OIC network expands to St. Paul, Minnesota, further strengthening HAP’s technical expertise and investment in workforce development
St. Paul, MN – OIC of America, Inc. announced today that Hmong American Partnership (HAP), based in St. Paul, MN., is joining the OIC network of affiliates. OIC of America, Inc., founded by Reverend Leon H. Sullivan (1922 – 2001) in 1964, serves as the national headquarters for OIC Affiliates. OIC is a nationally recognized organization focused on serving underrepresented people all over the country for more than 50 years, serving millions of participants in the areas of Work Readiness, Education, Reentry, Youth Development and Healthcare.
OICA and HAP will host a joint press conference announcing the new partnership on Thursday, May 30, beginning at 2:30 p.m. at Tapestry Restaurant, located at 394 University Ave W in St. Paul. The agenda will feature a dance performance by the Community School of Excellence Dance Team and statements by OICA President/CEO James Haynes and HAP President/CEO Bao Vang.
“We are honored to have HAP join our network of 34 affiliates located in 22 states. HAP is a culturally rich organization that has a strong track record of improving the lives of individuals and families and transforming and strengthening neighborhoods through economic development. The relationship with OIC and HAP will support our joint vision of helping more culturally diverse people reach their full potential,” said James Haynes, OICA President/CEO and National Board Chair.
“HAP is proud to be part of a nationally recognized program model and honored to have been invited as an OIC Affiliate,” said Bao Vang, HAP President/CEO. “This partnership will help HAP leverage technical assistance and training to continue serving our Hmong, Southeast Asian, and immigrant and refugee communities to obtain employment. With National OIC’s support, we know that our communities will move more quickly out of poverty into prosperity.”
As HAP carries
out the expansion of two new workforce training centers and doubles the number
of trainees it serves, OICA will enhance
HAP’s workforce readiness
and job training
programs by providing
technical expertise and a program model based on a history of
providing targeted and effective interventions within ethnically diverse, and economically disadvantaged communities. OICA has two other affiliates in the Twin Cities area, both located
in Minneapolis: American Indian OIC and Summit Academy
OIC.
If you want to know about these organizations, please visit their respective websites: OICA (oicofamerica.org) and Hmong American Partnership (hmong.org) for more details.
About OIC of America
In the 1960s, after leading selective patronage campaigns in Philadelphia to expose discriminatory hiring practices and opening thousands of jobs to African Americans, Reverend Leon H. Sullivan (1922-2001) founded the Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC), a vocational, educational, and life skills training organization designed to prepare young men and women for full-time employment. The OIC organization quickly expanded beyond Philadelphia and ultimately grew into a national and international movement that trained millions of workers from all racial and ethnic backgrounds. Today, OIC of America (OICA) is a national network of community-based organizations that delivers results-driven leadership in workforce development. The organization employs best- and promising-practice programming as targeted interventions to address nationwide problems that affect the economically disadvantaged. One of these problems is mass incarceration coupled with the high rates of recidivism. Currently, OICA has 34 affiliates in 22 states.
About HAP
HAP is a nonprofit organization focused on empowering the refugee and immigrant community by moving our clients out of poverty and towards social and financial prosperity. HAP was founded in 1990 to serve a growing Hmong community in Minnesota. We are rapidly expanding to address demand for services and, over the last 25 years, have grown to become the largest Hmong nonprofit organization in the United States. We now offer programming across the nation, and we are proud that the broader immigrant and refugee community seeks our services. We serve approximately 30,000 clients annually and have the staff expertise to serve people from 18 nationalities.
