as their primary residence.
* Use data mining to determine affinity. The key is combining off-line and Web-based techniques to gather data on a person’s current relationship with our organization. This makes it possible to understand a prospect’s current affinities, interests, and passions related to your unique mission.
* When you look at a donor’s giving history, go beyond total giving and largest gift and focus on number of gifts and how recently they have given. When combined with ability, this data can lead to those people who just need a more personal approach to make a dramatic move up on your giving chart. When you incorporate the donor’s affiliation with their giving history you will have their current attachment to your organization.
* Understanding if your donor has the propensity to make a major gift means that you have to look at what he or she is doing with other organizations. Donations to charities, having a foundation or directed giving fund, and non-profit board affiliations are some of the ways you can determine if a donor is an active philanthropist.
* The final tip is to use all of the above to accurately prioritize your prospects. Too often prospect identification is focused solely on wealth, creating false expectations that you will be able to convert them from their current low level of donation (or even non-donor status) to a major gift just because they have the resources.
The driver of philanthropy has never been money, it is affinity, attachment, and propensity combined with ability that makes the gift happen. Put all of this together and you will be able to focus on the people who are most likely to make a gift, make that gift to your organization, and be able to make the major gift you need to support your mission.
(http://www.nptimes.com/enews/tips/fundraise.html)
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DIRECT RESPONSE: PERSONALIZATION IS MORE THAN A NAME
Did you know that at this very moment, there are donors who give to your nonprofit only once a year? So why do you send them a bazillion mailings in the span of 12 months?
According to Todd Baker, senior account executive at Masterworks in Poulsboro, Wash., there are also donors who only like to give to newsletters. So why do you also send them the 16 ppeals if in their entire history of giving they've never once given to an appeal?
Also among your donors are people who never give you a donation during the summer months. Why? Who knows . . . maybe they have a summer home in Canada -- but one thing is for sure, during their four years as a faithful donor to you, they’ve never once given you a gift between the months of June and August, said Baker.
Furthermore, there are donors who give to you every month -- or give only to specific programs, or are wealthy, or elderly, or only give to receipt mailings, or only give at events, or desire the ability to give online, or only give to appeals, or are volunteers, or have personally been effected by your charity . . . and sadly will never give you another gift because youve treated them in such an impersonal way.
Donors give to your charity in patterns. It is your job to figure what those patterns are and contact them appropriately. In the donors mind, they are telling you what they like and how often they want to hear from you every time they give.
Every charity has a core group of donors who love them no matter how poorly they are treated. However, the reason why charities are experiencing flat or declining income is because they simply are mailing all their donors at the same time with the same message.
(http://www.nptimes.com/enews/tips/directresp.html)
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PUBLIC RELATIONS: BETTER INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL PUBLIC RELATIONS
Effective communication, both internal and external, is essential for any organization, and the leader has a vital role to play in its success.
In her book Generating Buzz: Strategic Communications for Nonprofit Boards, Sally J. Patterson maintains that the chief executive is the essential link in an organization's communications strategy, overseeing staff work and acting as a connection between board and staff.
According to Patterson, there are three main responsibilities for the chief executive in regard to communications.
the three areas are:
*Conceive the overall approach to strategic communications and manage staff functions. The chief executive decides often in collaboration with the board chair whether the organization has effective communications strategies or whether it needs to undertake a comprehensive strategic communications planning process.
* Keep the board informed. The chief executive must make sure the board is up to date on communications activities, tools and results so that an atmosphere of board-staff collaboration prevails and so that board members can be knowledgeable ambassadors of the organization.
* Involve the board and invite its guidance and feedback. The chief executive facilitates the board's role by seeking opportunities for board members to serve as ambassadors, promote the organization's achievements, support its fundraising programs, attract new leaders and help the organization fulfill its community role.
