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I S S U E 1 7 0
Newsletter Centre de Service Communauté Chinois d’Ottawa
渥太華華人社區服務中心 月刊 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7
Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre
OCCSC is a non-profit,
The Bill Joe Story: Co-Founder of OCCSC
2
OCCSC /Algonquin College Syrian Refugee Graduation
3
AGM Announcement/ Our Radio Program News
4
Summer Camp 5
Volunteer story 6
Mental Health 8
In-TAC 9-10
Settlement Services 11-12
Language Program 13-16
Membership and OCCSC Sponsors
17-20
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Suite 2000 - 400 Cooper Street Ottawa, ON K2P 2H8
Tel:(613）235-4875 Fax:(613）235-5466 www.occsc.org
Radio: FM97.9 Sunday 8-11pm http://occsc.org/渥太华中文电台/?lang=zh
I S S U E 1 7 0 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7
Newsletter Centre de Service Communauté Chinois d’Ottawa
渥太華華人社區服務中心 月刊
Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre
OCCSC is a non-profit,
non-partisan, charitable
organization committed to
advancing the full social and
economic integration and
participation of newcomers,
immigrants, refugees, and
people of Chinese descent in
the City of Ottawa. This is the
42nd Anniversary of the
OCCSC serving the immigrant
and newcomer community.
AGM Announcement 1
OCCSC News 2-3
In-TAC Virtue Job Fair 4-5
OCCSC Chinese Radio 6
Volunteer story 7
2017 Fundraising Gala 8
In-TAC 9-10
Settlement Services 11-12
Language Program 13-16
Membership and OCCSC Sponsors
17-20
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Suite 2000 - 400 Cooper Street Ottawa, ON K2P 2H8
Tel:(613）235-4875 Fax:(613）235-5466 www.occsc.org
Radio: FM97.9 Sunday 8-11pm http://occsc.org/渥太华中文电台/?lang=zh
The Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre (OCCSC) invites all community members to attend our Annual General Meeting.
Time: Wednesday, September 27th,
2017. 5:30pm
Place: OCCSC Office 400 Cooper Street, Suite 2000 Please be advised that there will be voting for elec-tion to the Board of Directors. For meeting minutes, please go to our website: occsc.org/resources/agm-reports
Valid membership is necessary for voting at the AGM. All
memberships purchased are valid for one year from the date of purchase.
The membership fee is $10 ($5 for seniors) which not only helps
to support our programs and services, you also receive our E-Newsletter, and special purchasing privileges at local stores and businesses.
Purchase or re-new membership card, please visit 400 Cooper Street, Suite 2000, in person, or contact our Reception in advance for memberships at 613-235-4875 ext. 161 or 111.
OCCSC 2017 Annual General Meeting
Welcomes You
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OCCSC Executive Director and Senior Manager Met with IRCC Minister
On Saturday August 19th, OCCSC’s Employment Support Department, In-TAC, held a BBQ potluck party for Chinese newcomers coming through the Pre-Arrival Program funded by the Federal Government. Close to a hundred new immigrants attended the party on the bank of Lake Leamy in Gatineau. These newcomers settled in the Ottawa and Gatineau area. Ying Xie, IN-TAC’s senior manager, welcomed the newcomers; Wanling Ma, the settlement counselor, introduced our services, and long-time Chinese immigrants also shared their tips and advice. The speeches won warm applause. The two groups of people, the new-comers and In-TAC, who had communicated
on social media, phones and emails, finally met face to face in Canada. Many newcomers, for the first time in their lives, experienced a Canadian BBQ and potluck party while the children enjoyed face painting in the park. In-TAC also distributed survey sheets and asked for suggestions to improve the services. These newcomers had received In-TAC’s pro-fessional services before their landing, from preparation to job search techniques, and they continue to receive help from our Centre’s services after landing. Some newcomers, under In-TAC’s services, have already found jobs.
