PCV stands with our Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. There have been 3,800 reports of hate incidents targeting members of AAPI communities across the country since last March when the COVID-19 pandemic began, according to the advocacy organization Stop AAPI Hate, and a long history of violence and systemic racism before that.
As a CDFI that centers our Civil Rights mission, we stand against hate in all its forms, and in solidarity with our communities for inclusion and equity.
We’ve supported Chinatown-based and AAPI-owned small businesses throughout our 22-year history and especially during this COVID crisis. 25% of the clients we work with in California are of Asian or Pacific Islander descent. Business owners like Alicia Wong of The Fortune Cookie Factory in Oakland, California — the oldest fortune cookie maker in the area, with their history dating back to 1957. Alicia, the third-generation owner, continues her family’s tradition of sharing the history, culture, and craftsmanship of the fortune cookie as one of the last few businesses in the US to still make them by hand.
Alicia first joined PCV’s Business Advising program in the summer of 2018, and since then she has worked with three different advisors who have helped guide her through revamping the business operations, developing new flavors and packaging concepts, improving the marketing strategy, and allowing for overall growth. The Fortune Cookie Factory has seen a lot of changes in the last three years, but what remains the same is that they continue to provide a quality product, and that Alicia remains committed to providing quality jobs for her employees.
Please support AAPI-owned businesses like Alicia’s, and ones near you here.