(http://www.nptimes.com/enews/tips/marketing.html)
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FUNDRAISING: 10 STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
A capital campaign is a serious undertaking and can pay huge dividends for any organization. In his book Conducting a Successful Capital Campaign, Kent E. Dove stresses the importance of preparation, and he offers the 10 prerequisites of success.
The 10 requirements are:
* Commitments of time and support from all key participants -- the governing board, the chief executive officer, prospective major donors, key volunteer leaders, the professional fundraising staff and the institutional family.
* A clear organizational self-image and a strategic plan for organizational growth and improvement.
* Fundraising objectives based on important and legitimate institutional plans, goals, budgets and needs.
* A written document that makes a compelling case for supporting the campaign (and the larger and more complex the campaign the more support materials will be needed).
* An assessment of the institutional development program and a market survey addressing internal and external preparedness.
* Enlistment and education of volunteer leaders.
* Ability and readiness of major donors to give substantial lead gifts before any public announcement of the campaign.
* Competent staff and, perhaps, external professional counsel.
* Adequate, even liberal, funds for expenses.
* Consideration of other factors, such as the age of the organization, the caliber, size and distribution of the constituency, the range of the institution's giving program, previous fundraising success and the quality of the program and the impact of its services
(http://www.nptimes.com/enews/tips/fundraise.html)
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BOARDS: 5 TYPES OF NONPROFIT BOARDS WHICH ARE YOU?
Many people in both the nonprofit and for-profit worlds may see a board as simply a group of people, with all boards being the same.
In their book Building Better Boards, however, David A. Nadler, Beverly A. Behan and Mark B. Nadler maintain that there are five types of boards, ranging from the least to the most engaged. Each offers a hint at what boards can be.
* Passive. The traditional model. The board’s activity and participation are limited and at the CEOs discretion. The board has limited accountability, and its main job is to ratify management decisions.
* Certifying. This type places a heavy emphasis on the importance of outside directors and certifies to stakeholders that the organization is being managed properly and that the CEO is doing what the board requires.
* Engaged. This one partners with the CEO, providing insight, advice and support on key decisions and implementation. It recognizes its ultimate responsibility for overseeing CEO and organization performance.
* Intervening. The most common mode during crises. The board holds frequent and intense meetings, and becomes deeply involved in key decisions.
* Operating. The deepest level of ongoing involvement. The board makes key decisions, and management implements them. This model is frequently found in the early stages of startups.
(http://www.nptimes.com/enews/tips/boards.html)
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DEMOGRAPHICS: KNOWING YOUR CONSTITUENCY AND KEEPING IT
Understanding ones constituency is essential for any nonprofit, even one that is a religious institution.
In his book The Disappearing Donor, E. Dale Berkey offered the results of a survey undertaken by his firm Berkey Brendel Sheline that casts light on the demographics of those who donate to ministries.
* Lapsed donors are significantly more likely to be married, and active donors are more likely to be widowed. Lapsed donors in the highest segment are even more likely to be married than active donors in this segment, who are more likely to be widowed.
*- Approximately nine out of 10 respondents are Caucasian. Active donors are more likely to be Caucasian compared with lapsed donors. At 6 percent, lapsed donors are more likely to be African-American than active donors (4 percent). However, an analysis of respondents by organization reveals that no single organization is responsible for the disparity in lapsed and active ethnicity.
* Four out of 10 respondents have completed a four-year degree or more. There is no significant difference in education levels.
* The approximate median income for lapsed respondents is $55,600, significantly more than the median income for active donor respondents at $47,500. Income does not appear to be a key factor with regard to lapsing.
* For both active and lapsed groups, four out of 10 respondents were male, six in 10 female. As the annual cumulative giving segment increases, there was a higher likelihood for respondents to be male, for active and lapsed respondents.
(http://www.nptimes.com/enews/tips/donors.html)
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NEWS
March 24, 2006
LEE’S SANDWICHES – BEHIND EVERY SUCCESS STORY STANDS A UNITED FAMILY
By Gerrye Wong
The Le Family of San Jose is a prime example of hardworking Asian Americans that have built a successful, thriving restaurant and food service enterprise in just 25 short years. Lee’s Sandwiches has become a household name in many communities, with the company owning over 22 shops today. Lee’s Catering has 500 trucks delivering cooked food every day.