In-TAC Newcomer Welcoming BBQ
The Executive Director of OCCSC, Sharon Kan, and Senior Manager Ying Xie were invited to meet with the Minister of IRCC and two IRCC Director Generals to make a presentation about their services and suggestions regarding immigration policies. We suggested changes; improving sponsorship time, helping with clients from Quebec, offering more language classes as well as helping International students.
We also introduced our employment support services and future plan. The Minister noted our suggestions and promised to improve waiting time for immigration applications. They would also like to learn about more successful stories. The meeting was very useful. As always, OCCSC will follow up and work with other agencies to improve our services for all newcomers.
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In our “Canada 150” Radio Program partnered with Ottawa’s Beijing Association, financial personnel Wensheng Peng discusses all about Canadian economy in our studio. (photo: host Yi Jiang, Lily with Mr. Peng)
Canada 150 Radio program introduced the history and the different aspects of Canadian Law. (photo: Lawyer Haiyan Zhang, host Yi Jiang and Jiong Tu)
OCCSC News
Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre participated in the 4th annual Palestinian Festival in Ottawa, a three-day celebration of Palestinian culture. The festival was held at Marion Dewar Park at Ottawa City Hall from Friday, August 25th to Sunday, August 27th, 2017. Although the Ottawa’s Palestinian-Canadian festival was a landmark event showcasing the cuisine, language, music, fashion and dance of the Palestinian Canadians, but at the same time it was an
occasion for multicultural performances and for constructing bridges of communication between different cultures that serve as a powerful tool for nesting better integration ties especially between newcomers living in our lovely national capital. OCCSC had a big booth where all services to newcomers were promoted and especially the special services for Syrian refugees program SSRP. A large group of people registered for language training, employment support and settlement services.
OCCSC Summer Camp 2017 wrapped up the end of August and was a great success. The Camp focused on drawing, reading, crafting and circle time attracting a large number of newcomers. Photo: The Ottawa Public Library’s worker periodically visits our childcare centre and reads new books and tell stories for the children.
August in Our Radio: FM 97.9 Sunday 8-11pm
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In-TAC’s 3rd Virtual Career Expo Connects New Immigrants with Canadian Employers
It is easy to access and free for job seekers and employers
The International Talent Acquisition Centre (In-TAC)’s Pre-arrival Services Program, in partnership with Immigrant
Services of Calgary (ISC) and the Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia (ISSofBC), is hosting their third Virtual
Career Expo to connect Canadian employers with international talent. This free virtual hiring event will run September 21
and 22, 2017 at www.in-tac-expo.com. Job seekers are encouraged to pre-register on the website. Registration will be open
until September 20, 2017.
Since its inception last November, the Virtual Career Expo has drawn a total of 56 Canadian employers and 1,800
international professionals from over 60 countries, including China, India, and the Philippines – the top three source
countries for immigrants – as well as countries on all other continents. We are excited to announce that some of our
pre-arrival program clients arrived in Canada with job offers in hand due to having participated in our Expo.
Leveraging our technical resources and experience with the employer networks we have cultivated, we are committed to
making this event one of best and biggest in Canada. In-TAC’s 3rd Virtual Career Expo will feature even more employers,
from a greater variety of sectors, including IT, finance, engineering, HR, administration, and retail. Combined, our
employers are expected to hire over 1,000 new employees in such cities as Calgary, Gatineau, Montreal, Ottawa, Regina,
Saskatoon, Toronto, Vancouver, Waterloo, Winnipeg and more.
The Virtual Career Expo site features a realistic 3-D environment allowing employers to interact with job seekers in private
chat rooms, with the option of conducting video interviews. They will meet qualified candidates from around the world and
get unlimited access to all registered candidates’ job applications. Best of all, this online platform makes it easy for
companies to participate, without the transportation and overhead costs associated with on-site events. It’s also a win for job
seekers, as it allows them to seek employment from the convenience of their laptop, tablet or smartphone, without having to
travel to a crowded hall and wait in long lines to meet recruiters.
