NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                              Contact:     Mike Wetzel

August 15, 2005                                                                                     (510) 540-7785 x304

                                                                                                                mwetzel@anewamerica.org

                                                                                                                Edwin Rodriguez

                                                                                                                (510) 540-7785 ext. 307

                                                                                                                erodriguez@anewamerica.org

AnewAmerica Graduates Twenty New American Business Entrepreneurs

Berkeley, CA – On September 1^st 2005, twenty new Americans – immigrants, refugees, and new citizens – will graduate with a Business Planning degree from Holy Names University. This graduation ceremony is the culmination of many hours of training, education, and preparation by our dedicated students as they work to launch their dream businesses in order to achieve economic self-sufficiency and move themselves and their families into the middle class.

 The commencement ceremony will be followed by a reception, complete with lively music and ethnic cuisine prepared by AnewAmerica’s microenterprise graduates. The location is Holy Names University’s Black Box Theatre in Oakland, to begin at 6:00 p.m. on September 1, 2005.

AnewAmerica’s Assets for New Americans is the only program in the nation that provides women entrepreneurs and their families up to three years of support in business planning, business training, business coaching, university credentials, technology literacy, financial management, savings incentives (including a 2:1 match on deposits), community networks, and access to markets and capital, all within a framework of social responsibility. We link Business Incubation with Asset Building and Social Responsibility to craft an effective anti-poverty strategy that is responsive to the complex needs of new American women and their families in gaining their economic independence, achieving a better standard of living and ending their disenfranchisement.

“AnewAmerica provides great opportunities and a support group for entrepreneurs. I know I am not alone. There is an organization behind me, and I feel confident.”

- Rimma Ten, AnewAmerica client

AnewAmerica Community Corporation was founded in 1999 by a group of community leaders representing immigrants and community development advocates who saw a continuing lack of integrated job creation, asset development, and community empowerment strategies for low-income new Americans living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Since our inception, AnewAmerica has served over 1300 individuals and has helped our clients successfully launch 24 new microbusinesses, 30 business expansions, and create new jobs for 65 new Americans.

Holy Names University is ranked twelfth in best value and third among Western Colleges and Universities for diversity. HNU provides an atmosphere where perspectives are valued, shared, and shaped. AnewAmerica entrepreneurs who successfully complete business planning, training and coaching will receive a Business Planning Certificate from Holy Names University.

For more information on our Graduation Event or how AnewAmerica helps to promote the long-term economic empowerment of new Americans, log on to www.anewamerica.org.

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    AnewAmerica Community Corporation
1918 University Ave., Suite 3A, Berkeley, CA 94704
Phone (510) 540-7785     Fax (510) 540-7786
Email:  info@anewamerica.org
 

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