In lieu of a heritage day festival this year, FCC-SoCal’s Board of Directors has been applying its efforts to the selection of a worthy charitable initiative to carry FCC-SoCal through 2014. One of FCC-SoCal’s stated goals is “To promote the health and welfare of and to assist orphaned, abandoned and other children remaining in China’s social welfare institutions.” Unfortunately, due to a shortfall of volunteer resources, this goal in the last several years has not been met. It’s time to change that.

Please join us by giving your full support to FCC-SoCal’s 2014 charitable initiative – support for the nutritional needs of the Anhui Healing Home through Love Without Boundaries (LWB).

Love Without Boundaries is a non-profit organization providing help to orphaned and impoverished children in China through education, foster care, healing homes, medical, nutrition and orphanage assistance. And LWB's Anhui Healing Home (AHH) was the very first outreach home in China devoted to caring exclusively for vulnerable babies born with cleft needs.

To kick off this nutritional initiative for the Anhui Healing Home, FCC-SoCal will be showing its support through a donation of $2000. While this is a significant donation, collectively we can do more. We ask all FCC-SoCal members with the means to contribute generously to this worthy cause. Please add your donation to this initiative using the link provided by LWB below. Any amount is appreciated and all contributions are tax deductable. Payments can be made using PayPal or credit card.

Kindly make your donation by clicking here.

Together we can make a real difference in the lives of children in China who we hope one day will heal and go on to find their own loving families, just as our own adored children have found theirs.

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The Chinese Cultural Dance Club at UCLA (CCDC) is expanding its Junior Dance Program and its Big & Lil Sisters Program and invites FCC families to participate in a variety of ways.  The program is geared for children/youth (girls & boys) who are entering 1st grade through 12th grade (generally ages 7 to 18).  Interested youth who are entering 7th through 12th grade may audition to participate in a dance with the college students.

Dance Program:  First, the elementary program (for 1st through 6th graders) is at capacity; however, there are a limited number of dance positions open for new dancers in 7th through 12th grade (by audition on October 19 and 20).  Sorry for the short notice, this is a late development.  Contact CCDC Junior Dance Parent Coordinator Jeri Okamoto Floyd [email protected] for audition information and/or if you would like to be on the waiting list for 2014-2015 (2nd through 12th graders).

Social/Cultural Program:  Second, throughout the year, CCDC Big & Lil Sisters will be hosting a variety of social/cultural events open to the Junior Dancers and other FCC kids (this is separate from the Dance classes and performance).  This isn't as formal as the China Care Buddy Program.  If you wish to be on the contact list, please email Jeri (see above).

The Chinese Cultural Dance Club has performed and taught at the FCC-SoCal Heritage Celebrations and several of our children have participated in the program for many years.  Read more about the Club, see photos of rehearsals and learn about the history of the Junior Dance Program in the Spring 2011 CCDC Newsletter available on the CCDC website: http://bit.ly/QesfEm

Click through for full information.

Update: All openings have been filled for this year. Kindly try again next year.

We are delighted to announce that there are a few additional openings in the China Care Bruins Youth Mentorship "Buddy" Program for the 2012-2013 academic year (October 2012 through June 2013).  It is my pleasure to serve as the Liaison between our adoptive families and the China Care Bruins leadership.  Please contact me (and not the China Care Bruins leadership) should you have any questions or concerns about the application process.

Founded in 2005, China Care Bruins is a student-run group at UCLA that raises funds to provide medical services for children in China's orphanages and mentors Chinese adoptees and their siblings.  Last year, more than 50 FCC children and youth were paired with college student “Big Buddies.”  The Buddy groups participate in monthly Sunday afternoon get-togethers on the UCLA campus throughout the academic year.  Visit www.chinacarebruins.org and check out the photo gallery.  During the Buddy gatherings, parents are invited to join in our Parent Roundtables featuring discussions, film viewing, speakers and more on a variety of current events and adoptive family topics.

Since we began collaborating with China Care Bruins and initiated the mentorship program in 2005, it has grown in size and has been recognized as a model mentoring program.  In 2009, China Care Bruins was selected from more than 40 chapters to receive the inaugural Outstanding Community Service Award from the national China Care Foundation for this mentorship program and received similar honors in 2010 and 2011.  For its fundraising efforts and community contributions, China Care Bruins received the 2011 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy Award from Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy and the Asian Pacific Community Fund.

