2013 December 18 ACA Christmas Gift Drive for Homeless Children
ACA collected donated gifts of clothing, toys, and gift cards for homeless children staying at the Cass Community Social Services homeless shelters.
2013 December 8 ACA High School Achievement Awards Banquet
For the 30th year ACA recognized local high school seniors for their achievements. There were 27 honorees this year and six ACA scholarships were awarded. Click here to see the full recap article written by Roland Hwang.
2013 December 3 ACA General Membership Meeting
Members enjoyed a ligh dinner prior to the meeting at which they heard reports on the organization’s programs and financial status, and elected two new Board Directors, Geck Budd and Jia Zhao.
2013 November 16 ACA Volunteer Recognition Lunch
ACA gave thanks to over 90 volunteers who gave their time throughout the year in support of ACA programs, services, and facilities.
2013 November 9 Affordable Care Act Town Hall Meeting
About 120 people attended this gathering to learn more about the Affordable Care Act and its potential impact on them. The event was presented by ACA, the Michigan Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission (MAPAAC), and Healthy Asian Americans Project. Officials from the Michigan Department of Community Health gave the presentation and answered questions.
2013 October 18 ACA 41st Anniversary Celebration Banquet
About 160 people gathered to celebrate another year of accomplishments. Mr. Andy E. Meisner, Oakland County Treasurer, delivered the keynote speech. Outstanding Counselor Awards were presented to Franky Hang, Jinting Hayter, and Brian Lu. The entertainment included performances by the Michigan Chinese Folk Dancing Group and Latin dancers James Sevilleno and Jenny Remington.
2013 October 18 ACA Senior Club Anniversary Party
The Senior Club members gathered to celebrate eight years together. The seniors had a great time performing dance routines, singing song selections, and acting in humerous skits that they created themselves.
2013 September 19 Mid-Autumn Festival at the Detroit Service Center
Forty-five people gathered for this special lunch to mark the Mid-Autumn Festival, also referred to as the Moon Festival.
2013 September 18 Venture for America Town Hall Mixer
ACA invited the Founder and CEO of Venture for America, Andrew Yang, to discuss the challenges that lie ahead of top college graduates who want to create a startup and the solution VFA can provide by matching graduates with growth companies in reviving cities across the country. A panel discussion including Mr. Yang, Jake Cohen, and Elizabeth Garlow was held to create conversations on how to attract top talents in the Detroit region. These seasoned entrepreneurs shared their insights into the thought process of building great organizations. To see a video clip from this event, click here. (Video by Zoom Detroit studios)
2013 September 14 Moon Festival at the Chinese Community Center
About 100 participants celebrated the Moon Festival with moon cake making demonstrations, entertainment, and purchased moon cakes to take home.
2013 September 8 – 11 Outing to Canada
One hundred ten people went on this 4-day, 3-night trip which stopped in the eastern Canadian cities of Mississauga, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Kingston, and Markham. The sites visited included T&T Chinese Supermarket, the CN Tower and Union Station in Toronto, Parliament Hill, Rideau Hall, St. Joseph’s Oratory, Mont Royal Park, the Basilique Notre-Dame-de-Quebec, Montreal Chinatown, the Olympic Stadium and Biodome in Montreal, a boat tour of the Thousand Islands, and the Pacific Mall outside of Toronto. Everyone had a wonderful time and enjoyed the warm hospitality of our northern neighbors.
2013 August 21 Health Seminar at Detroit Service Center
Attendees of this free seminar learned helpful tips for maintaining their balance and how to avoid falls. Participants from the half-day outing to the Detroit Institute of Arts joined this seminar after enjoying a lunch of Chinese food at the Center.
2013 August 21 Half-Day Outing to the Detroit Institute of Arts
Forty-five people went on this special half-day outing and enjoyed a guided tour of several galleries before exploring the museum on their own. A variety of art forms were viewed including paintings, tapestries, and sculptures. Highlights included many famous works such as Vincent van Gogh’s Self-Portrait and his Portrait of Postman Roulin, Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker, Claude Monet’s The Water Carriers, and the Detroit Industry fresco by Diego Rivera.
2013 July 24 Outing to Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park
About 50 people enjoyed this one-day trip exploring the beautiful gardens and touring the sculpture park at this popular attraction in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
2013 July 15 – August 2 ACA Youth Summer Camp
It was another successful and culturally enriching camp session in Canton. Over the three-week camp, 73 campers engaged in activities such as Chinese painting, knotting & paper cutting/folding, Chinese language/drama, Chinese folk dancing, martial arts, and cooking.
2013 June 24 Affordable Care Act Workshop
AARP Michigan presented this informational workshop attended by over 70 people. Mr. Andrew Farmer from AARP gave the presentation and ACA Board Treasurer, Shung H. (Sue) Sung, provided translation into Mandarin. Mr. Farmer discussed several key aspects of the Act and answered numerous questions from the participants.
