Description
The Central Valley Pacific Islander Alliance (CVPIA) aims to cultivate empowering spaces that celebrate Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) identities, strengthen cultural connections, and advocate for our communities.
Our Story
Founded in April 2021 by six NHPI volunteers, CVPIA was established to address urgent needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the creation of the region’s first NHPI vaccine site. Each founder mobilized independently to meet the critical needs of their communities. The overwhelming success of the vaccination efforts led to a community-driven demand for a formal organization, giving rise to the Central Valley Pacific Islander Alliance (CVPIA).
CVPIA is a social justice organization dedicated to serving, advocating for, and elevating Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities based in the Central Valley of California. CVPIA aims to cultivate a safe space for all NHPI identities, while standing in solidarity with other marginalized organizations and communities, through fostering connections to culture and each other, elevating NHPI voices, and providing resource navigation support.
We currently serve more than 1,500 community members in 11 counties across the Central Valley: Sacramento, San Joaquin, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Tulare, Kings, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, Mariposa and Kern.Among the ethnic groups served are Samoan, Tongan, Native Hawaiian, Palauan, Fijian, Chuukese, CHamorro, and Marshallese.
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