[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 9, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E174]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             RECOGNIZING THE CENTER FOR CAREER ALTERNATIVES

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JIM McDERMOTT

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 9, 2010

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, today I rise to offer special 
recognition to the Center for Career Alternatives (CCA), a 
presidential-award-winning non-profit agency in the Seventh 
Congressional District. CCA will celebrate three decades of success at 
its 30th Annual Community Awards and Appreciation Banquet on February 
24, 2010. For thirty years, CCA has made good on its mission ``to 
provide the highest quality education, employment, training and career 
development services leading to individual self-sufficiency and self-
worth for a culturally diverse population of disadvantaged youth and 
adults.''
  The success of CCA is due in large part to the vision and leadership 
of its founder and current executive director, Alan Sugiyama. Mr. 
Sugiyama, a third generation Japanese-American, was born and raised in 
Seattle, and is a graduate of Garfield High School. In 1979, he 
observed that many immigrants and people of color were being left out 
of important career opportunities and living wage jobs because of a 
lack of education, training, and connections. He also saw prospective 
employers interested in hiring a diverse workforce frustrated that they 
had to go to a variety of isolated agencies to recruit.
  Mr. Sugiyama responded by creating a multiethnic organization, 
reflecting Seattle's diverse communities, dedicated to helping 
individuals with employment services. From CCA's humble beginnings in 
1979 as a career counseling program with two staff, the Center for 
Career Alternatives now has 43 staff members, who speak more than 20 
different languages, and offers 24 programs across five offices.
  Madam Speaker, annually, CCA serves approximately 1,600 low-income 
youth and young adults who have multiple barriers to education and 
employment. And since 1979, CCA has provided unparalleled comprehensive 
education, employment and training services to more than 28,000 
individuals in King and Snohomish counties at no cost to the individual 
clients. In difficult economic times, like the ones we face today, the 
importance of the Center for Career Alternatives' critical services and 
programs can not be overstated. I extend my thanks and best wishes to 
CCA's Executive Director Al Sugiyama, the board of directors, staff, 
and clients on 30 years of changing lives and creating hope.

                          ____________________