The Asian American Journalist Association held it's third annual Photo Showcase and Silent Auction at the 20th Street Art Gallery on Tuesday.

The auction benefited student scholarships, journalism training and mentorship programs, according to Chelsea Phua, events coordinator for the AAJA.

"We raised $24,000 last year from sponsorships and auctioning photos," Phua said. "We are hoping to match or exceed that amount."

The photographs were donated by The Sacramento Bee and The Associated Press. Photos exhibited included president Barack Obama on inauguration day and moving images from the Laura Ling and Euna Lee rally at the capitol earlier this year.

"We want to have lots of fun and raise enough money for the programs," Phua said. "We are depending on the generosity of donors and sponsors."

Associated Press photographer Paul Sakuma donated four photos to the auction.

"It's great to know that I can make a difference as a photographer for the next generation of journalists," he said. Sakuma has been donating photos to the cause for 10 years.

"We wanted to get photos that represent whats been going on for the past year hence the inauguration and Lisa Ling and of course animals, everyone loves animals," said AAJA president Judy Lin.

They also had a raffle for a 1988 photo of Michael Jackson that attorney Ernest Chen won.

The AAJA provides scholarships to high school and college students going into all types of media. $3,000 was awarded to two local students in 2008 and a total of $126,750 was awarded across the nation.

"As a founding member our goal was to bring together the Asian journalists but we ended up getting life long friends out of it," said News10 anchor Sharon Ito. "And its great to see students come full circle from the beginning to a career."

AAJA also provides workshops to help further students careers in journalism.

"I've been a board member since 1995 and I started as a student at UC Davis and AAJA really helped me get my foot in the door," said Pamela Wu, former KCRA news anchor. "They really believe in everyone and want to help aspiring journalists."

According to Phua, workshops and scholarships aren't restricted to Asian Americans, they are for all aspiring journalists.

"We have professional journalist come and look at students resumes and clip books and give them advice on what to do next," Phua said.

To apply for scholarships and receive notifications about upcoming workshops and fundraisers visit the AAJA Sacramento Web site.