“We strongly encourage both parties to take advantage of this free opportunity to expand their staffing and job seeking
strategies,” said Ying Xie, In-TAC’s Senior Manager. “Our hope is that employers will find the talent they are looking for
with no additional cost, and that international talent will find jobs from the comfort of their homes overseas."
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Volunteer Story——Charlotte Li
In the twenty-second year of my life, what I under-stand about helping others is still exists in books. I was raised to be willing to dedicate, and to be a useful person to society, but I do not really know how to put it into action. Being a ideological giant and action dwarf for more than 20 years, the oppor-tunity that urged me to move came. At that time, I had just finished a one-year part-time job, rescued myself from a greasy kitchen and meager wages. I took a summer course, and had a lot of spare time, and I thought I might do something more meaning-ful. A sunny afternoon I hung out with my friend Jessi-ca who told me information about the Ottawa Chi-nese Community Service Center wanting to recruit a volunteer English teacher. This moment was like I was standing in front of a door to a new life. I pushed it and stepped into an exciting journey. I was not always a doer , but at that moment I could-n’t wait to dial out the number. Doreen, the volun-teer coordinator met with me to discuss future de-tails of the work and asked if I would like to be an English teacher and help in the settlement service center at the same time. So I em-braced two surprises to start my volunteer life at OCCSC. The initial job was to help Doreen prepare for the an-nual volunteer party, the job was not so heavy, but the tension into a new en-vironment made me some-what flurried. Fortunately, Doreen encouraged me and guided me in patience, and helped me adapt to the new job very quickly. The volunteer party was held successfully in a month, although I only made a modest contribution, the satisfaction of participat-ing made me continue to volunteer. Since last October, I start-ed to help Lisa, who was responsible for settlement
service, to help data entry. From unfamiliar to skilled, I gradually grasped the corresponding com-puter operations. Although the job is relatively bor-ing, but each work has its importance. Learning is also an important progress of work. Patience and circumspection are my greatest achievements. In future work and life, I may encounter a variety of difficulties. Aside from coping calmly, and patient-ly circumspection will be my best partner. Being an English teacher is a very challenging job. Although I thought about being a teacher when I was a kid, my introverted personality has more or less prevented me from becoming a professional teacher. The first time I stood in front of the class-room, I was nervous and excited, but when I stepped into the classroom, the atmosphere of the whole classroom allowed me to calm down instant-ly. Everyone in the classroom is my elder, but each of them are so approachable and kindly called me teacher Xiao Li. I am willing to do everything I can to help them learn English, and better adapt to life in Canada. Practical English learning is not limited to rigid materials, any common thing, such as a tree, a flower, or a beautiful window scenery can be the object of our study. Learning from life is our
goal, and accompanied by each other is our best harvest. OCCSC is like a home, it is a place where you can stop. Eve-ryone you see here will greet you with a smile. Here is more like the end of trouble, I have seen countless people come here with a variety of problems and doubts, and left with prob-lems solved. Time flies, it has been a year and a half in OC-CSC, the future is unpredicta-ble. The time we accompany and support each other may end one day, but what I learnt from this group and the good memories will always stay with me.
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How Can Yougala Ceeeonnect with Your Teen as Summer
Ends?
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Employment Services
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Settlement Services Workshops Downtown, Ottawa East
Topic Date and Time Location Description
Computer Literacy
September 11,18,25
Monday, 1:30pm-
3:00pm Registration:
613-235-4875 ext.113
Cindy
OCCSC
400 Cooper St.
Suite 2000
Computer Lab
Learn basic Emailing and
Internet
Computer Literacy Group for Newcomers
September 11,18,25
Monday, 3:00pm -
4:30pm Registration:
613-235-4875
ext.113Cindy
OCCSC
400 Cooper St.
Suite 2000
Computer Lab
Learn basic Emailing and
Internet
Practical Eng-lish
September 1,8,15,22,29 Friday, 9:30am-11:30am Registra-tion:613-235-4875 ext.113 Cindy
OCCSC
400 Cooper St.
Suite 2000
Classroom C
Daily Conversations and
understand Canadian
Cultures
How to apply for Citizenship
September 29, Fri-day,10:00am-12:00pm. Registration:613-235-4875 ext.113 Cindy
OCCSC
400 Cooper St.
Suite 2000
Classroom B
Requirements for becoming a
Canadian Citizen.
