A single snow flake is a beautiful thing - each one unique in its creation, but one snow flake by itself doesn't amount to much.  But if you can combine many snowflakes, it has the potential to cover the whole countryside.

This same potential and principle applies to the Asian Pacific Community Fund.

Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC) is one of the 28 members of the Asian Pacific Community Fund (Asian Fund).   In fact, LTSC played a major role in the founding and establishment of the Asian Fund over 20 years ago!

The Asian Fund was started to provide more opportunities for employees to make charitable gifts to the agencies of their choice through paycheck contributions.  The beauty of this method of giving is that it allows employees to donate a little at a time directly from their paychecks, but when aggregated over a period of one year, it can amount to quite a sum!  And if this is multiplied by many employees, the total amount can be substantial.   A single payroll deduction, like the snowflake, is unique and beautiful and it may seem inconsequential, but if put together with many other unique snowflakes, it can become a blizzard!!

If you are an employee of a company, ask your HR person about having an Asian Fund campaign at your office - it is easier than you think and not as hard as most employers might think. Go to www.apcf.org for more information.

The 9th Annual Asian Small Business Expo will be held on Saturday, September 27, 2008 at the Omni Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The admission is FREE. Over 800 participants are expected to attend. 13 workshops are scheduled in 5 Asian languages (and English) and free coffee from Starbucks will be offered throughout the day. There will be over 40 exhibitors offering business services, looking for commercial customers and lenders seeking clients.

This year, special one-on-one sessions can be scheduled with Los Angeles World Airports, Port of Los Angeles, The Gas Company, California General Services, Southern California Edison and Metro for those businesses who are interested in selling to these entities. To register for a one-on-one session call 213-473-1603.

The Asian Pacific Islander Small Business Program (API SBP) has been producing the Expo for the past 9 years and has been supported by an always dependable cadre of volunteers from LTSC and the four other API SBP partner agencies: Chinatown Service Center, Koreatown Youth and Community Center, Search to Involve Pilipino Americans and Thai CDC.

Kevin Chau and Yukina Yokoyama opened their business INOSH Gifts & Favors in 2006.  They are importers of all-natural, organic and unique products, some that have never been seen in the US before and they are constantly renewing their inventory.  Earlier this summer Kevin and Yukina started thinking about new marketing strategies in order to expand their business.  They heard about the API Small Business Program and called Lee Aoki, LTSC’s small business counselor, for assistance.

Kevin Chau and Yukina Yokoyama of INOSH Gifts and Favors sought the assistance of Lee Aoki, LTSC's small business counselor.

LTSC is a member of the API Small Business Program collaboration.  As a member of the collaboration, LTSC provides a small business counselor that provides counseling to the Little Tokyo community/Japanese-speaking business owners.  LTSC’s small business counselor works one-on-one with clients who want to start their own small business and current business owners who wish to improve their businesses.  Lee uses his bilingual ability and business acumen to successfully assist and educate merchants in operating their businesses.

Within the last 3 months Lee was able to introduce Kevin and Yukina to many clients and prospects that will lead to new business opportunities for INOSH Gifts & Favors. In addition, Lee helped Kevin and Yukina to better define their target audience for their products and services.  “The knowledge and experience Lee has shared with us has inspired us to move INOSH Gifts & Favors in new directions we did not imagine before,” Kevin states.  Thanks to Lee’s advice, Kevin knows that INOSH Gifts & Favors is one step ahead.

On August 15, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved the selection of the Nikkei Center team of Little Tokyo Service Center, Kaji & Associates and Urban Partners and their proposal for the development of the First and Alameda site known as the Mangrove parcel.

Ron Fong, Director of Planning at LTSC, remarked on the opportunity to participate in the development of the last sizable piece of land in Little Tokyo. "We accept and welcome the responsibility of being accountable to community stakeholders for every aspect of this project--including its design and community benefits such as affordable housing, parking, job creation and business development opportunities."

Bank of America Charitable Foundation has awarded LTSC a grant to support its work with the Asian Pacific Islander Housing Collaborative. The Collaborative helps organizations build multifamily affordable housing projects that serve their communities and involves the organization in the building process to increase the ability of the organization to engage in future housing development.

Bank of America Charitable Foundation funding will help LTSC develop projects that have been initiated under the API Housing Collaborative.  For example, the Collaborative is currently working on a 48-unit family rental project in Central Los Angeles with 4,000 square feet of community space, a 32-unit senior housing project in Koreatown and a 20-unit emancipated foster youth project in South Los Angeles.

For the last ten years the Collaborative has built affordable housing and community space for low-income families, seniors and special needs groups such as survivors of domestic violence, developmentally disabled persons, and formerly homeless individuals.

LTSC and the Asian Pacific Islander Housing Collaborative wish to thank Bank of America Charitable Foundation for its support as together we improve the quality of life in our community. 

Get to know us at www.LTSC.org or contact us.
Donate online, over the phone or via traditional mail.
Donate your unwanted car. We pick up all vehicles & handle the paperwork.

Mickie Okamoto ~ mokamoto@LTSC.org ~ (213) 473-1613
231 E. Third St. G-106 Los Angeles, CA 90013

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Little Tokyo Service Center
231 E. Third Street, Suite G-106
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 473-3030