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E-Newsletter | April 4, 2022
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Chamber Events and Announcements |
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FREE PUBLIC EVENT FOR RESTAURANT OWNERS
The Asian Chamber of Commerce along with Harris County Precinct 4 Community Assistance Department would like to invite you to a WORKSHOP for RESTAURANT OWNERS. Come hear from Harris County Health Department and Fire Marshall on best practices. We want to help keeping your restaurants in compliance.
NOTE: YOU MUST BE A RESTAURANT OWNER OR IN THE FOOD SERVICES INDUSTRY TO ATTEND.
Monday Apr 11, 2022 | 2-4pm In-Person
Tracy Gee Community Center
3599 Westcenter Drive
Houston, TX 77042
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NOW A PRIVATE BUS WILL BE PROVIDED FROM THE ACC OFFICE TO DAIKIN |
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MEMBERS ONLY
Come join the Chamber in visiting Daikin Technology Park on Friday, April 8, 2022 @ 2-4pm
Located just outside of Houston, Texas, the Daikin Technology Park allows Daikin to consolidate manufacturing, engineering, logistics, marketing and sales for Goodman, Amana and Daikin brand unitary heating and air conditioning products in one location. The facility is designed from the ground up to encourage collaboration and innovation. With engineering and manufacturing in one location, product innovations can quickly be tested and implemented into manufacturing processes.
Friday Apr 8, 2022 | 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Daikin Texas Technology Park
19001 Kermier Road
Waller, TX 77484
Those riding the bus must arrive by 1pm to the ACC Office.
The tour is only for Asian Chamber of Commerce members.
Tour is free but registration is required. Limited number of spaces available - ACC members must be registered and on the list in order to attend. Note: Registration does not guarantee a seat for this tour. You will be notified once there is confirmation.
SPACE IS LIMITED
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BUSINESS RESOURCES AND PARTNER EVENTS |
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APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN, ONLY 1000 APPLICANTS ACCEPTED! APPLY AT:
UPS and National ACE Launch (2nd Annual) AAPISTRONG Proudly Unstoppable Fund to help AAPI-Owned Businesses
Independent Asian American and Pacific Islander businesses across the country can apply for a $5,000 AAPISTRONG Proudly Unstoppable grant.
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 18, 2022 -- UPS, the multinational shipping and receiving company, and the National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship (National ACE) have announced a program to support Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) small businesses with competitive grants worth $5,000 each. The AAPISTRONG Proudly Unstoppable Fund enters its second year to help small businesses respond to those challenges and recover from the effects of the pandemic, such as paying employees' wages or repairing racially-motivated damage or vandalism.
“Our AAPI-owned businesses are still experiencing severe losses as a result of the pandemic and even worse, are victims of increased hate, discrimination, and bias at their places of business,” said Chiling Tong, President and CEO of National ACE. UPS’s ongoing commitment to AAPI-owned businesses is further demonstrated by the ongoing grant support they have provided the community. This contribution from UPS will provide hope for AAPI small business owners that were not eligible for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) or Restaurant Relief Funds (RRF).”
The AAPISTRONG Proudly Unstoppable Fund will be supported by a generous donation from UPS. AAPI-owned restaurants and businesses were amongst the hardest hit during the pandemic’s early days. By April 2020, roughly half of the Chinese restaurants in the U.S. had closed because of the pandemic, coupled with consumer prejudice and misperceptions.
The AAPISTRONG Proudly Unstoppable Fund will accept grant applications from all AAPI-owned businesses across the country from March 21, 2022 to April 3, 2022. To qualify for grant assistance, AAPI-owned businesses must satisfy all of the following requirements:
The business must be Asian American/Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian (AAPI) majority-owned (51% or more AAPI-owned), based in the United States, currently in operation, operating in a maximum of three locations, and not part of a chain or franchise. The business owner(s) must be willing to be interviewed for earned-media opportunities related to this grant and complete the application before the closing date or be amongst the first 1,000 applicants.
Applications will open at 12pm ET on Monday, March 21, 2022 via AAPISTRONG.com. The application period will close on April 3, 2022 and grants will be fully distributed by the end of May 2022. Interested applicants can learn more about the AAPISTRONG Proudly Unstoppable Fund and the full application process at AAPISTRONG.com.
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Dear AAPI Small Business Owners,
You’ve been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in ways that aren’t always visible to policymakers. By taking a 10-minute survey, you can help make clear how the pandemic has impacted you and small businesses like yours. Let your voice be heard by taking the survey here.
The survey’s findings will help elected officials to develop economic recovery policies and programs to better serve Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The Asian Chamber of Commerce will work with National ACE (our national partner) to share the results with legislators and policymakers.
Your input is critical. The survey will take you about 10 minutes and your responses will be anonymous and confidential. You can take the survey anytime until March 24, 2022.
Upon completing the survey, you could win a roundtrip flight with Southwest Airlines.
Let your voice be heard by taking the survey here.
Sincerely,
ACC
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Applications for shelf-ready products are now open through April 8 for Walmart's largest annual Open Call event in its nine-year history. The event will be extended to two days, June 28-29, with participants choosing virtual or in-person pitch meetings with a Walmart or Sam's Club buyer. More than 2,000 companies have already registered more than 6,000 items they hope to present to buyers through an exclusive early access period offered to Marketplace sellers. Additionally, we are offering mentoring sessions to all applicants registering for the event, providing suppliers with the tools needed to successfully sell on Walmart's virtual and physical shelves.
