UCC awards celebration heralds community's 32nd anniversary

09/08/2009
By Greg Mellen
Staff Writer
Long Beach Press Telegram (California, USA)

LONG BEACH - The United Cambodian Community celebrates its 32nd anniversary Thursday with a dinner and awards celebration.

The organization, which offers an array of social services to residents of the Central Area and greater Long Beach, will honor State Assemblyman Warren Furutani; Chan Hopson, executive director of the Khmer Parents Association; Onelegacy, a nonprofit transplant donor network; Verizon, for its corporate support; and the Cambodian Coordinating Council.

UCC was once the largest provider of social services for Cambodians in Southern California. Although it has gone through fractious times in recent years and teetered on the brink, the organization has been able to rebuild itself and Executive Director Sara Pol-Lim says it is well on the road to recovery.

In July, UCC received a $120,000 grant from the California Wellness foundation for, among other things, health services that help fight poor diet and nutrition, high rates of diabetes, cervical cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease and other maladies among Cambodian immigrants.

The dinner and awards ceremony will be at the Best Western Golden Sails Hotel, 6285 Pacific Coast Highway. A reception is at 6 p.m., the dinner and awards presentation begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are $50 per person. Information is available by calling UCC at 562-433-2490.

greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291

Long Beach nonprofits receive grants [... including the United Cambodian Community]

Sara Pol-Lim, UCC Executive Director

06/30/2009
By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer
Long Beach Press Telegram (California, USA)

LONG BEACH - Two Long Beach social service organizations got exciting news this week. Centro Cha, earned a three-year $150,000 grant and the United Cambodian Community received a three-year $120,000 grant, both from the California Wellness Foundation.

This is the first time Centro Cha has received a grant from California Wellness and comes at a critical time in the face of the economic downturn and the loss of several grants due to budget cuts.

Similarly, the grant fills a big void for UCC, which will finally receive some grant money for services it has provided for years without funding.

The grant to Centro Cha is to pay for core operating costs and to continue to allow it to provide employment and case management to prevent violence.

Jessica Quintana, executive director of Centro Cha, said it was particularly gratifying to see the foundation "recognize the importance and strength of minority-led grassroots organizations that work at the forefront of reducing violence at its root causes."

Centro Cha works with at-risk, former gang and previously incarcerated youth in Long Beach. It offers free social and legal counseling, education, and job training and placement in attempts to steer youth to become contributing community residents.

The organization was created in 1992 to address the causes of gang violence - poverty, lack of education and opportunity and as the group says "perhaps most importantly, a lethal absence of hope."

United Cambodian Community has been providing social services to Long Beach's Cambodian community for more than 30 years.

The California Wellness grant is for core operations and for health services.

"We are so thrilled," said Sara Pol-Lim, executive director of UCC. "This allows us to continue to promote a healthy community and close the health disparity gap."

Cambodian immigrants have suffered from poor diet and nutrition, high rates of diabetes, cervical cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease and other maladies since moving to the United States.

The problems are exacerbated by an unwillingness of many to seek care.

Pol-Lim said in addition to offering referrals and information to residents on an informal basis, UCC has created a women's health focus group, without extra funding.

The new grant, Pol-Lim says, is her group's biggest and will allow UCC to do an even better job in offering services.

greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291

Cambodian group set on bridging gaps

04/30/2008
By Joe Stevens, Staff Writer
Long Beach Press Telegram (California, USA)

LONG BEACH - A Cambodian band blared its folk music in front of 11 veterans dressed in uniform. Some senior citizens and teenagers sat together, enjoying Cambodian iced tea, brownies and egg rolls.

With the United Cambodian Community's doors open to the community, one of the organization's goals was visible for all to see - to bridge the gap between old and young. The UCC is a group designed to help people with any problem they might encounter, and its open house on Wednesday helped get out that message.

"The mission of the UCC in the last 30 years has been to bridge the gap between the Cambodian community and mainstream culture," UCC executive director Sara Pol-Lim said. "We're bringing the Cambodian community into the larger community, and we're giving the community of information out there so they get what they need and make better decisions for their families."

Pol-Lim has been the UCC's executive director for the past 14 months, following some turmoil within the organization. The previous executive director, Dianne McNinch, was dismissed by the organization's board of directors. There also were internal power struggles before that, and the UCC was swindled out of more than $500,000 by John Durocher, who was sentenced to six years in jail last year.

During Pol-Lim's tenure, the UCC appears to have finally put its internal woes behind it and has been focusing on the community's needs.

"We've had our ups and downs, but whatever happened before is over," UCC board member Pichanary Chem said. "Now, the community is back behind us, and we're here to help, especially with programs and activities for youth."

Helping guide youth is one of the UCC's missions, but it also will help anyone, Cambodian or not, in need. It has helped senior citizens with limited English fill out necessary paperwork to get Social Security. It has helped those with mental illness or marital problems seek help, and if it cannot help a particular person, it will direct that person to the appropriate agency.

The UCC also is trying to be the catalyst for Cambodians to integrate into the mainstream community. At the open house, many non-Cambodians attended, including Raymond Chavarria, the UCC's associate/project director.

Chavarria, 48, has a lengthy resume of political and social work in Long Beach. He was hired by the UCC after a recent battle with prostate cancer that made him lose 100 pounds.

"I feel like I have a second life," Chavarria said. "I'm so grateful to be here, learn this culture and experience this beautiful culture. I love what I do. I like to help people, and in Long Beach,

I've helped so many groups, including the black community, gay and lesbian community and Jewish community."

While the Cambodian community has some unique problems, many of their problems are universal. The UCC's members urge the community to go to its headquarters on Anaheim if someone needs help, and the community apparently is responding to the organization.

"It's my duty, but more importantly, my honor to congratulate the UCC on its rebirth," Long Beach City Councilman Patrick O'Donnell said. "This is an anchor on Anaheim, and the community is fortunate to have this organization."

The UCC office is located at 2201 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach. It is open from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. To 6 p.m. Call 562-433-2490.

joe.stevens@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1281