Immigrants who wish to
apply are welcome.
Citizenship Prep-aration Class
October 13,20,27( 3 sessions) Fri-day,10:00am-12:00pm. Registration:613-235-4875 ext.113 Cindy
OCCSC
400 Cooper St.
Suite 2000
Classroom B
Study for the citizenship test
based on “Discover Canada”
Study Guide. Presentation in
English. Immigrants who
wish to applied or have
Recreational
Activities and Un-derstanding Ca-
Monday, September 11,18: 9:45am-11:45am
OCCSC
400 Cooper St.
Suite 2000
Recreational Activities and Understanding Canadian
Culture
Who we are Monday, September 25: 9:45am-11:45am
OCCSC
400 Cooper St.
Suite 2000
Canada Brief History
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Settlement Services Workshops
Barrhaven
Kanata
Topic Date and Time Location Description
Parents and Kids Group Registration: [email protected]
Each Wednesday 1:30pm - 3:30pm Registration: 613-235-4875 ext. 134
OEYC – Cityview Centre 1099 Longfield Dr. Barrhaven
Information sessions for parents, activities for children: singing, puppet plays, circle time.
Happy Kitchen, Healthy Life
Registration:
Each Friday 9:45am - 11:45am Registration: 613-235-4875 ext. 134
South Nepean Com-munity Health Cen-tre 4100 Strandherd, 2nd Floor Classroom A
Multicultural cooking, health information, making new friends, to understand immigration and settlement information.
Welcome to Cana-da Wednesday,
Sep. 6, 20 9:30am - 12:00pm
South Nepean Com-munity Health Cen-tre 4100 Strandherd, 2nd Floor
Orientation for newcom-ers to Canada. Topics includes: health care, banking, housing, education, employment, etc.
Health Care in On-tario
Wednesday, Sep. 13 10:00am - 12:00pm
South Nepean Com-munity Health Cen-tre 4100 Strandherd, 2nd Floor
What is covered by OHIP, what is not; Ontario Drug Benefit and Trillium Program; Dental care for low-income family
How to use Wechat Wednesday, Sep. 27 9:30am - 12:00pm
South Nepean Com-munity Health Cen-tre 4100 Strandherd, 2nd Floor
How to using Wechat to connect with family and friends and Wechat safety
Kanata Parenting Group
Every Tuesday, 1:30 pm- 3:30 p.m. (613) 235-4875 ext.131 Lisa Hou
Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre
(EYC room)
2 McNeil Court,
Meet other parents and learn about children’s health, education, and community program topics.
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LINC Newsletter, September 2017 LINC at OCCSC is back, after summer break! August was a busy month, even without most classes in recess – however, our 3 LINC classes for Syrian refugees had only a 2-week break and were back in full swing! We also worked, as always, on the registration of new students and provided three very successful courses, English Beginner, Low and High Interme-diate, attended by students from all over the world. We will offer these courses again in September 2017, so if you want to register, please call us as soon as possible (613-235-4875, ext. 126/128/142). All three are 8-week courses, twice a week (please see corresponding flyers for more information). Our Language Program is excited about a continuation of the culinary courses for newcomer Syrian refugees, after a great success the first one proved to be. Fifteen new Syrians will be enrolled in the new course, which will start sometime in September, for 13 weeks. Please find a testimonial of one of the first graduates below.
