On June 11, Verizon Foundation President Patrick Gaston joined Dr. Franklin Odo, director of the Smithsonian Institution's Asian Pacific American (APA) Program, at the Smithsonian Castle in Washington, D.C. to launch two new websites and an exhibition - all supported by a grant from Verizon Foundation.

The APA Program's main website, www.apa.si.edu, will enhance fundraising, outreach and education to more than 14 million Asia Pacific Americans. The HomeSpun website, www.homespun.si.edu, will support the APA's initiative, HomeSpun: The Indian American Heritage Project. The new traveling exhibition called "Exit Saigon, Enter Little Saigon" will open in Fairfax, Va.

"We are proud to partner in this work that uses technology and new media to increase the Smithsonian Museum's outreach and its relevance to the Asian Pacific American community," said Gaston. "The Verizon Foundation is particularly pleased that the information and resources developed for the APA Village site have also proven to be outstanding resources for our signature program for education, Verizon Thinkfinity.org."

During Asian American Heritage Month in May, Thinkfinity featured a wide array of content produced in collaboration with its content partners, including the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, National Geographic and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The APA Program is also leveraging the grant to fund a one-year scholarship-in-residence project. University of Hawaii Professor Konrad Ng will write about how new media can be successfully used to engage minority communities, as it was during the presidential campaign. Ng is the brother-in-law of President Obama and was involved in minority outreach during the campaign.