Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN)

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Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN)

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Building the power of Asian immigrant and refugee communities for environmental and social justice.

10/20/2026

🌱 Big news: APEN has received a $200,000 grant from the Bay Area Air District to begin planning an Asian Wellness and Resilience Center in Richmond! In total, the Air District is distributing over $10 million from its Local Community Benefit Fund to support the communities most impacted by pollution in Richmond.

For 30+ years, our Lao, Mien, Khmu, and newcomer immigrant and refugee members have lived with the health impacts of the nearby Chevron refinery. Richmond's asthma rates are 90% higher than the rest of California's. Too often, the care and support our elders and youth need isn't available in their language or shaped by their experiences.

This grant lets our community begin dreaming and planning a space of our own: a hub for health, cultural connection, and protection from climate disasters like wildfire smoke and extreme heat.

The funds come from penalties the Air District collected from big polluters like Chevron — money that is now coming back to the communities most harmed by their pollution.

This is just the first step. Over the next two years, our members will lead a visioning process, hear from other Asian communities in Richmond, and explore what it would take to make this center real.

Thank you to the Bay Area Air District, our members, and the many community advocates who fought to make this happen.

10/19/2026

⏰ Last day to register to vote online in California!

Register or update your registration today at registertovote.ca.gov. Missed the deadline? You can still register and vote in person at your county elections office or vote center.

Then take the Can't Stop CA pledge to vote early and protect our vote: apen.us/vote

10/01/2026

Many of our families came to California from homelands where people in power decided elections before a single vote was cast. We know what it looks like when people are kept from choosing their own leaders, and we refuse to let that happen here.

Right now, billionaires and corporations are spending millions to stop you from voting. New rules are making it harder for eligible Americans, including naturalized citizens and limited-English speakers, to cast a ballot that counts.

The answer isn't staying home. It's showing up.

Protecting the vote isn't just up to lawyers and lawmakers. It's up to all of us. Join us in pledging to vote early and take action to protect our vote:

🎉 Organize or attend a ballot party
👀 Become a neighborhood vote protector
✅ Mobilize to make sure votes are counted and certified

Don't let billionaires set the rules for your health care. Your rent. Your job.

Take the Can't Stop CA pledge at apen.us/vote

09/02/2026

NEW - Op-ed out now from a South Bay physician on the need for full remediation of the Phillips 66 sites.

"I see the human cost in my patients every day," writes Dr. Khadijah Lang, Family Medical Physician and Region VI Chair with The National Medical Association.

She continues:

"These are not statistics...They are the child who struggles to breathe...the grandparents taken too soon."

Dr. Lang urges the City of Carson and state leaders to:

1. Deliver on a Just Transition taskforce to give Carson residents real decision making power

2. Close loopholes that allow Big Oil to hide the real cost of refinery site cleanup

3. Rigorous testing, monitoring, and cleanup of shuttered refinery sites and surrounding area

Read Dr. Lang’s full op-ed and join us on October 6 to make these demands heard at the City Council.

https://islandpress.medium.com/the-carson-refinery-closed-the-poison-remains-d8c55b4bed7f

https://actionnetwork.org/forms/carson-wheres-our-taskforce?source=direct_link&

06/29/2026

ICYMI….Big Oil is using AI to fix prices and drive up the price of gas for the rest of us (allegedly) 🫢😖🤮

A new lawsuit by California drivers accuses gas station giants of “coordinating high prices” with AI tool Kalibrate to squeeze Californians even further.

Find ways to take action and hold Big Oil accountable at the 🔗 in our bio

06/10/2026

In April 2024, Rocky, an APEN Richmond Member, and 25 other brave Bay Area community members took part in a protest on Golden Gate Bridge to demand an end to the genocide in Gaza. They are now currently facing felony charges for speaking up for Palestine! 🇵🇸 APEN stands in solidarity with the Golden Gate 26! DROP THE CHARGES! FREE PALESTINE! Follow for updates on the case.

05/30/2026

Living near the Phillips 66 refinery all this life, APEN member Jonathan knows the personal costs of oil Infrastructure in our communities.

From engaging in door knocking campaigns to speaking at city council meetings, APEN’s youth leadership in Carson plays an important role in our strategy to hold Phillip’s 66 accountable for remediation of their Carson refinery.

Please donate to our spring fundraiser so we can continue to do this crucial work in Carson and the South Bay Harbor!

05/21/2026

“As Asian immigrants and refugees, our families know how devastating war and imperialism can be.”

APEN Youth Leader Min shares the connections she’s making between APEN’s political education on Iran and her family’s history in Laos.

APEN’s Youth Leaders in Richmond have been at the forefront of our campaigns - protesting, gathering signatures, and giving testimony at city council meetings.

Your donation today to our spring fundraising campaign helps resource our youth members so they can continue to speak up and influence change in their communities!

We are halfway to our goal - we need to raise $28,000 by May 31st! ✨Give today and your donation will be *doubled* by a matching grant! Link in bio 🫰🏽

05/13/2026

This year of the Fire Horse brings a long-awaited transformation to one of America’s oldest Chinatowns.

After years of organizing, planning, and fundraising, APEN and Friends of Lincoln Square Park are finally breaking ground to renovate the Lincoln Recreation Center into a state-of-the-art Resilience Hub!

By turning a place where the Chinatown community gathers every day into a resilience hub, we shift from an individual to collective response to disaster.

Every dollar you donate today helps our members continue to build resilience in Chinatown and steward a place where generations can continue to live with dignity and security.

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/apenspring2026

05/05/2026

APEN’s *new* Co-Director, Michelle Chan, kicks off our spring campaign by sharing how our Richmond work inspired her as a resident and activist.

“I spent the last 30 years working with national organizations on issues of climate justice and corporate power. Across that time, much of my own political thinking was shaped by the organizing I saw APEN leading in Richmond.”

Please help us reach our $28,000 spring fundraising goal! *We have a matching grant* which means your donation is doubled if you give today!
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/apenspring2026

Address

426 17th Street
Oakland, CA
94612

Website

http://www.apen4ej.org/

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