The story begins when Chieu Le, a third-year law student, decided that life under the communist regime in Vietnam, in 1979, was becoming too difficult. Le courageously escaped by boat to Malaysia. His wife, Yen, soon joined, and the following year, they emigrated to New Mexico.
In America, Chieu, not speaking any English, worked as a butcher, earning, what he says “was very good pay for an immigrant like me who was learning how to cut meat right on the job — $8 an hour. I worked hard, doing overtime every day because I needed to support my wife and new son here in America.”
Moving to San Jose in 1980, Chieu enrolled in San Jose High School’s English as a Second Language (ESL) program. There, he noticed a Vietnamese-owned catering truck selling food to the students in the schoolyard, and got a job working for them. By the next year, with limited English, he went out to buy his own catering truck. He recalls, “The man didn’t want to sell it to me because he saw I couldn’t even speak English and obviously, looked very inexperienced and poor.”
But with his wife at his side, and a determination to work hard, they forged ahead. Soon they were able to talk some companies into allowing their catering truck inside the company parking lots during employees’ break times. Yen laughed, saying, “My husband remembered what was popular, so we offered the same goods — like Mexican burritos and tacos, Asian chow mein and egg rolls, and Vietnamese sandwiches. We would look for companies with large groups of employees, stay at each place 10-15 minutes when the employees took breakfast, lunch or dinner breaks, and move on to at least 10 companies three times a day.”
In 1982, younger brother Henry Le bought another catering truck, and soon Lee Bros. Foodservices, Inc. was established. The family chose the name “Lee Bros.” instead of “Le Bros.” because it would be more easily understood in America. From these modest beginnings came the largest industrial catering company in Northern California.
I visited their 9th and Taylor Street warehouse in San Jose, during the post-lunch hours where a bustling parking lot full of trucks were being washed and prepared to go out with a new set of supplies bought from the Lee commissary warehouse. Lee’s Catering now delivers food as far as Sacramento, Fresno, Monterey and Napa.
You could feel the sense of pride that both Yen and Chieu exude when they speak of the satisfactions they get knowing that their company helps some 500 catering truck owners get their start in America, much like how they started. Yen explained, “We know how hard it is for immigrant blue collar workers to find work or start a business, so we feel good that we can provide this opportunity for them to earn a living and become independent.”
While Chieu and Yen were busy establishing the catering business, Chieu’s father, Ba Le, didn’t sit still either. When he saw that Chieu’s first truck sat idle on the weekends, he decided to take the truck to downtown San Jose, where he parked and sold sandwiches to San Jose State students on Saturdays and Sundays. He was so successful that the local restaurants complained to the city about his selling from a truck. Undaunted, he bought a space at the very same 6th and Santa Clara Street location, and thus, the first Lee’s Sandwich shop was born in 1983. Five years later, he moved to bigger quarters at King and Tully Road to establish the first full-service Lee’s Sandwich Shop with expanded offerings.
Today, Ba Le, retired at 75, can look back with pride as he sees Lee’s Sandwich Shops in Northern and Southern California, Chandler, Ariz. and Houston, Texas. All are owned by the families of Chieu’s nine siblings and Yen’s 13, making it a true multigenerational family operation. Chieu said his eldest son, Minh, had the vision to create a new type of sandwich shop that would be a mixture of an entertainment café and Asian American cuisine. Unfortunately, Minh died in an auto accident in 2001, without seeing the fruition of his dream, but he would be proud to see that their shops have attracted patrons from the mainstream, who enjoy seeing the computer monitors suspended from the ceiling flashing special deals, colorful bilingual menus signs and even chances for a free meal based on order numbers given to customers.