What's been happening in Orange County for the past six months or so?  In October we screened the documentary Talking With the Moon Princess followed by a discussion for girls ages 10+ with the filmmaker Priscilla Hefley.  Thank you Priscilla for joining us and to Christine Friend and all the volunteers who helped organize and run this new event.  In November we held our annual art workshop with teacher Melanie Vogel, where kids created works of art to turn into holiday gifts. Thanks Susan Tschabrun for organizing and to the group that helped out on site. December was Holiday Party time, with another great turnout for this OC tradition.  This event took a village - thank you Jenifer Weigand
for all the advance arrangements and to Michelle Sheehan, Tanya Turro-Vilander, Debbie Kistler, Sandy Draper, Maggie Davenport, Mary Wattenberg, Patty Uy, their families, and everyone else who pitched in on this event. In March we got together for our first Dim Sum Sunday of 2012 and were happy to have several families with babies in attendance. Thanks Christine Friend for organizing. 

If you have photos from any of these past events you'd like to share, please send them to [email protected] and we'll get them posted.

What's still to come in 2012?  A number of OC parents participated in a March planning meeting to outline the calendar for the rest of the year - see attached.  Many of the dates and times are still to be determined, so check your email and www.fccsocal.org for updates as the year progresses.  Up next is a kickoff gathering for the Blazing Paddles dragonboat team on April 29.  Contact Maggie Davenport at
[email protected] for details.

If you have any questions or want to get involved please email [email protected].

Orange County held our 15th Annual Moon Festival Banquet on September 18.  Keeping with tradition, the event was held at Ten Ten Seafood Restaurant in Artesia.

The evening started off with an icebreaker activity, the Moon Festival Legends Game. Each participant received a sheet about the legends and were tasked with finding images related to the legends, e.g. 10 suns, Chang-e, Hou-yi etc.  Each family was given an envelope of images to hand out and the kids had to run around the room collecting images from other banquet attendees.

As always, everyone enjoyed the delicious menu of egg drop soup, honey walnut shrimp, beef and snow peas, tofu and mushrooms, cashew chicken, house lo mein, yang chow rice, and of course, moon cakes.  Dinner was followed by a variety of entertaining and education performances: 

• Martial Drum: Performer Arthur Chen and instructor Rachael Sysiong
• Beijing Opera Master: Kevin Chai
• Lion Dance Instruction: Jonathan Wong

All attendees had the opportunity to try out the instruments and costumes and learn some of the routines first hand.  The evening ended with prizes for the kids - all went home with an adorable stuffed xiong mao, hou zi, tu zi or other animal.

Many thanks to organizers Susan Tschabrun and Debbie Kistler, and the group of volunteers who helped make this banquet a success! Copy and photos for this post contributed by Patty Uy and Jenifer Weigand.

We are delighted to announce that there are a few additional openings in the China Care Bruins Youth Mentorship "Buddy" Program for the 2011-2012 academic year (October 2011 through June 2012). Founded in 2005, China Care Bruins is a student-run group at UCLA that raises funds to provide medical services for children in China's orphanages and mentors Chinese adoptees and their siblings.

China Care Bruins offers a wonderful enrichment opportunity for FCC children and youth to be part of a nurturing and empowering community of adoptee peers and mentors. The leadership and members of China Care Bruins come from a variety of backgrounds (and have many different majors), but are predominantly Asian American students.

The Buddy Program participants meet in monthly Sunday afternoon get-togethers on the UCLA campus throughout the academic year, enjoying crafts, culture, skits, campus tours, field games and more. Through these ongoing interactive activities, the kids and mentors will build their relationship, solidify friendships and develop camaraderie. The kids also witness the fruits of the teamwork, leadership and dedication of the college students who give of their time and talents to produce the program and to be their mentors.

Click through to full post for more information, FAQs and application.

The Chinese Cultural Dance Club at UCLA (CCDC) is expanding its Junior Dance Program and has a limited number of positions open for new dancers.  A flyer is attached, along with a PDF/Word document containing detailed information about the requirements for participation and the application/audition process.  Note that the program is open to children/youth (girls & boys) ages 8 to 17 (as of October 1). Interested youth who are age 13 and older may also apply and audition to participate in a dance with the college students. If you have any difficulty opening the attachments, please contact CCDC Junior Dance Parent Coordinator Jeri Floyd [email protected] and she will do her best to provide the information in another format.

Applications are due September 23, 2011.

Several of our children have participated in the program for many years -- read more about the Club, see photos of rehearsals and learn about the history of the Junior Dance Program in the Spring 2011 CCDC Newsletter (page 7), which is available on the CCDC website.

Come see CCDC members perform at the upcoming FCC-SoCal Heritage Day event.

Click through for the full post and attachments.