To read a longer recap on the event in English, click here. To read a recap in Chinese, click here.
2013 June 9 Comcast Digital Connectors Program Graduation Ceremony
A class of 19 high school students graduated from this program held at the Chinese Community Center. The program started the last week of September 2012, continued throughout the school year, and ended the last week of May 2013. Throughout the course the students were educated in digital, media, and financial literacy with the use of not only a curriculum, but also utilizing EverFi and Cisco to better help the students understand the topics. At the end of both EverFi and Cisco curriculums those students who were able to pass the course were given a certificate of completion. This program also helped improve the students’ leadership, community outreach, and public-speaking skills. As an additional incentive, students who completed the program by meeting all the requirements received a netbook and flip camera. Those students who had an attendance rate of 95% or better were also given a $100 scholarship. In this year’s graduating class, nine students were able to attain the scholarship.
2013 May 4 Mother’s Day Talent Show and Dinner
A large and enthusiastic crowd of about 200 people attended this event. All the ladies in attendance were pinned with red carnations as they arrived. AARP sponsored the event in part. A group of AARP volunteers performed in the talent show and won the award for most creative performance. The 16 acts judged in the talent show included soloists, duets, and group performers. After the talent show, guests enjoyed a multi-course Chinese dinner with cake as dessert.
2013 April 29 Social Security Workshop
About 60 people attended this workshop to learn about optimizing their Social Security benefits. The workshop was sponsored by Transamerica Financial Advisors and presented by Allianz.
2013 April 27 ACA Participated in Comcast Cares Day
ACA, along with 70,000 volunteers across the country, participated in this annual event. Twenty-eight volunteers from ACA packed food donations for the “Kids Against Hunger” project at the Comcast Macomb and Plymouth Call Centers using food donated locally to the Macomb Food Program and the Plymouth United Way.
2013 April 26 Cooking Contest
Six teams competed for prizes in this special event. A variety of dishes were prepared and cooked onsite. The 4-member judging panel rated each dish on taste, presentation, creativity, and nutrition. The audience sampled the dishes and voted for their favorite dishes. All the attendees and cooks enjoyed a lunch of Chinese food after the competition.
2013 April 21-23 Outing to Biltmore Estates in North Carolina
ACA arranged this wonderful 3-day, 2 night trip to visit the beautiful Biltmore Estates in Asheville, North Carolina. Two motor coaches transported the travelers with stops at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens, and the Kentucky Artisan Center.
2013 April 18 Caregiver Support Workshop
ACA’s Detroit Service Center hosted this workshop which focused on easy ways to make smart food choices and to exercise more. There were 28 participants at this free workshop which also included lunch.
2013 March 15 and March 22 Senior Community Conversations
There were 42 seniors who participated in the March 15 community conversation held at the Summit on the Park in Canton and 30 seniors who gathered at the Chinese Community Center to participate in the March 22 community conversation. Attendees discussed topics most relevant to seniors including housing needs, security issues, levels and quality of services available to them. The community conversations were sponsored in part by AARP.
2013 March 11 – April 5 Bedding and Towel Drive for the Homeless
Donated bedsheets, blankets and towels collected at ACA’s Chinese Community Center were given to Cass Community Social Services to be used in their homeless shelters. Click to read an extended recap article in English or in Chinese.
To read a longer recap of ACA’s Chinese New Year Events, click here. To see photos from the Chinese New Year events, click here.
2013 February 23 ACA Lantern Festival
About 400 people attended this free community event to celebrate Chinese New Year at the Chinese Community Center. There were activities and games for the children, Chinese New Year food sales, raffle items, and the entertainment included cultural performances, skits, and dancing. Proceeds from the food sales, activity tables and raffle are going towards ACA programs and services. Organizations such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Michigan Chinese Women Association participated with informational booths.
2013 February 22 ACA Senior Club Chinese New Year Celebration
About 80 seniors were joined by students from the University of Liggitt School at this special gathering to celebrate Chinese New Year. The event was highlighted by a special lunch of Chinese food that included several homemade, hometown dishes brought in by the seniors.
2013 February 16 ACA Lunar New Year Banquet
To ring in the Year of the Snake (or Little Dragon), 230 guests attended ACA’s Lunar New Year Banquet held at Golden Harvest Restaurant in Warren, MI. The program included lively raffle drawings, a ten-course gourmet Chinese dinner, performances by Sean Chen, Hong Wang, members of the Michigan Tai Chi Center, and ACA’s Folk Dance Group. Special thanks to our event sponsors: AARP, Confucius Institute at Wayne State University, CTI and Associates, Inc., and DTE Energy.
2013 February 12 ACA Chinese New Year Luncheon and Open House
This open house event at ACA’s Detroit Service Center which also included a Chinese New Year celebration welcomed about 100 guests. There was a dumpling-making demonstration and tasting along with a lunch of Chinese food.