CSA members gain strong social and management skills through organizing events. Friendships formed are often long-lasting.
CLASS collaborates with various institutions, both locally and nationally. This allows CLASS to serve a greater diversity of students. CLASS is proud of the articulation process it has provided between high school and college Chinese teachers.
Education
The Society provides an environment where students from different backgrounds can come together to share their Chinese and American cultural and societal experiences. It is also a place where members can learn about and discuss current issues that affect the community. The Society has a number of historic accomplishments, including assisting in the preparation of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Lau vs Nichols and combating the racial profiling and incarceration of Dr. Wen Ho Lee, as well as establishing bilingual education provisions in San Francisco public schools.
The CSAUS helps promote the long-term development and sustainability of Chinese language and culture education in the United States by providing leadership to member associations. It serves to provide a platform for exchanging teaching ideas, expertise, experience, and materials, and provides professional service to the Chinese teaching field.
The CSAUS also supports teachers by offering professional development opportunities, such as workshops, seminars, and conferences. In addition, it offers the opportunity to participate in a summer study program in China.
Culture
The Association provides a place for Chinese students to build community and learn more about their culture and history. This is done by hosting events and collaborating with local organizations.
As a non-profit organization, the Association offers its members opportunities to grow and learn in a safe environment. This includes academic forums, holiday celebrations and cultural activities.
It also supports scholarship and research in the field of Chinese studies. This includes topics framing comparisons of aspects of Chinese history and culture with those of other nations and civilizations, as well as research on their interaction.
It also supports young Chinese and foreign youths’ cultural exchange through projects such as the China International Youth Arts Festival, Young Artists Project, Oriental Express and Visiting China with Young Culture Messengers. The Association also aims to promote the development of cordial relationships between the United States and China. It does this by bringing together Chinese and American dignitaries, officials and business leaders.
Charity
The Association offers a wide variety of charitable programs. These include helping people in poverty stricken areas achieve self-sufficiency, promoting rural economic development and encouraging the youth to participate in charity work.
It has worked with a Hong Kong university to help students in ethnic minority areas afford tuition to attend university. It also organized a program to allow its members to volunteer teach in China. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it helped families and other nonprofits in Brooklyn get through hard times together.
Chinese government officials are selective about what organizations can maintain charitable status and often exclude those engaged in advocacy. Those factors have created significant problems, including registration bottlenecks; overly strict and sometimes overly loose enforcement of existing laws; mismanagement of charitably-funded emergency assistance; and fundraising confusion and difficulties. In light of this, reformers have hoped that the revised Charity Law would relieve many of these problems by reducing direct government regulation while allowing charities to govern themselves through internal disciplinary measures and stronger self-regulation.
Social
When Chinese students study in universities abroad, they tend to form Chinese Student Associations (
The China Association has also conducted significant social work research. It has convened four Mainland-Hong Kong social welfare seminars and three China social work forums, and compiled two major research projects: “Civil Affairs Work and Social Management under the Socialist Market Economy” and “Role and Function of Nongovernmental Organizations in the Professionalization of Social Work”.
The Health Essential Association helps at-risk Chinese American and immigrant seniors gain access to social services including food stamps, health and life insurance, and housing. It also serves as a bridge between healthcare institutions and the community to enhance two-way communication on healthcare issues. In addition, it promotes disease prevention and raises awareness on health issues.