Long Beach, August 20, 2020 –  Khmer Girls in Action is proud to announce it has been selected as a 2020 California Nonprofit of the Year by Senator Lena Gonzalez, representing California's 33rd Senate District!

Khmer Girls in Action (KGA) is one of over a hundred other nonprofits that will be honored by their state senators and assembly members for their tremendous contributions to the communities they serve.

Khmer Girls in Action invests in the leadership of young people to create social change needed in their community. Youth knowledge, power and experiences drive the organizations campaigns and create programs that uplift Southeast Asian women and youth to be community leaders who dismantle systemic oppression and advance gender, racial and economic justice.

Associate Director and founding member, Sophya Chum exclaims, “On behalf of our members, alumni, board & staff, Khmer Girls in Action would like to thank Senator Lena Gonzalez for this recognition!  It is an honor to continue to work alongside leaders who advocate for the health and well-being of women, youth and our communities.”

For 23 years KGA has created a political home for the children of Southeast Asian immigrant refugees who resettled in historically divested neighborhoods in Long Beach.  KGA’s holistic approach ensures that teens and transitional age youth, an overlooked and oftentimes misunderstood population, have mentorship, resources and opportunities to be leaders of today. 

While most are not of voting age, KGA youth leaders have played an important role in increasing voter turnout and this upcoming 2020 presidential election is no exception.  This week, the organization along with community partners sent a letter to LBUSD superintendent and school board members requesting them to reconsider its decision and instead expand democracy by allowing for schools to be site to vote or drop off vote- by- mail ballots.  During an election that yields high voter turnout, increasing facilities at trusted sites allow for social distancing and encourage civic engagement for those accustomed to physically voting at poll sites.

Also in this monumental election season, KGA is championing for equitable, structural funding as a way to mitigate the impacts of a recession and budget cuts that almost always target youth and low-income communities of color.  KGA is pushing to increase accountability on billion dollar corporations as well as for local oil producers to pay their fair share in commercial property taxes and oil production taxes, respectively.

“The challenge is that our communities are far more vulnerable today,” says Chum. Prior to the pandemic, close to one-third of the city’s youth under age 18 were already living in poverty and 7,000 students attending LBUSD reported being homeless.  Across the nation, close to one-third of the youth population of workers have also lost their jobs during the onset of COVID-19.

 “We must be vocal and dismantle structures that harm our everyday lives.  Uplifting the leadership of those directly impacted and building a movement in solidarity with community and stakeholders creates a pathway where a just world we hope for becomes a reality. This recognition is a reminder that the structural change that KGA youth leaders have been working for in the last two decades is what California and Long Beach need to heal and rebuild in this unprecedented moment.”

Jan Masaoka, CEO of the California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits) explains that, “The pandemic and shelter-in-place orders of the last few months have put nonprofits  – usually hidden in plain sight – in the spotlight.  California Nonprofit of the Year is an opportunity for our elected officials to celebrate the good work they see nonprofits doing in their districts, and for everyone to appreciate the collective impact of nonprofits in our communities.”

Additional Background

For the last five years, legislators from across California have chosen a Nonprofit of the Year in their district. Traditionally, Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on the Nonprofit Sector Assemblywoman Monique Limón (Santa Barbara) and CalNonprofits invited legislators and honorees to a celebratory luncheon on California Nonprofits Day. This year, the June luncheon was canceled in response to the Shelter-in-Place orders, but legislators have moved forward with honoring nonprofits doing great work in their districts. 

According to “Causes Count,” a 2019 report commissioned by CalNonprofits, the nonprofit sector is the 4th largest industry in the state, employing more than 1.2 million people. Each year, California nonprofits generate more than $273 billion in revenue and bring in $40 billion in revenue from outside of California. The unpaid labor contributed by volunteers at nonprofits is equivalent to 330,000 full-time jobs every year.