This Lee’s Sandwiches concept doesn’t just serve traditional banh mi sandwiches (which, incidentally, are great to take on airplane rides in preference to airline food!). They offer traditional American sandwiches served on baguettes or croissants, and most popular is the Lee’s Vietnamese iced coffee, espresso, Thai tea drinks, and a large selection of smoothies. In many of its newer locations, Lee’s is a social experience, much like Starbucks, where customers come as early as 4:30 a.m. and stay as late as midnight.
Many stores have in-store computers where customers can check their e-mail or surf the Internet.
Lee’s Sandwich Shops have become one of the fastest-growing restaurant chains in the West. That, combined with a commitment to the communities it serves, led to the Small Business Administration awarding Lee’s Sandwiches the Regional Entrepreneurial Success Award. In 2003, Chieu Le was also recognized as the Business Person of the Year in Orange County.
Chieu and Yen say their advice for up-and-coming entrepreneurs is pretty basic.
“Hopefully you won’t have to struggle as we had to do,” said Chieu. “We had to start from the very bottom and only through very hard, long days of work did we luckily become successful. We would tell you to go to school first and get your degree in whatever you feel happy doing. If it is a business you want, it isn’t always easy to start afresh like we were forced to do. If possible, buy a franchise as the companies have the experience to teach you how to get started.”
Yen added, “Now it is easier for young Vietnamese immigrants to get a start as there are many more of us here to help show them the way. When we first came, we had to learn on our own.”
Just like they started, both Chieu and Yen continue to work together, teaching their son Jimmy, a recent San Jose State graduate in Management Information Systems, who has come into the business, and son, 18-year-old Jeffrey, is approaching graduation from Harker School. Yen is the full bookkeeper and Chieu oversees an operation that employs up to 100 in the catering department and 500 in the sandwich shops.
Ryan Hubris, a business associate, said the Les have given away so many Lee’s sandwich products to organizations, nonprofit groups and schools, if laid side by side, they could probably run the length of California. They also established the Le Family Foundation, in memory of their late son, Minh.
Recently, along with friends and Southern California developers, Frank and Catherine Jao, the Les were honored at the new Learning Center of Coastline Community College for a $1 million contribution toward the college’s first endowment campaign. The campus of Westminster’s first community college was christened in its January grand opening as the Le-Jao Center.
Chieu has just reached 50, but he hesitated while his wife laughed when discussing retirement. She said, “He will always work. We live on a golf course and he has yet to learn to relax and play the game.” Chieu admitted he enjoyed his work, and is excited about the future plans of Lee’s Sandwiches International to spread Lee’s Sandwiches to new communities through franchising. For more information, visit www.leesandwiches.com.
It’s All in the Family
To turn the success of the Le family’s ventures into numbers, it’s said that Lee Sandwiches baked more than 3 million baguettes in the year 2003 alone, a figure no doubt doubled by 2006. In 2003, they served more than 2 million cups of Lee’s special Iced Coffee. The largest Lee’s Sandwiches store, situated on the UC Irvine campus, is 8,300 square feet — about one-fifth the size of a football field.
Lee’s Sandwiches
* Asian fusion- and European-style sandwiches
* 22 locations in three states
* Menu of over 30 sandwich choices with unique drink and shake choices
* 500 employees
Lee’s Sandwich Recipe
Lee's BBQ Pork Sandwich
Bread: Baguette
Size: 10 inches
INCLUDED: Pork, house mayonnaise, house pickle (daikon & carrot), green chili, cilantro, onion, salt, pepper and soy sauce.
