Chinese Six Companies - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (Chinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

: 中華會館 in the West

Western United States

.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...

and Midwest; 中華公所 in the East

Eastern United States

The Eastern United States, the American East, or simply the East is traditionally defined as the states east of the Mississippi River. The first two tiers of states west of the Mississippi have traditionally been considered part of the West, but can be included in the East today; usually in...

) is a historical Chinese Association established in various parts of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

with large populations of Chinese

Chinese people

The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....

. It is also known by other names such as Chong Wa Benevolent Association in Seattle, Washington and United Chinese Society in Honolulu, Hawaii

Honolulu, Hawaii

Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...

San Francisco

Chinese Six Companies (Chinese

Chinese language

: 六大公司) refers only to the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association in San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

The Six original Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Associations in San Francisco were already operating as separate entities with some degree of mutual coordination before the first Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association was formally established in 1882. At the time, San Francisco had the U.S.'s largest Chinese population.

The Six Companies consisted of the six most important Chinese district associations of California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

at that time: the Sam Yup Company, Yeong Wo Company, Kong Chow Company, Ning Yung Company, Hop Wo Company, and Yan Wo Company. Among their early efforts, they attempted to deter prostitution in the Chinese community, to encourage Chinese immigrants to lead moral lives, and to discourage what they described as excessive continuing Chinese immigration creating hostility toward Chinese already in America. In 1875, they endorsed the position that continued Chinese immigration was resulting in a general lowering of wages, both for whites and for Chinese already in America.

---------

New York City

In New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association was established in 1883.

The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA) is the oldest community organization in New York's Chinatown. The parent organization of the Chinese Community Center, the CCBA was founded in 1883 and has represented and served the needs of Chinese Americans in New York City ever since. Historically it has performed a quasi-governmental role in the Chinese community. Throughout its history, business ownership has been a goal of many residents of Chinatown, and has been supported both financially, and through training, by the CCBA. Today there are local CCBA agencies in 26 cities with substantial Chinese populations across North America.

Currently, the CCBA represents the Chinese Americans living in the Greater New York Metro area. Internally, the CCBA is the hinge that keeps the Chinese American community intact and vigorous. Specifically, the CCBA:

Provides social services
Provides personal and commercial conflict resolution and mediations
Promotes Chinese traditions and cultural heritage
Serves as a bridge between Chinese American immigrants and the main stream groups
Promotes Chinese American interests
Engages in charitable activities
Sponsors educational and recreational activities
Sponsors and promotes youth services
Provides and advocates for small businesses

In New York City, the CCBA is an umbrella organization of 60 member organizations representing a cross-section of New York’s Chinese community. They include professional and trade organizations such as the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and the Chinese American Restaurant Association; civic organizations such as the American Legion, Lt. Lam Lau Post; religious, cultural and women’s organizations; fellow-provincial organization such as the Hoy Sun Ning Yung Association and the Lin Sing Association

Lin Sing Association

The Lin Sing Association is a Chinese American organization. The goals of the association are to improve the rights and welfare of its members.-History:...

; and family organizations such as the Lee, Eng, and Chan Family Association.

CCBA spearheaded the move to form the Chinese Voters Federation in May 2004 to encourage qualified Chinese American citizens to register and vote in the 2004 Presidential election, a community-wide effort that produced an increase of 24.2% in the number of Chinese American voters in Chinatown. It strongly supported the formation of the Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corporation, the Asian Job Service Employer Committee and the Greater New York Chinese Community Dollars for Scholars program, all of which benefit the Chinese communities in many important ways.

Immediately following the earthquake and tsunami disasters in south Asia, CCBA led an emergency community-wide campaign to raise much-needed funds for the victims, a drive that raised more than $500,000 for the American Red Cross Emergency Response Fund. In September 2005, right after the Hurricane Katrina disaster, CCBA and Sing Tao Daily joined together and raised $170,000 for the victims.

Recently, CCBA solidified the relations with different City departments and agencies to solve many on-going problems in Chinatown, including insufficient parking spaces, illegal enforcement of parking regulations, confusing sanitation enforcement regulations, etc. Working closely with the NYPD, the NYPD community affairs bureau now hosts monthly seminars on different safety topics at the CCBA. Its efforts have resulted in the establishment of a direct channel to the government without language barriers.

The CCBA also works with many mainstream organizations to provide services to the Chinese American community, such as the Visiting Nurse Service of New York

Visiting Nurse Service of New York

Visiting Nurse Service of New York is the largest and oldest not-for-profit home health care provider in the United States.Lillian Wald, the founder of VNSNY, began making home nursing visits in 1893....

and the American Cancer Society

American Cancer Society

The American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...

