(July 27, 2012, Cleveland, OH) OCA Greater Cleveland Chapter was awarded a $25000 grant from the Cleveland Foundation’s City of Cleveland’s Cable Television Minority Arts and Education Fund (MAEF) to help finance one season of its multi-media, educational and cross-cultural initiative – OCA IMAGE TV OHIO. OCA IMAGE TV OHIO is a 30 minutes television programming that aims at brining awareness, advancing diversity, and educating Greater Cleveland residents about the vitality of Asian Pacific American cultures and businesses in the Greater Cleveland and the surrounding regions.
OCA IMAGE TV, a multiple award-winning program, focuses on the local Asian Pacific prospective in economic, social, arts and cultural development throughout Cleveland’s historic neighborhoods. The program aims to communicate a better understanding of the 60,000+ Northeast Ohio residents of Asian/Pacific culture and ethnicity. Each episode includes segments offering a variety of diverse topics related to business, education, culture, traditions, leadership, food, health and beauty, fashion, sports, arts and entertainment, news, and current issues as well as spotlighting local events spotlighting the AsainTown area within the St. Clair Superior Neighborhood.
The Cleveland Foundation’s MAEF grant will help support OCA IMAGE TV OHIO’s and OCA’s objectives which include bridging the gap between Eastern and Western culture through cultural awareness and education; engaging participation across differences within the Asian and local community; informing about local diverse leaders and events; advancing community building; and foster cultural heritage through a multi-media programming.
The Cleveland Foundation’s MAEF grant will help seed the initial production of IMAGE TV OHIO in the hopes to become a self-sustained program. The grant provides OCA funding to reach new geographic locations by utilizing the “new media” technology to maximize exposure. OCA IMAGE TV episodes are currently available on Time Warner Cable Channel 20, downloadable free from iTunes, or online at OCAGC Website. Additional sponsorships are needed to further our outreach objective.
The City of Cleveland’s Cable Television Minority Arts and Education Fund (MAEF) is a donor of the Cleveland Foundation. MAEF was established in 1994 to provide planning, preparation, production, and/or presentation of cultural, educational, and scientific programs and projects, which promote and benefit Cleveland’s minority populations. The MAEF is an endowed fund with assets of approximately $3.6 million providing grantmaking in the local community from investment income. The Board of Directors is comprised of two appointees by the Mayor of the City of Cleveland, two appointees by the Chair of City Council, and five appointees by the Cleveland Foundation.
OCA Cleveland Chapter was founded in 1983 with the mission of promoting cultural heritage, active participation in civic and community affairs, securing justice and equal treatment and equal opportunity for all Americans of Asian/Pacific Islander descent. The organization is a non-profit, non-partisan civil rights, cultural and educational organization and is part of a National Organization (founded in 1973) with over 84 chapters and affiliates across the United States. Our goal is to embrace the hopes and aspirations of Asian Pacific Americans in the United States. For more information about OCA Cleveland Chapter and the OCA Image TV please visit http://www.ocagc.org
###