(http://news.asianweek.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=a750ab04b1208d077495da234efff20b)
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April 18, 2006
Media Note
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
RELEASE OF FOREIGN RELATIONS VOLUME
The Department of State has released Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, volume VI, Vietnam, January 1969-July 1970, the first of five volumes to cover the end of the Vietnam War. The Presidential election of November 1968 had demonstrated just how divisive Vietnam had become in American society and politics. Vietnam was the new President’s first priority. The volume demonstrates that in the early months of 1969 there was no specific plan to end the war. Rather, the Nixon administration searched for ways to demonstrate to the leaders in Hanoi that there was a new "firm hand at the helm" prepared to both talk and fight. Nixon and his advisers hoped to convince Hanoi that it was dealing with an adversary that would negotiate only from a position of strength. This volume documents the search for the formula to convince Hanoi: the secret bombing of Cambodia, Vietnamization and U.S. troops withdrawals, integration of the secret war in Laos with the conflict in Vietnam, covert operations against North Vietnam, and most importantly the U.S. and South Vietnamese attack on the enemy sanctuaries in Cambodia.
The volume also covers the negotiations to end the war, with the initial negotiations focusing on the private talks in Paris between the heads of the delegations at formal, but sterile, peace talks. The Nixon administration also sought to engage the Soviet Union to moderate North Vietnamese behavior, but without much success. The secret negotiations between Henry Kissinger; Xuan Thuy, the head of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam’s delegation in Paris; and Politburo member Le Duc Tho are all covered in detail.
In the autumn of 1969, Kissinger sent the President a bleak assessment of the present course in Vietnam. He suggested that the best military strategy was a sharp escalation designed to achieve an acceptable negotiated settlement. Kissinger already had his NSC staff brainstorming about such possibilities under the code name Duck Hook. The President instructed the military to plan for sharp, high intensity air and naval operations against the North to achieve maximum psychological and military impact. Nixon and Kissinger were keen to take some positive action to coincide with a major speech Nixon planned on Vietnam, but they were reduced to using a military alert exercise to try to send a signal to Hanoi.
The last part of the volume focuses on Cambodia, where in March 1970 General Lon Nol overthrew Norodom Sihanouk. The documentation suggests that U.S. officials did not have much foreknowledge of the coup, but nevertheless the Nixon administration was quick to support the new regime. The Nixon administration moved from shoring up Lon Nol to deciding that his regime was under such pressure from the North Vietnamese that a joint U.S.-South Vietnamese invasion of the Cambodian sanctuaries was required. The Cambodian operation caused a firestorm of protest in the United States and abroad. Such a reaction made Nixon adamant to prove that the operation had been a success and worth all the agony.
The volume ends in July 1970, with the President and his advisers reviewing the situation after U.S. troops left Cambodia. While this volume does not have any Nixon presidential tape recordings—they did not begin until February 1971—it does rely on transcripts of Kissinger telephone conversations and a broad range of documents from the Nixon Presidential Materials, the Department of State, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense, the Haldeman Diaries, and the Kissinger and Lodge papers.
The volume, the summary, and this press release are available at the Office of the Historian website at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/nixon/vi. Copies of this volume can also be purchased from the U.S. Government Printing Office at http://bookstore.gpo.gov (GPO stock number 044-000-02602-3; ISBN 0-16-075260-4). For further information contact Edward Keefer, General Editor of the Foreign Relations series, at (202) 663-1131; fax (202) 663-1289; e-mail to history@state.gov.
2006/385
(http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2006/64650.htm)
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April 20, 2006
KNOW THE NEW NEIGHBORS
With Asian influx, Quincy leaders work on 'cultural competency'
By Carolyn Y. Johnson
Globe Staff
For years, people have been talking about the changing face of Quincy. The historically white, blue-collar city has a fast-growing Asian population that now makes up almost a quarter of the whole. Almost 30 percent of students in the city's schools are Asian. There are a growing number of Asian-owned businesses.
But the official face of Quincy is virtually frozen. The nine men who sit on the City Council are white. There are no Asian-Americans on the School Committee.
Mayor William Phelan said he respects the Asian presence in the city and maintains good relationships with his Asian constituents. But each year, he confessed, he has to be retaught how to say ''Happy New Year" in Chinese.
Next Tuesday and again in May, the city is planning half-day crash courses in ''cultural competency" to raise awareness of the traditions, beliefs, and background of a growing immigrant population that not only speaks a different language, but also jokes, makes eye contact, and even waits in line according to different social rules.