“It was a great chance, experience and honour for me and my wife to attend the culinary course that LINC program at OC-CSC created. We believe that it’s going to help and impact us in our future in Canada and will open many doors for em-ployment, to prove ourselves in the Canadian society. We appreciate the opportunity and help and our thanks goes to the Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre, especially the LINC manager, Mrs. Snezana Minic and Algonquin Col-lege, for giving us the chance to be part of this experience.” Samir Massoud and Mana Shalghin”
Here is also a (modified) text from the local “Metro” newspaper about our LINC for Syrian refugees: “It is a classroom near Mooney’s Bay; adult students learning English. Today’s lesson is phrases to use while shopping: "Excuse me, where can I find the detergent?’ Or “Sorry to bother you, but can you help me find the yogurt?” Student Marwan Mohammed explained that the lessons were tailored to scenarios in their everyday life and how to respond, part of the LINC (Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada) curriculum. He said: “The learning helps us when we go outside for shopping and the directions help when we want to go by bus or something. It’s so im-portant for us.” The classes are part of a series of programs offered for free by the Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre, through funding from the federal government. The language program (LINC) is not the only one for Syrians that the Centre is managing. Earlier this year, the Centre got together with Algonquin College to offer a special program called Kitchen Skills for New Canadians, a 13-week program that taught cooking and food-handling techniques. Language program manager Snezana Minic said the idea for the food classes came after all of the students who were enrolled in English classes at the Centre made dishes for the annual bake sale in Decem-ber. “Our Syrian refugees, without us expecting anything, since it was pretty much to welcome them, prepared phenomenal cookies and pas-tries and other food,” she said. “We thought that was coming from a restaurant!" Minic, who came to Canada as a refugee herself from former Yugosla-via, thought that tapping into those skills and recognizing their value could help her students land a job. Since the graduation, a few stu-dents have landed jobs in the field and four have gotten together to start their own catering business.” With the Syrian refugees in our 3 classes specifically designated for them and with quite a number of them being in our regular LINC classes (open to all newcomers), we are proud to present a graph that showcases how di-verse our program is, with students coming from many countries (based on the 2016-2
As always, if you want to register for LINC, please note that you first need to have your English assessed at the YMCA Language Assessment and Refer-ral Centre (240 Catherine St., Suite 308; Tel: 613-238-5462) – when you finish the assessment, please ask to be sent to our school, OCCSC LINC. OCCSC LINC class schedule as of September 2017 is as follows: Central location (400 Cooper St., Suite 2000) LINC 1/2 - Monday to Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.* LINC 2/3 – Monday to Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.* LINC ¾ - Tuesday and Thursday, 9:00 to 12:00 p.m.* LINC 4/5 – Monday & Wednesday, 9:00-12:00 p.m.*. LINC 1/2 – Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, 1:00 -4:00 p.m. LINC 3/4 – Monday and Wednesday, 6:00 -9:00 p.m. LINC 1/2 – Monday & Wednesday, 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. LINC 4/5 – Tuesday & Thursday, 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. LINC 5/6 – Tuesday & Thursday, 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. LINC 1, LINC 1/2 & LINC 2/3 – Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. LINC 4/5 & LINC 2/3, Saturday, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. *Childminding is available, for children ages 19 months to 6 years. Buses for the Cooper St. location: 1, 2, 4, 7 on Bank St. and all buses that stop on Slater & Albert St. West Kanata location (2 MacNeil Court): LINC 1/2 - Monday, Wednesday & Friday, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Buses for the Kanata location: 63, 64, 96, 118. South I location (Barrhaven, Walter Baker Sports Centre, 100 Malvern Dr.): LINC 1/2 - Monday, Wednesday & Friday, 9:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Buses for the Barrhaven location: 70, 76, 95, 170, 173, 873. East Location: (1187 Michael St.) LINC 1/3 - Monday to Thursday 12:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.* *Childminding is available, for children age 19 months to 6 years. Buses for the East location: all buses that stop at St. Laurent Shopping Cen-tre Station. South II (Mooney’s Bay) Location: (750 Ridgewood Ave.)* LINC ¾ - Monday to Thursday 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.* LINC ½ - Monday to Thursday 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.* *Childminding is available, for children age 19 months to 6 years. Buses for the Mooney’s Bay location: 87, 290, 640. Our Conversation Circles continue being offered with the following sched-ule: Tuesday, 1:00 -2:00 p.m. Wednesday, 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. Friday, 11:00 -12:00 a.m.