. In December 2006, CCBA and the American Red Cross

American Red Cross

The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...

of Greater New York signed a Memorandum of Understanding to coordinate programs in Chinatown that will help prepare and train the Chinese community for any kind of emergency.

The CCBA fulfills its functions by working closely with local businesses and residents as well as by maintaining close contact with Chinese American organizations located throughout North America and integration into the mainstream of American society.

Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of New England

The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of New England, popularly known as CCBA, is a tax-exempt organization establish in 1923. Currently with 35 members consisting of family associations and community organizations, CCBA serves as the umbrella organization for the Chinese communities of New England. Originally located at 14 Oxford Street, it relocated to its current address at 90 Tyler Street in the 1980s when the City of Boston sold the building that was the Quincy Elementary School to CCBA for one dollar.

A president, an English secretary, a Chinese secretary, a treasurer, and an auditor complete the executive board of directors who manage the daily affairs of CCBA with the help of several office workers. Unlike the 43 members of the board of directors who are delegate representatives from member organizations, the 5 members of the executive board is elected by the board of directors biennially.

To fulfill our mission and pledge to the constituents of the Chinese community, the CCBA building is a community center where programs are held to benefit people across the ages. The building comes alive each afternoon as grade school age children and teens from low income families arrive to participate in after school programs managed by the Phillips Brooks House through Harvard University. Three nights a week, the CCBA sponsored Ping Pong Club is in session, providing a setting for exercise and socialization for people with a passion for ping pong. A flurry of activity fills the minutes and hours each weekend as dances from China are taught to children, giving them a glimpse of their culture and a connection to their roots; adults get together to sing and perform excerpts from famous Cantonese operas; classes learn and practice the Yuanji Dance, a combination of martial arts, physical therapy, meditation, dance, and qi-gong exercises for the benefit of mind, body and soul; and the elderly boogie to the music of Saturday Night Live, the Macarena, and the Electric Slide.

CCBA is also home to two family associations, a federal credit union, Chinese and English classes, a magazine and media services group, and the well-known Chinatown Crime Watch program, where volunteers patrol the streets of Chinatown daily to provide the ever-present vigilance needed to keep crime rate at a minimum around the neighborhood.

Besides sponsoring activities, CCBA manages Tai Tung Village and Waterford Place, apartment complexes that provide the much needed affordable housing to the Chinese community. Partnering with Chinatown Main Street and other organizations, CCBA coordinates activities such as the lion dance celebration for the Lunar New Year, the annual August Moon Festival to attract visitors to Chinatown to further economic growth in Chinatown, and hosts dignitary visits to the Chinatown community.
www.ccba-ne.org

Seattle

In Seattle, Washington, the Chong Wa Association was established around 1915. New information however shows that it was already in existence in 1892. (see link below: Chinese in Northwest America Research Committee).

Branches

The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association has several branches in the United States and Canada including in:

Augusta, Georgia
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...

- 548 Walker Street
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....

- 2128 N Street
Boston, Massachusetts - 90 Tyler Street
Chicago, Illinois - 250 W 22nd Place
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

- 2154 Rockwell Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta - 9645 101A Avenue NW
Fresno, California
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...

- 949 Waterman Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...

- 42 N King Street
Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

- 10303 Westoffice Drive
Littleton, Colorado
Littleton, Colorado
Littleton is a Home Rule Municipality contained in Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Colorado. Littleton is a suburb of the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Statistical Area. Littleton is the county seat of Arapahoe County and the 20th most populous city in the state of...

- 1100 W Littleton Boulevard
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

- 925 N Broadway
Marysville, California
Marysville, California
Marysville is the county seat of Yuba County, California, United States. The population was 12,072 at the 2010 census, down from 12,268 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Yuba City Metropolitan Statistical Area, often referred to as the Yuba-Sutter Area after the two counties, Yuba and...

- 226 1st Street
Montreal, Quebec - 112 La Gauchetiere W
New York City, New York - 62 Mott Street
Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...

- 373 9th Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

- 930 Race Street
Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

- 315 NW Davis Street
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...

- 1817 Osler Street
Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...

- 915 4th Street
Salinas, California
Salinas, California
Salinas is the county seat and the largest municipality of Monterey County, California. Salinas is located east-southeast of the mouth of the Salinas River, at an elevation of about 52 feet above sea level. The population was 150,441 at the 2010 census...

- 1 California Street
San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

- 428 3rd Avenue
San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

- 843 Stockton Street
Seattle, Washington - 522 7th Avenue S
Stockton, California
Stockton, California
Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...

- 212 E Lafayette Street
Toronto, Ontario - 84 Augusta Avenue
Vancouver, British Columbia - 108 E Pender Street
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

- 636 Fisgard Street
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

- 510 I Street NW
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...

- 436 Wyandotte Street W

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

San Francisco

New York City

Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of New England

Seattle

Branches

See also

External links