When City Council president Douglas Gutro first proposed the seminar to the council a few weeks ago, ''I think everybody had a raised eyebrow," said Brian F. McNamee, Ward 6 councilor. ''It was a visceral feeling -- a lot of people felt, do we really need this? Are we that bad? Is there such a void or a chasm here?"
But after the initial surprise, councilors embraced the idea, and members of the library staff, the mayor's office, the city clerk's office, and the School Committee have asked to be included.
''I think it will help a lot," said Joe Shea, the city clerk. ''With our community changing the way it is, everyone comes in here looking for various services. They need their birth certificate, their marriage certificate. . . . We supervise the elections, of course, and we're always trying to get new voters on board."
The city has seen some major changes as its Asian population has ballooned to 21,000, or more than a fifth of the city's total population, according to the 2005 city census.
Quincy 2000, a quasipubliceconomic development partnership, counted 172 Asian-owned businesses last year, not including home-based businesses.
A growing number of librarians, police officers, nurses, doctors, and city employees speak Vietnamese or Chinese. Library director Ann McLaughlin said Asian clients often make a beeline for the staff member who looks like them. The mayor said he has actively worked to diversify his staff.
But no Asians have held elected positions. Edward Lee lost a bid for School Committee in the 1990s, and Jimmy Liang lost City Council races in 2001 and 2003.
The lack of official representation makes it essential to ''train people who may not be from that culture to be effective in that culture," said Herbert Wong, a cultural competency consultant who will lead the workshops. ''Every time the population changes, you can't rehire a whole new workforce."
Wong, coauthor of a popular textbook used to educate police departments about multicultural law enforcement, said that often what he teaches people is extremely simple.
In one exercise, he asks people to list the things that make them feel like they are valued, respected, and included in a group, and the things that make them feel unimportant or ignored. Participants generate those lists very quickly, he said. ''We all know when we are treated right and when we are treated poorly," he said, ''but what are some of those items that people from a different cultural environment choose?"
For instance, in many Asian cultures, people do not wait in line. They mob the cash register, or they crowd into a hallway, five people all working to get someone's attention at the same time. For someone used to one-at-a-time orderliness, this kind of behavior might seem rude, Wong said, because the individual is more important than the group in Western society and the opposite is true in many Asian cultures.
Prolonged eye contact is also not appropriate in Chinese culture, unlike in American culture where avoiding someone's gaze may seem like an insult, said Allen So, the coordinator of interpretive services at Quincy Medical Center, which received cultural sensitivity training of its own last summer.
In the ''guess the facilitator" exercise, Wong exposes his students to their own biases by asking three simple questions: What kind of car do you think I drive? What is my favorite food? And what do you think my hobbies are? The answers, he said, are not always logical because ''people bend over backwards to not be stereotypical. They will not even say Asian food or Chinese food."
Participants would tell him, '' 'We wanted to do the right thing; we might insult you.' But that creates as much a problem as it does otherwise. To be oversensitive is not to be sensitive."
While the agenda for the Quincy workshop isn't finalized, communication, demographic information, and examples from the councilors' real lives are expected to come up.
Leo Kelly, Ward 1 councilor who grew up in Quincy, said cultural disconnection shows up in strange places. A few months ago, he attended a self-defense class at a senior housing complex with a large Asian population.
An Asian police officer showed people what to do if an attacker knocked them down and tried to rob them. He showed how to grab the attacker and talked people through what to do. The whole time, an Asian woman was chattering on. Kelly had no idea what she was saying but assumed it was something serious. Later he learned that she was simply injecting humorous asides.
''I think that happens a lot with us: We don't really know what someone's saying, so we interpret it in our own minds, and most of the time, we're really totally off base," he said. ''Things like this" -- the cultural program -- ''are going to be really helpful."
