The history and character stories of Fengcheng Overseas Chinese Community 11: "The Jade of the Desert" has many contributions

The history and character stories of the Fengcheng Overseas Chinese Community 11: "The Desert Jade" has many contributions Zhang Zhaohong In the history of the development of the Phoenix Overseas Chinese Federation, it is inseparable from two important women's groups...

Zhang Zhaohong

In the development history of the Phoenix Overseas Chinese Federation, it is inseparable from two important women’s groups: one is the “Desert Jade Woman’s Club” and the other is the Overseas Chinese Women’s of Arizona. The "Desert Jade Women's Club" was established earlier. Its predecessor was the "Desert Jade Young Women's Club". In April 1960, the club had 20 young members. When the club was first established, they carried out activities such as assisting with clearance sales and promoting Chinese food to raise funds. In the Chinese Year of the Tiger, they sell shirts, tea and chopsticks with the Year of the Tiger logo, as well as thousands of egg rolls. The club uses funds raised for charitable projects, including donations to Phoenix's "Thamp Heart" unit, the Glendale Fire Department and the Phoenix Police Department to aid abused children. Funds are also used for the Chinese school opened by the club in 1968 to bridge the cultural and linguistic gap between Chinese and English among school children. Funds are also used to provide scholarships to Chinese students who will attend university. Due to their unremitting efforts, they won the second place in the 1970 GFWC Headquarters "Convention" Award. In 1970, due to the removal of the age limit, the club added a large number of members and was divided into two parts: the "Desert Jade Youth Women's Club" and the "Desert Jade Women's Club". It was not until the early 1980s that the "Desert Jade Youth Women's Club" was disbanded. In 1974, the Desert Jade Women's Club joined the Phoenix Overseas Chinese Association and actively participated in activities celebrating the Fourth of July. Wearing green uniforms, they were particularly bright. They provided food and other services at the venue, awarded scholarships (photos), and provided an interesting game room for young people, which was praised by the overseas Chinese community. In 1976, the Desert Jade Women's Club began to write the booklet "Lotus Pod" about Chinese and American culture, so that the younger generation would have a better understanding of history. In 1983, the Desert Jade Women's Club was responsible for organizing the National Day beauty pageant of the Overseas Chinese Federation for the first time. Within two and a half months, it recruited 6 beauties to participate and trained and rehearsed them. The National Day beauty pageant was a colorful event (photo). Since 1992, the Desert Jade Women's Club has awarded scholarships to outstanding high school graduating Chinese students every year. By 1995, the number has increased to six, and each scholarship is up to 500 yuan. In 1995 and 1996, the Desert Jade Women's Club sold raffle tickets and donated 46,000 yuan in funds raised to the Asian Gallery of the Phoenix Art Museum and to St. Vincent de Paul's free medical and dental clinic. With a donation of over $34,000 to the Phoenix Art Museum, the Desert Jade Woman’s Club became such a well-known sponsor that the name of the Desert Jade Woman’s Club was printed on all media and advertisements that year, and they received awards from GFWC Headquarters from 2000-2002. During 2003, the Desert Jade Woman’s Club donated over $10,000 and over 300 books to Brunson Lixin Elementary School. In 2004, the Desert Jade Asian Gailery Friends of the Arts endowment fund was donated to the Phoenix Art Museum over a five-year period. In addition, the Desert Jade Women's Club completed the second edition of the book "Lotus Bud", which collected many Chinese family customs and traditional culture. In 2005, the Desert Jade Women's Club donated one thousand dollars to provide free legal aid to victims of domestic violence in civil courts. In addition, it provided assistance to eight 8th grade students to help them attend high school. In 2006, a criminal invaded a club member's home and caused physical harm. The Desert Jade Women's Club made a donation to the Silent Witness Fund to Catch the Crime and continues to donate thousands of dollars to the St. Vincent de Paul Free Medical and Dental Clinic. Over the years, the Desert Jade Women's Club has supported the Preservation SunMerc Alliance, whose goal is to preserve historic artifacts and old buildings such as the Phoenix Suns Merchandise Building and 1920's Chinatown relics. The club also donated to the Chinese Culture Summer Camp and the President's Electricity Fund, and continued to provide scholarships to outstanding Chinese students. In addition to its contribution to mainstream society, the Desert Jade Women's Club also actively participated in Chinese community activities. When the Overseas Chinese Federation was established in 1970, Mrs. Deng Chaoji served as the Director of the Entertainment Department and the Hospitality Department of the Overseas Chinese Federation. In 1972, Mrs. Deng Chaobang served as the Western Secretary and the Director of the Food and Cooking Department of the Overseas Chinese Federation. Shim, Fong, Jimong, JaneTang and KatYee participated. These women were the early leaders and backbone of the club. Since the Desert Jade Women's Club officially joined the Overseas Chinese Federation in 1974, the logistics department of the Overseas Chinese Federation has had a lively force. They can be seen actively working on the National Day of the United States and other activities of various sizes every year. In 1998, the Desert Jade Women's Club donated 5,000 yuan for the expansion project of the Chinese Senior Citizens Center. It was one of the organizations that donated the most. Fang Huixian, who had participated in the "Desert Jade Youth Women's Club", and Lu Meilan, who had participated in the "Desert Jade Women's Club", were also elected as the presidents of the Overseas Chinese Federation. From its establishment to the present, the Desert Jade Women's Club has done a lot of good deeds for American society and our Chinese community. It has established an excellent image of Chinese women in mainstream society and has become a bridge between our Chinese community and mainstream society. The photos published in this issue are all in color and have been collected for a long time. They are also very precious. The Desert Jade Women's Club has been active for decades and is still actively contributing to society and the overseas Chinese community. They are the real "Desert Jade" of our Phoenix city.

Desert Jade Youth Women's Club President Katie Yee (1970s) President Lucy Yuen Awarded Scholarship (1980s)

In 1983, the Desert Jade Club organized a beauty pageant, with 6 beauties participating, and Charlene Lum won the championship

"Desert Jade" has actively contributed to society and the overseas Chinese community for more than 40 years (2010)