SBCC Pagoda Post Newsletter - January 2024 Edition Rev2

Pagoda Post January 2024 Edition

President’s Message

Happy Lunar New Year!
恭喜發財!

For 2024, we honor the year of the Wood Dragon, which symbolizes strength, luck, honor, and success along with growth and creativity. May all your endeavors grow like wood branches and may all your successes be as exalted as the dragon's reverence.

I welcome you to join our various annual SBCC events this lucky year, from the Chinese New Year banquet to the widely-attended Scholarship Banquet honoring numerous local graduating high school seniors. As our non-profit organization continues to increase with longevity, I look forward to celebrating many of our events together as a strong community.

May you all have continued good luck, health, happiness, and prosperity during this Lunar New Year.

Dr. Clifton M. Der Bing,
President, South Bay Chinese Club

2024 SBCC Chinese New Year Dinner Celebration

In 2024, the Chinese New Year will fall on Saturday, February 10, 2024.

SBCC will be celebrating the 2024 Lunar New Year (Year of the Dragon, 4722) with our traditional Chinese New Year Banquet at the Mayflower Restaurant in Milpitas on Saturday, March 2, 2024, 6pm.

RSVP deadline is Saturday, February 24, 2024.

This event is open to all SBCC members and their family and friends.

Click HERE or the 2024 logo to go to the Chinese New Year Celebration page to view the menu and to make your reservations.

This is a very popular event hosted by the Club annually and usually sells out before the RSVP deadline because of limited seating. We recommend that you make your reservations early.

The 2023-2024 SBCSC Scholarship Program

The 2023-2024 SBCSC Scholarship Program is now accepting applications. This is our 54th year of awarding scholarships to local high school graduates. Graduating high school seniors with a personal background in or appreciation of Chinese or Chinese-American history, culture, heritage, or language are eligible to apply. Applicants must reside or attend high schools in Fremont, Newark, or Union City unless parents or grandparents are members of SBCC in good standing.

Please click HERE to go to the “2024 Scholarship Information” page on the SBCC website for more details and to request a link to the online scholarship application form. The application must be received by January 31, 2024. Once the application is accepted, the student has until February 23, 2024 to submit all remaining documents (student essay, transcript, etc.)

The minimum individual scholarship award amount is $1,000.

The 2024 Scholarship Awards Banquet will be held on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, at 6 pm at Pearl Bay Restaurant, Fremont.

Scholarship Donations

There is still time to make your tax deductible charitable contribution to support our 2023-2024 scholarship program. People donating $1,000 and up have the option to sponsor a “named” award of their preference and the award recipient will be selected based on that specific criteria.

During the 2022-2023 school year, with the generous donations from our members and major sponsors, we awarded a record total of $46,375 in scholarships to 28 students. For the 2023-2024 school year, with your help, our goal is to generate an equal or higher amount for our scholarship fund. Please click HERE to go to the Donate page of the SBCC website.

The 2024 Scholarship Awards Banquet

The 2024 Scholarship Awards Banquet will be held on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, at 6:00 pm at Pearl Bay Restaurant, Fremont. Please mark your calendar as this is one Club event you do not want to miss.

More information will be available on the SBCC website and in the February issue of the Pagoda Post.

Year 2023 in Review

2022 was a recovery year as the Club resumed some of its annual community activities (such as the Scholarship Award Banquet and the Elders Dim Sum luncheon) that were cancelled due to the pandemic in early 2020. In 2023, we resumed all our annual Club events, including the Chinese New Year Dinner Celebration and the annual Club BBQ/Picnic. Our social and community committee even added a couple of new events, the Joong (zongzi 粽子) making hands-on seminar and the National Women’s Day luncheon.

Below is a summary of the 2023 SBCC/SBCSC Year in Review.

2023 Chinese New Year Celebration

On February 10, 2023, we welcomed the “Year of the Rabbit” with a delicious 9-course dinner at the Pearl Bay Restaurant in Fremont. This marked our return to the traditional Chinese New Year celebration since 2019.

Click HERE to view more photos taken at the event.

2023 Scholarship Awards Banquet

The 2023 Scholarship Banquet was held on April 19, 2023. We awarded a record total of $46,375 in scholarships to 28 students. The keynote speaker was Randy Lau, founder and content creator of ”Made With Lau”, a successful YouTube Chinese Cooking channel with 4.5M subscribers.

Click HERE to view more photos taken at the event.

Joong (zongzi 粽子) Making Hands-on Seminar

Return of the Joong (zongzi 粽子)!

It has been many years since the club held this popular free event (just pay for the materials and you can keep and eat everything you’ve made!) On July 23, 2023, a group of our members had a great time learning how to wrap their own joong stuffed with their favorite fillings.

Joong is eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival which falls on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month. Although we are a little late to observe this “festival”, it is nevertheless an important cultural event and a unique culinary (and tasty) art that should be preserved.

Celebrating National Women’s Day

On August 9, 2023, a group of our women members met for lunch at Jack’s Restaurant in Fremont to acknowledge the National Women’s Day.

This is the first time SBCC has celebrated this event and based on the positive reactions of those who attended, this may become an annual event on the club calendar.

Annual BBQ and Potluck

On August 28, 2023, members and friends enjoyed a BBQ/potluck luncheon at Carlton Senior Living in Fremont.

This was another “welcome back” event that had been cancelled for several years due to the pandemic and the difficulty in securing a facility to host it. Members were invited to bring dishes to share and the great variety and abundance of food was enjoyed by all.

Click HERE to view more pictures taken at the event.

Elder’s Dim Sum Brunch

On September 15, 2023, we honored our elders (age 80+) with a dim sum brunch at the Pearl Bay Restaurant in Fremont. Some of the honorees were over 90 years of age!

Click HERE to view more pictures taken at the event.

2023 Holidays Celebration

South Bay Chinese Club, (SBCC), Citizens for Better Community (CBC), and Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association (APAPA) co-hosted the annual Holiday Celebration to bring love and joy to the residents at Carlton Senior Living in Fremont on Saturday, December 16, 2023. The Holiday Celebration featured the amazing Dream Achievers Band (Musicians with Autism), and a children’s choir from Music Land School of Music in Fremont.

Click HERE to view more pictures taken at the event.

Members in the News

Brandon & Theresa Sabado welcomed baby Katherine Vera Yim-Sabado on Saturday, September 30.
She is the first grandchild of Randy and Gerry Low-Sabado.

Brandon is a recipient of a SBCSC Scholarship in 2001.

Randy is a former SBCC President (2015-2016).
The late Gerry Low-Sabado is also a former SBCC President (2005-2006).

Dr. Trisha Wong, a 1993 SBCSC Scholarship recipient, and one of her patients discussed new treatments for Sickle Cell Anemia in an interview titled “Salem teen and a doctor share hopes and concerns around new treatments for sickle cell disease” on the Oregon Public Broadcasting Station on December 15, 2023.

Dr. Trisha Wong, daughter of Aaron (current SBCSC President) and Maelene Wong (former SBCC Treasurer), is a pediatric hematologist/oncologist at Oregon Health Science University (OHSU).

Click HERE to read the article and a transcript of the broadcast.

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