I. Review of the Association's Establishment
At the beginning of 2023, I made the decision to officially register the Chinese American Parent Association of BCC. One of the motivations behind this decision was the announcement by the Board of Education (BCPS, BOE) of Baltimore County public schools to schedule teacher professional development day on the Chinese New Year in 2023. At that time, my second child was in the twelfth grade, and I was not prepared to establish a non-profit organization. However, the memory of our advocacy at the BCPS Board of Education in 2016-2017, urging public schools to observe the Chinese New Year holiday, was still fresh in my mind. Now that the Board has approved our proposal, if our community doesn't respond, it implies that we are no different from the phrase "扶不起的阿斗" (unable to help someone up).
So, I wrote a letter to all members of the BCPS Board of Education, praising their efforts in promoting diversity in public schools. Soon, I received a reply from Ms. Domanowski, the BOE member representing our Timonium area. Everyone is aware of what happened next. I invited her to visit our Chinese community (BCC Chinese School) and asked her to conduct a simulated interview on public services via Zoom meeting. Through Ms. Domanowski, I learned that the decision to observe the Chinese New Year holiday was made by the previous BOE members before they left office, and the current members were just implementing it. In other words, our speeches at the BOE meeting years ago had a lasting impact, like the flutter of a butterfly's wings on the west coast causing a tsunami on the east coast. As I mentioned in the first article "重新播种" (Replanting) written when the association was just established, the seeds sown casually many years ago sprouted at some unknown time. When I told my children about this, they were deeply inspired.
So, I officially registered the Chinese American Parent Association of BCC in Maryland, drafted the organization's bylaws, applied for non-profit status, opened a bank account, and worked with the association's treasurer, Ye Yong, to establish financial management. At the same time, I wrote articles periodically introducing the philosophy and activities of our organization to the community. The efforts involved are too numerous to mention, but fortunately, many community pioneers recognized our ideas. In particular, Zhou Zhong, the chairman of the association's board of directors, made significant contributions to the construction of the association's public account and website. In the early days of the association's preparation committee, other members, including Jiang Mali, Qiao Ye, Sheng Tian, and Zhu Yanxin, often met to brainstorm and jointly formulated the association's purpose and development plan. Later, Liu Hua also helped design the association's flag and short-sleeved shirts. When we promoted our organization in WeChat groups, many Chinese Americans in BCC responded by contributing money and effort to support us. Soon, the leadership team of our association was formed, including five board members and five executive team members, forming the core team that regularly discussed important decisions online. We also had more than twenty committee members who met online every month (later every two months) to discuss the association's development.
The purpose of our association is to build a strong community, promote the sense of ownership of Chinese Americans in American society, and actively participate in American social practices. Our service targets all Chinese families, including those with children and school-age students, as well as empty nest families. We aim to establish a Chinese community in the United States that follows the principle of "老吾老以及人之老，幼吾幼以及人之幼" (respect for the elderly and care for the young) (to be continued).
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