Language Program
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In-TAC Accounting and Taxation Services We offer competitive, flexible packages, a special discount for self-employed and small businesses. Financials and associated reporting Monthly, quarterly and fiscal year-end financial statement Income tax preparation Personal, sole proprietorship, partnership and corporate income tax Government Remittances calculation Amounts for payroll source deductions, EHT, WSIB and GST/HST Accounting software coaching
One-on-one coaching to help you learn day-to-day bookkeeping
Phone: 613-366-1759 Location: 725 Somerset Street West, suite 205 (2nd floor) Ottawa, ON K1R 6P7 Office hours: Monday – Friday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Website: www.intacbiz.ca; www.in-tac.ca
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OCCSC Thanks Our Sponsor
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OCCSC Thanks Our Sponsor
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P A G E 2 0 MEMBERSHIP AND SPONSORS
OCCSC Thanks Our Sponsors
Many thanks to our lifetime members for their support. OCCSC hopes to get more support for the important work of the agency.
Current Lifetime Members:
Hazel Wong Connie Tang
Bill Joe Shek-ho Ching
Friend of OCCSC Wu King Wan
Xian Chun Liang
Benefits of being our Life Member: • Full Tax deductible receipt • OCCSC Lifetime Membership Crystal • Plaque recognizing Life Membership displayed in Board Room or reception • Interview story in OCCSC Newsletter • Acknowledgement in OCCSC Annual Report • Acknowledgement on OCCSC Website • Acknowledgement in OCCSC Newsletter • Vote at the OCCSC AGM • Receive OCCSC monthly newsletter • Discount card at 40+ local businesses
Restaurants Brother Wu Restaurant Jadeland Restaurant Mandarin Ogilvie Rest. My Sweet Tea Sea King Shark Fin Sea-food Sushi Kan Wang’s Noodle House Yang Sheng Rest. Grocery/ Food Store/ Ding Fung Dry Seafood Dumpling Shoppe
Driving Instructors Ottawa Driving School - Ping Sit Driving Instructor
Travel Agencies
Go Trip Midearth Travel Inc. Sunnyview Holidays
Chinese Traditional/ Medicine/ Esthetics/ Naturopath
Asia Aromatherapy Ctr Can-America Life Care Chinese Wellness - Xianchun Liang Grace Massage & Acupuncture Green Apple Acupuncture iBalance Physiotherapy Li, Chunlin (Message therapy) Sunny Esthetics Yan Lu Chinada Tradition-al Medical Centre Ying Lu Acupuncture Chinese Wellness Clinical
Hair Salon/ Optical/ Pharmacy Mei Mei Salon Lisa Hair Salon Tri Optical Somerset Drugs
Homecare and Giftware Global Homeware & Gift-ware Oriental Cham Y-Not Gift Shop Flowers Bayshore Flowers Carling Flowers Dry Cleaning The Dry Cleaning Co. Funeral and Cemetery
安福園
Capital Memorial Gardens Plan ahead! 613-276-3289 Gable Fung 10% Other Daido
书葶艺术工作室
刘嵘注册会计师
Motel Casino
Lifetime Members Benefits of being an OCCSC member:
• Vote at our Annual General Meeting • Have an opportunity to become a member of the Board of Direc-tors
• Receive our e- newsletter monthly • Get discounts from our membership sponsors To become a member, please apply In person. The membership fee is $10.00 ($5.00 seniors )and is valid for one year. More information on Life-time Membership and An-nual Membership, please check our website at www.occsc.org, or contact Doreen Ju at [email protected]
Member Discount Business
