Established in 1982 as an organization of local community activities, the Chinese Culture and Community Service Center, Inc. (CCACC) has evolved into a major information and services provider of community services for Chinese Americans in the Metropolitan Washington DC area. Its mission is to enrich families through educational, cultural, health, and social service programs, and to promote mutual understanding, awareness, and appreciation of Chinese and American cultures and heritages. CCACC was founded and run by volunteers, and remains an organization largely composed of volunteers today.

The CCACC Adult ESOL program was established in 1988 as a vital tool for integrating non-English speaking residents into the community, especially Chinese immigrants looking to better adapt to their new life in the U.S. The program is especially important to our organization, as nearly all of the staff and volunteers are 1st generation U.S. citizens themselves. We conduct citizenship application workshops in collaboration with the US Citizenship Immigration Service and provide citizenship preparation classes to prepare applicants for the interview process, in addition to conducting career training seminars and workshops to help immigrants seeking to apply for employment. Over the years, the program has grown from one single class to over 20 classes a year today.

Almost 100% of the learners enrolled in our ESOL program are Chinese. We have both males and females (with more females than males) and their ages range from 22 to 75. All of the students come from China, with a handful of them being new immigrants hoping to settle down in the country and get a job.

CCACC employs a vast array of programs to achieve its mission. Aside from the Adult ESOL program, we also run an After-School Enrichment program 5-days a week for elementary school children and operate CLAPS Chinese School on weekends for people of all ages seeking to learn Chinese. The Pan Asian Volunteer Health Clinic (PAVHC) helps low income residents receive medical and mental health care, regardless of insurance status, and free of language barriers. We also have an Adult Day Health Care Center for seniors, providing them transportation to the doctors, as well as the service of on-site nurses 7-days a week. That way, they can come socialize and participate in various activities throughout the week without worry. Our Evergreen Club provides opportunities for seniors to be active within the community, combating the sense of isolation that many of them face. Moreover, we have a Home Care program for those in need of assistance cooking, cleaning, and doing chores around the house. CCACC is also home to a variety of clubs and activities, with everything from arts and crafts, music, dance, martial arts, photography, sports...the list goes on.  Finally, our CCACC Art Gallery hosts the artwork of both local and international, Asian and Western artists throughout the year. There's something for everyone at CCACC - come pay us a visit and we'll show you around!

ZhengYun was in our citizenship preparation class. She was a very hardworking student but was a little shy and nervous about taking the test. However, she passed the test just a few months ago! She came back to share her experiences with the current citizenship class and answered many of their questions. She encourages all students taking the citizenship test not to be afraid to ask questions during the test, and to just do their best.

We are planning on organizing a potluck dinner around Christmas time with our ESOL students. Our students are all on different schedules, making it hard to get everyone together, but we would like to celebrate with our students outside of the classroom and thank them for all their hard work in trying to learn English to get more involved with the community.

Every year, we are always looking for native English-speakers to help with interviews during the preparation period prior to the citizenship exam. We greatly welcome any and all individuals interested in helping!

The CCACC is a great example of the spectrum of providers in our coalition. We partner with organizations that community members trust, that are culturally competent and connected to learner populations.