Our Mission is to Bridge Communities and Generations through Art, Culture, Education and bBusiness
Asia Pacific Cultural Center (APCC) is a center for cultural exchange providing programs and services that promote the greater awareness, understanding, equity, and inclusion of the Asian and Pacific Islander people. This community includes immigrants, refugees, children and youth, seniors and elders, low-income, and all groups who are a part of the Asia Pacific community. Our founders recognized the need for cross-cultural understanding in their community, and in 1996 they founded APCC to address this need.
We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization located in Tacoma, Washington, serving the Greater Puget Sound and beyond. APCC proudly represents and serves the Asia Pacific people from 47 different countries, providing a wide range of programs and activities, many of which are free or very low cost of admission. APCC brings people together in the spirit of acceptance and understanding, helping to build a stronger, healthier, more vibrant community for present and future generations.
CULTURAL CONNECTIONS, COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
One of the biggest strengths is APCC’s strong connection and history with the Asian and Pacific Islander community. This connection is a key element of our organization’s mission and purpose. We represent 47 different countries and cultures, and we could not successfully provide our programs and services without this connection. Washington is a wonderful kaleidoscope of races and ethnicities, with more than 900,000 or 13% who are of Asia Pacific descent. Our connection with the Asia Pacific community has grown during the 25 years that our organization has been in existence. This connection helps us in our work in providing outreach, support, and greater cross-cultural awareness and understanding of the history, art, culture, and heritage of the Asia Pacific community for current and future generations.
APCC not only serves the Asia Pacific people, but Asia Pacific people are an integral part of APCC. This is reflected in our leadership and staff: over 90% of our staff and over 90% of our Board Members are Asian or Pacific Islander. These Board Members and staff are also active members and leaders in their represented communities. This connection helps to ensure we are truly representing and serving the Asia Pacific people. All of our programs and activities include representatives from different Asia Pacific groups who help to provide input, develop, plan, and implement our programs.
These cultural and community connections give us a better understanding of the needs of this community and allow us to address these needs from different perspectives. We are able to communicate and stay connected to the Asia Pacific community through our network and partnerships with other cultural organizations. Our connections help us to adapt to the cultural, societal, and institutional complexities of the diverse populations that we proudly serve.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION STATEMENT
APCC is committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the programs and services we offer and is dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion within our organization at all levels. We welcome, include, and value the perspectives and contributions of people of all races, ethnicities, cultures, religions, genders, sexual orientations, gender identifications, abilities, incomes, marital status, veteran status, and ages in all APCC processes, policies, activities, and decision-making.