HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The United Cambodian
Association of Minnesota, Inc. (UCAM) is a non-profit, mutual
assistance association formed in January 1993 through the
successful merger of the Khmer Association of Minnesota and the
Refugee and Immigrant Resource Center. Two groups of Cambodian
leaders established these two organizations in the early 1980’s
to address a variety of social services needs of their Cambodian
community members.
The merger resulted in a
comprehensive organization that is able to serve the community
effectively and efficiently by eliminating duplication of
services and competition for funding. UCAM is the only human
service organization in Minnesota dedicated to meeting the
social service and other needs of the state’s Cambodian
immigrants and refugees.
Cambodians comprise a voting
majority of UCAM’s board of directors and the board chair is
Cambodian. Approximately 80% of UCAM’s staff, including the
executive director, is Cambodian. Volunteers are Cambodian and
non-Cambodian, youth, adults and elders. They serve as English
and citizenship tutors, as Khmer arts and language instructors,
as cultural celebration planners, as senior companions, and as
mentors. In 2005, UCAM received 10,163 hours of volunteering
services from 256 volunteers, and in 2006, there were 310
volunteers donated 10,919 hours to help UCAM.
UCAM’s programs are designed
to support the adjustment of refugees and immigrants to American
society, to strengthen refugee and immigrant families, to
provide opportunities for Cambodian Americans and other refugee
groups served by UCAM, and to promote full access for
populations served to the social, economic and educational
opportunities.
UCAM provides its clients with
skills, tools and knowledge needed to achieve long-term economic
independence and successful social integration into American
society while fostering ethnic heritage and cultural
preservation. The five main areas of programming are Elders,
Families, Youth, Health, and Legal Services.
