For immediate release
April 10, 2012

Press contact: Deborah Wang (330) 645-5805; dwang@asiaohio.org

American Chemical Society awards $1,875 to ASIA’s ICEP Program

AKRON – Asian Services In Action, Inc. (ASIA, Inc.) is pleased to announce an award of $1,875 from the American Chemical Society’s Local Section Innovative Projects Grant Program.  The grant will fund a Summer Science Program for ASIA’s International Community Empowerment Project (ICEP), an after-school and six-week summer program for at-risk immigrant and refugee children primarily from Southeast Asia.

This grant was secured in cooperation with the Akron Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS).  “Community and public outreach have long been part of our Section’s strategic plan,” said Thuy Ai Nguyen, Chair of the ACS Akron Section.  “The young people in ICEP belong to families who have come to the United States with many hopes and dreams believing that they are giving their children a better life.  Many are still struggling with the new language, the new culture, while facing a bleak economic outlook in their new country. “

“The International Year of Chemistry 2011 was a year that we all celebrated the achievements of chemistry and its contributions to the well-being of man-kind,” Nguyen added.  “The year 2012 will be the year where we can coordinate activities, engage in chemistry projects, share ideas and mobilize our member volunteers, and really improve people’s lives through the transforming power of chemistry.”

The ICEP Summer Science Program will also be supported by ACS Akron Section volunteers.

ASIA thanks ACS for supporting the educational enrichment of Ohio’s Asian immigrant and refugee students.

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Asian Services In Action
Founded in 1995, Asian Services In Action’s mission is to empower Asian American and Pacific Islanders in Northeastern Ohio to access quality, culturally, and linguistically appropriate information and services.  ASIA serves over 8,000 people annually.  Follow ASIA on Facebook and Twitter!

American Chemical Society
With more than 164,000 members, the American Chemical Society (ACS) is the world’s largest scientific society and one of the world’s leading sources of authoritative scientific information.  A nonprofit organization chartered by Congress, the mission of ACS is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and its people.