Chinese Mutual Aid Association

Tam Van Nguyen, CMAA's Financial Literacy Instructor, has helped hundreds of Vietnamese businesses get started in Chicago. This used to be his paid job. It isn’t anymore, but people in the community still go to him for help.

Nguyen says the license forms are pretty simple. The problem is that they’re in English. In fact, the only foreign language that the city offers the forms in, is Spanish. So Nguyen helps Vietnamese entrepreneurs fill the forms out in English, and then he has to coach them on what to do when they bring them to the city.

CELEBRATING THE YEAR OF THE RABBIT! Chinese Mutial Aid Association(CMAA) celebrated the New Year on Saturday, February 5, 2011 at Truman College. The snowy conditions could not stop members of the community and throughout Chicagoland came out to celebrate this grand occasion.

During the event, our Lion Dance troup performed the traditional custom of "cai ching" (採青), literally means "plucking the greens", a quest by the 'lion' to pluck the auspicious green normally 'vegetables' like lettuce which in Chinese called 'cái'(菜)that sound like 'cái'(财)(fortune) and auspicious fruit like oranges tied to a "Red Envelope" containing money; either hang highly or just put on a table in front of the premises.

The "lion" will dance and approach the "green" and "red evelope" like a curious cat, to "eat the green" and "spit" it out leave it in a nice arrangement, like a auspicious character but keep the "red envelope". The lion dance is believed to bring good luck and fortune to the business and the troupe is rewarded with the "red envelope".:

While much of Chicago is closed because of the snow storm, Chinese Mutual Aid Association(CMAA) is indeed open today, February 2.  We suggest that you call before coming, because we will have limited services today since many of our staff members could not make it through the snow.  CMAA will close at 5:00 p.m today, and all evening classes and programs will be cancelled.  Also, there will be no after-school program.

CMAA will be closed on February 3 for Chinese New Year.

CMAA will close today, February 1, at 5:00 p.m. due to the expected blizzard that is about to hit Chicago.  All evening classes and services are cancelled for today.

CMAA plans to be open tomorrow, February 2; however, we suggest you call before coming in case we have staff members who cannot make it to work due to the blizzard.

CMAA will be closed on Febrary 3 to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Happy New Year!

Chinese Mutual Aid Association is hosting its Chinese New Year Celebration of the Year of the Rabbit on February 5, 2011 at Truman College, 1145 West Wilson in Chicago (See attached flyer for more details). 

The event will include our Lion Dancers, Cultural Dancers, a Folk Dancer and other entertainment.   We expect Mayor Daley to attend the event in his final year as Mayor.  Tickets are $8.00 for adults and $4.00 for children under 12.

CMAA is delighted that we will be the placement site for a volunteer from China for two months. Ms. Leiming Wu, a professional writer and editor from Shanghai will be with us October 24-December 24, helping us with updating some of our print and online information, including working on our new website. Leimiing comes to us through CIP , the Council of International Programs (www.cipchicago.org), a not-for-profit organization that recruits and places professionals from around the globe for work-based training in the Chicagoland area.

Host family living is an important component of this exchange program that fosters international and cross-cultural understanding! CIP's host family resources are currently stretched because of a large influx of volunteers

Would you be able to host this young woman for three to eight weeks or longer in your home? Hosting has the potential to give an enriching experience that the hosts and the guests will cherish for life.

If you are able to host Leiming, please contact Steve Brunton at 773-784-2900, steveb@chinesemutualaid.org;  or the Executive Director of CIP, Dr. George Palamattam, gp@cipchicago.org, 630-359-3393.

It's time again for the Golden Age Club's Super Senior Program . This event will be held on September 30th at Chinese Mutual Aid Association located at 1016 W Argyle in Chicago, IL from 9:30 am until 2 pm. This event is open to all community citizens who wish to obtain a driver's license, renew their current driver's license, or take a written driver license examination (offered in Chinese as well as English). Vision screening tests will also be administered.

Chinese Mutual Aid Association held its Mid-Autumn Festival at Furama Restaurant in Chicago on September 21st. Over 300 people attended and had a great time. Singing, dancing, and enoying good food were among the many things at this event. Johnson Wong welcomed all in attendance and thanked everyone for coming to the event.

The Golden Age Club will host it's Mid Autumn Festival to be held on Tuesday, September 21st. It will be held from 10 am until 2:30 pm and will be located at Furama Restaurant. The restaurant is located at 4936 N Broadway Street in Chicago.

This event celebrates birthdays for those who are born between the months of July and December. There will be cake, music, singing and gifts provided for all. There are raffle tickets for sale at the event. Tickets for Golden Age Club members are $12 each while tickets for non-members are $19 each.

Come out and attend Mayor Daley's Senior Fest on August 18th.
The event will be held at McCormick Place North Building. This year's event will have room capacity for 8,000 City of Chicago seniors.