Open Call, Walmart's largest sourcing event, helps support our 10-year commitment to American jobs through its $350 billion investment in items made, grown, or assembled in the U.S and aims to bring American-made products and businesses to communities across the country.
Businesses wishing to apply for this year's Open Call event can apply here. Anyone wishing to learn more about becoming a Walmart Marketplace seller can click here. Please help us spread the word!
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Join the City of Houston Office of Business Opportunity and SCORE Houston for a panel discussion designed for City of Houston vendors.
This is the perfect opportunity to learn more about doing business with the City of Houston and how SCORE Houston can support you while running your business. During each monthly meeting get your business questions answered by industry and Office of Business Opportunity experts and SCORE Mentors. Gain the information and support you need to provide your products and services as a City of Houston vendor.
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Husch Blackwell is offering eligible minority businesses free legal services to see them grow and develop. If you are a small, minority-owned business or minority entrepreneur seeking legal assistance related to your business, apply at: huschblackwell.com/communities-for-change-intake-application. The ideal applicant is a viable company, meeting its financial obligations to expand and employ, but is unable to afford legal services.
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Amazon’s Black Business Accelerator is dedicated to helping build sustainable equity and growth for Black entrepreneurs by enabling their success as sellers. Grow your business with access to financial support, strategic business guidance and mentorship, and marketing and promotional support. |
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A new program created by a diverse group of community lenders aimed at helping small businesses and nonprofits navigate and rebuild from the Covid-19 health and economic crisis. Small business owners and nonprofits, with fewer than 50 employees, across the South, can apply for very low-interest loans of up to $100,000 and free business support.
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The MBDA seeks to resolve the challenges faced by minority business enterprises (MBEs) in the export industry. Through outreach to minorities in the masses, MBDA will identify those who are not exporting and would like to explore the opportunity to export. We provide technical assistance and business development services for MBEs to have greater access to new and global markets. The criteria to participate in this program is to have a registered business for three years or have a registered business with an export ready product. If you are new to business and would like to learn what it takes to become an exporter, your ambition is also welcome. We are thankful to expand the MBDA strategy by helping minorities grow, flourish, and gain greater access to global markets.
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Get Your COVID-19 Vaccination Today!
HOPE Clinic offers Monday to Friday COVID-19 vaccination at our HOPE Main location 7001 Corporate Dr. STE 133, Houston, TX 77036 in heart of Asiatown. Call ahead to book (713)773-0803 or just walk in Monday to Friday 9AM to 4PM.
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Building for Growth (BFG) is a new tuition-free executive education program that aims to best position BIPOC- and woman-owned construction businesses for growth and to effectively compete for larger-scale contracts.
The 21-week virtual BFG program, which begins May 12, 2022, is designed to support BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color)-owned and woman-owned construction-related companies reach their next level of success by helping them to develop sustainable growth strategies that position their small businesses to build capacity and accelerate profitable growth.
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WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
EVENTS & RESOURCES
WORKFORCE WEBINAR SERIES
In case you missed the Workforce Webinar Series, all recordings are now available on our website at http://houstontx.gov/obo/workforce_development_programs.html . Go on to hear from some wonderful partners like Dress for Success Houston, Houston Financial Empowerment Center, JW Marriott and more to hear about their offerings for job seekers.
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In an effort to assist small businesses in navigating the City’s procurement process, the Office of Business Opportunity, in collaboration with the Strategic Procurement Division, is pleased to present the new City of Houston (COH) Procurement 101 Tool. These web-based, on-demand training videos walk prospective City contractors through topics including How to Bid on Contracts, Responding to RFPs, RFQs, and ITBs, Pre-Bid Meetings, Structuring the Team – Prime & Sub, Contract Terms & Conditions, and much more. The web-based training videos are available 24 hours/day, 7 days a week. |
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PLATINUM CORPORATE MEMBERS |
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DIAMOND CORPORATE MEMBERS |
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GOLD BUSINESS MEMBERS
AARP Texas, Allegiance Bank, BlueCross BlueShield, China Star Restaurant Group, Cole Chemical & Distributing, Focused Care at Westwood, Foster LLP, Jascole, Inc., Mattioli Vision Professionals, Nguyen & Chen, LLP, Offshore Intel, The Red Cardinal Group at Morgan Stanley, Royal Public Schools, Savve Concepts, Sheraton Houston Brookhollow, Truist Bank, University of Houston-Victoria at Katy, and Utegration
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LIFETIME MEMBERS
Kristopher Ahn, Yong J. An, Dr. Parvin Bagherpour, The Honorable Theresa Chang, The Honorable Alice Chen, Donna Cole, Lucy DeVilla, Trung Doan, Harry Gee, Jr., Glen Gondo, Shahid Javed, Shirley Kwan, Catherine A. Le, Stephen Le, Jr., C.C. Lee, Kenneth Li, Chris Nam, Gordon Quan, Randy Sim, Y. Ping Sun, E. Allan Tiller, Irsan Tisnabudi, Linda Toyota, Don Wang, Don Woo, Jason Yoo, and Austin Zhao
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