Other city councilors have taken specific steps to reach out to their Asian constituents. Kevin Coughlin, Ward 3 councilor, can greet his Asian constituents in Mandarin (''ni hao") and in Cantonese (''nei ho"). He knows how to say ''goodbye," ''see you again," ''happy new year," and ''How can I help you?" When he first ran for council years ago, he printed his campaign materials in English and Chinese.
McNamee said he translated some of his materials into Chinese with the help of Betty Yau, who has run a Chinese-language radio show in the area for years.
But they all agree they can do better. The city has largely welcomed its thriving Asian population, but Gutro said that nine out of 10 times, when there is a conflict between an Asian neighbor and a non-Asian neighbor, the problem can be reduced to crossed cultural wires.
Even as the city changes -- and places such as the Kam Man Supermarket and neighborhoods in North Quincy take on the feeling of Boston's Chinatown -- some things stay the same.
''I chose [to live in] Quincy because it had a very working-class feel to it. It wasn't a pretentious place. What you see is what you get," said McNamee, who moved to the city 25 years ago.
In a city like that, cultural training helps, but simple kindness goes a long way, he said, in his first year as a councilor representing a ward with a large Asian population.
''I can tell you this: There's one universal sign, and it's recognized by the Asian community and received very well with the Asian community -- and that's a big Irish smile."
Carolyn Y. Johnson can be reached at cjohnson@globe.com.
What do you think?
Should officials in communities with large immigrant populations be urged to take courses in cultural sensitivity? Please e-mail your comments to globesouth@globe.com, with your name, hometown, and a daytime phone number (for verification only).
(http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/04/20/know_the_new_neighbors)
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April 20, 2006
U.S., CHINA EAGER TO GLOSS OVER ANY DISAGREEMENTS
By Daniel Sneider
Knight Ridder Newspapers
The visit of China's President Hu Jintao to the United States this week is yet another opportunity for chatter about the "Chinese threat." In the lead-up to his arrival, we have heard rising voices from Congress and from the administration on everything from China's currency manipulation and piracy of intellectual property to its military buildup.
Do not be deceived. There is no real appetite in either Washington or Beijing for confrontation over any of these issues, much less a serious exploration of the challenge that China presents to American global leadership.
Neither government can afford an escalation of tensions. Economically, we are too intertwined. Strip away the packaging on the $200 billion trade deficit with China and you will find American companies running global assembly lines that begin in Ohio, pass through Malaysia, and end up in southern China.
Strategically, the United States is painfully dependent on China to try to cope with the greatest security challenge in Northeast Asia - North Korea's nuclear program.
Beijing is wedded to its own doctrine of "China's peaceful rise." First formulated three years ago, it aims to keep things calm with the United States and most of its neighbors, buying time to manage the tightrope act of continuing high growth while preserving domestic stability.
In any case, Washington is too bogged down in the Middle East to do more than bark now and then about China.
"At the strategic level, the United States is really focused like a laser on the Middle East,'' and the Chinese like it that way, says Asian security expert Kurt Campbell. "They appreciate the fact that with the U.S. attention focused elsewhere, it allows China to play a larger role in Asia as a whole,'' he told a gathering last week at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
Typically, while Washington is focused on Hu's visit, the Chinese defense minister is in the midst of an unprecedented Asian tour that will take him to both North and South Korea and to Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam. China's prime minister has just finished a swing through Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Cambodia.
In my own travels through Asia recently, from South Korea and Japan in the Northeast down to Singapore, Vietnam and Hong Kong in Southeast Asia, I found a stunning growth in China's influence. The question of how to deal with China's rise is high on every agenda.
Everywhere people are looking over their shoulder, worried about China's burgeoning strength and presence. They are equally fearful that the United States is abandoning the field to China. But they also don't want to choose between these two powers.
That is even true in Japan, where the popular media and politicians are full of talk about the Chinese threat. But look a little closer and you will also find a growing counter-movement, particularly in elite policy circles, warning against becoming separated from the rest of Asia. The battle for succession to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who is stepping down in the fall, is now being shaped around this issue.
