On Saturday, Oct 22nd we invited attorney Linus Chan from DePaul University to answer people's Citizenship questions at Chinese Mutual Aid from 10am-12pm. 40 people attended this very informative and helpful workshop.

The teens at the Multi-Cultural Youth Project this past year focused on telling their stories about immigration.  This video tells the moving story of an immigrant teen and his mother as they adjust to life in the U.S. 

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".:

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.

Protect your self and your loved ones.
Get your seasonal flu shot this fall.

Please see the attachment for date and location.

** People who got the 2009 H1N1 (pandemic) influenza vaccine, or had pandemic flu in 2009, should still get the 2010-2011 seasonal influenza vaccine.

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.

On March 3^rd, The Golden Age Club of Chinese Mutual Aid Association held a physical therapy class for seniors. About 90 people attended this event and learned about the importance of taking care of oneself.

February 20, 2010, the Chinese Mutual Aid Association hosted their annual Chinese New year Celebration at Truman College. The event was opened with a Lion Dance performed by four young men from CMAA’s very own Youth Department known as the Lion Dance Troupe. The Lion Dance is performed at the beginning of an event to ward off evil spirits and also to bring good luck and fortune throughout the day.

Pei-hwang Shen, Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago, made his first visit to the Chinese Mutual Aid Association on February 11, 2010.