CMP 1st Greater New York Youth Literacy Award Award Ceremony

🎉 On May 17th, during AAPI Heritage Month, we proudly hosted the 1st Chinese Writing Contest Award Ceremony, celebrating the incredible creativity of young writers in our community! Certificates and prizes were awarded to over 20 exceptional winners, ranging in age from 11 to 30.

💥 With a ground-breaking prize pool of $18,000, this contest was designed to inspire young writers to share their voices and creativity. As the first year of this initiative, we were thrilled to receive more than 80 heartfelt submissions. These exceptional writers expressed their passion through essays, fiction, and poetry—each work a shining example of the vibrant possibilities of Chinese literature ✍️.

A heartfelt thank you to the co-organizers, co-hosts, planning committee, judges, donors, teachers, families, and staff who made this inspiring project possible. Together, we’re building a vibrant community and uplifting young AAPI voices through the power of literature. 🖋️✨

Congratulations to all the winners and participants for making this inaugural contest such a success. Your words not only inspire but also keep the vitality of Chinese storytelling alive and thriving💪.

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  We are excited to invite young writers to participate in the 2024 Greater New York Youth Literacy Award, a unique opportunity to showcase their writing skills, explore Chinese culture, and win prizes of up to $1,000! Organized by CMP, CMP Chinese School, and CMP Collegiate Student Services Center (CSSC), co-organized by CCBA (中華公所), co-hosted by Chinese Culture Art Association (詩畫琴棋會), this contest aims to inspire youth to continue learning and writing in Chinese while embracing their cultural heritage.

  Contest Details:

  • Categories:

    • Essay

    • Fiction

    • Poetry

  • Groups:

    • Youth Group

    • Young Adult/Adult Group

    • International Student Group

  • Awards:
    Prizes up to $1,000!

  • Eligibility:
    This contest is open to all living in New York and surrounding areas, regardless of background, as long as you can attend the awards ceremony in New York City. Whether you are a native speaker or learning Chinese as a second language, we encourage you to participate and express your unique voice!

  • Submission Deadline has been extended: January 31st, 2025

    For full details on how to submit your work, please refer to the event website.

Apex for Youth’s College Success Scholarship (Deadline: March 4th)

Apex for Youth is committed to supporting Asian and Asian-American students through college and easing the financial burden of pursuing academic goals. The Apex for Youth College Success Scholarship is also available to individuals who are not currently enrolled in an Apex for Youth program.

• Up to $10,000 per year, renewable for 4 years

• Eligibility: Low-income youth who identify as Asian or Asian-American
  Please review the descriptions, eligibility criteria, and instructions on how to apply here: Apex for Youth Class of 2025 Scholarships for High School Seniors

• Deadline: March 4th, 2025 by 11:59 PM.

FREE NDA Opportunity Youth Program

The COVID-19 crisis is not over yet. Are you currently not in school AND not working, just staying home and doing nothing? Why not find something meaningful to do and meanwhile earn some money? Our NDA Opportunity Youth Program might be able to help if you are 16-24 years old and want to go back to school or gain employment.

The program will begin on 3/7/22 and end on 6/10/22. Classes will be conducted online during COVID-19.

NDA Opportunity Youth Program

The COVID-19 crisis is not over yet. Are you currently not in school AND not working, just staying home and doing nothing? Why not find something meaningful to do and meanwhile earn some money? Our NDA Opportunity Youth Program might be able to help if you are 16-24 years old and want to go back to school or gain employment. All program activities will be conducted online during COVID-19.

Click here for program flyers.

Train & Earn Program Starts A New Cycle Today!

Our Train & Earn Program starts a new cycle today! Through remote learning, 24 young participants will improve their computer, English reading and writing, and math skills, and get trained on work readiness in 13 weeks. We will also provide assistance on their college and financial aid applications when they successfully finish the program.

Amidst the COVID-19 crisis and despite all the challenges we have been facing, CMP will continue our role as a community service organization!

Good Job, Everyone!

Did you know that our Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) had placed over 600 youths to more than 120 worksites all over the city this year? Today is the last day for most of the SYEP participants (for participants who started working on July 15th will have their last day on August 23rd) and they are heading back to school. We’ve been proud and thrilled to see youths explore their interests and career pathways, develop workplace skills, and simultaneously make their own money during the summer!

Earlier this month, on August 1st, our volunteer photography team visited one of our SYEP worksites, Governor’s Island, and had a great opportunity to observe and see what the summer job was offering to the participants.

Photo credits to CMP Volunteer Photography Team: Ethan Lee, Flora Moy and Kylie Moy

“ From my own experience, I had always perceived internships/summer jobs to be a mundane albeit important time to learn and get a grasp for what the workplace is like. Filling in tables, taking notes, doing menial tasks, etc. It had never occurred to me that an internship could be as dynamic as the one offered by the Friends of Governor’s Island. Even though we had only stayed for a brief period, my photography team and I could immediately tell that these interns loved their job. It wasn’t a monotonous task they were performing behind the scenes — they were front and center, helping out visitors by giving detailed directions, maps and other resources to ensure the tourists’ experience was an enjoyable one”.

- - - Ethan Lee, Volunteer Photographer

Our OSY current cycle's students are graduating today!

Our OSY current cycle's students are graduating today! Congratulations!🎉🎉

- Next step? 
- Let's go to COLLEGE!💪👩‍🎓👨‍🎓💪