The China-Japan rivalry tends to reveal the more muscular side of China's "peaceful rise," one that Americans rarely glimpse. In Vietnam, senior foreign policy officials recounted what happened when the Japanese came courting to gain Vietnam's backing for a resolution to give them permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council, a key goal of Japan's foreign policy. Japan is Vietnam's largest aid donor and a major source of foreign investment.
China and Vietnam have a long and stormy history as neighbors, including wars that go back centuries and more recently a brief invasion in 1979 that ended in defeat for the Chinese. Relations these days are relatively good, however, fed by growing trade, heavily in China's favor.
Hu, in his role as leader of the Chinese Communist Party, sent a special envoy to talk to the leadership of the ruling Vietnamese Communist Party. Sometimes, a Vietnamese official told me, the Chinese can be very indirect. Not this time. The message was simple - "Don't do it!" The "or else" was left unspoken.
The Vietnamese compromised, supporting Japan's membership but refusing to co-sponsor the resolution. China was not pleased but apparently accepted it.
For Vietnam, a senior official explained, they must engage in a "lot of fine balancing." Vietnam "can't stop engaging China" but wants to make sure China becomes a "predictable" power.
In Washington, when the cloud of rhetoric clears, that formula pretty much sums up the reality of U.S.-China relations too.
ABOUT THE WRITER
Daniel Sneider is foreign affairs columnist for the San Jose Mercury News and is currently a Pantech Fellow at Stanford's Shorenstein Asia Pacific Research Center. Readers may write to him via e-mail at dsneider@stanford.edu.
(http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/news/editorial/14386440.htm)
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April 21, 2006
SMOKING TO BLAME FOR ASIAN-AMERICAN CANCER ‘GENDER GAP’
By Robert Preidt
Getting men to quit would drastically slash their risk, research shows
(HealthDay News) - Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese men in California have a cancer death rate three times greater than that of South Asian females living in the state.
In fact, the cancer death rate for California females of Asian origin is one of the lowest in the world, according to a University of California, Davis, study.
The reason? Wide gender differences in Asians' use of tobacco, which suggests that eliminating smoking would result in low cancer death rates among all Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, the researchers said.
The findings suggest that smoking causes many more cancer deaths among these groups of people than previously recognized.
"Among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, non-lung cancer death rates, like lung cancer death rates, correlate very closely with their smoke exposure," Bruce N. Leistikow, associate professor of public health sciences and a leading expert on smoking-related illnesses, said in a prepared statement.
"If all Asian and Pacific Islanders had as little smoke exposure as South Asian females in California, our work suggests that their cancer mortality rates across the board could be as low as that of the South Asian females."
The cancer death rate for South Asian females in California is 58 deaths per 100,000 per year. The rate for the United States as a whole is 193.5 per 100,000 people per year.
The researchers concluded that Korean-American males in California have the highest smoking-related cancer death rate of any of the Asian and Pacific Islander American groups in this study. Seventy-one percent of the Korean men's death rate was linked to smoking, compared to zero percent for South Asian females in California.
The study also identified troubling trends in three groups. Lung cancer deaths among South Asian males in California doubled between 1988 and 2001, and among Filipina and Korean females in California, lung cancer death rates have been increasing four percent to five percent a year.
The findings were published online in the journal Preventive Medicine.
"Based on our work, we can predict that these trends will be accompanied by parallel increases in non-lung cancer deaths," Leistikow said. "Many lives can be saved by strengthening tobacco control measures -- cigarette taxes, counter-advertising, smoking bans, linguistically and culturally appropriate smoking prevention measures, and quit-smoking programs."
More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about Asian and Pacific Islander Americans and tobacco.
SOURCE: University of California, Davis, news release, April 18, 2006
(http://www.foodconsumer.org/777/8/Smoking_to_Blame_for_Asian-American_Cancer_Gender_Gap_.shtml)
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