Bringing the Malden community closer together throughout the years, the Chinese Culture Connection (CCC) continues to mark its place in Malden.
The CCC is a non-profit organization originally founded in Reading, MA, in 1985. It relocated to Malden in 1999 in hopes of supporting the growing Asian community and promoting intercultural harmony. “Through our East Meets West Initiative, we provide educational programs, cultural events, and community services that empower individuals and promote intercultural appreciation,” stated Jonathan Dong, the program coordinator of the CCC.
The CCC fits hand-in-hand with MHS and Malden Catholic High School students, with their Youth Leadership and Mentorship Program (YLMP) consisting of student leaders from both schools. In note of this, Dong believes that the YLMP “engages young leaders in community service, advocacy, and personal development, equipping them with the skills to create meaningful change in their communities.”
In hopes of providing volunteer opportunities to students, Dong also meets with the MHS Key Club members during their biweekly meetings to announce certain volunteering opportunities provided by the CCC. Additionally, the CCC has hosted various events to help unite the Malden community, such as the Thanksgiving Potluck on November 23rd. Showcasing their everlasting determination to help Malden grow, the CCC hosted its first-ever Gambling Disorder Screening Day on March 11th at Malden Center Station. This event was hosted to “engage the community, educate people about gambling risks, and connect individuals to resources,” mentioned Dong.
Gambling Screening Day is a national annual day on the second Tuesday of March, tying into Problem Gambling Awareness Month. This month raises the well-needed awareness about gambling-related harms while encouraging the early detection of gambling problems.
Prior to the event, Dong reached out to members of both the YLMP and Key Club with an invitation to participate. Those who were interested attended a Zoom meeting to receive training about conducting screenings for the event “using the Brief Biosocial Gambling Screening test (BBGS),” Dong explained, adding that these volunteers “played a key role in educating the community and conducting the screenings.” In planning the event, CCC took a multifaceted approach. . “We reached out to Malden Center MBTA Station, and they kindly allowed us to provide free gambling screening services for the Malden community,” Dong avowed. “Once the location was secured, we prepared informational materials and giveaways, supported by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Office of Problem Gambling Services and the Division on Addiction at Cambridge Health Alliance.”
The various aspects of planning played a major part in the event’s success, as there were over 150 participants. Respondents who took part in the survey received gifts from CCC as a thank-you.
Recalling the success of the event, Dong felt that the event “effectively provided crucial information on gambling risks and shared available support resources.” Many student volunteers felt the same way, such as sophomore Sofia Vargas, who expressed how “the event was pretty successful as all the volunteers, including the event organizers, seemed to get a decent amount of survey responses.”
The results of the surveys help raise awareness, improve future screening and prevention trends, assess gambling-related risks, and much more as all the information is collected anonymously.
The CCC plans to continue hosting this event annually in order to raise awareness about this issue that affects many individuals globally. To find out more about the CCC and its upcoming events, visit their website.
