10.20.2023 CCACC Board Member Paul Li Receives the Golden Lantern Community Award
Mr. Paul Li, the founder of the Calvin J Li Memorial Foundation, is a current Board Member of the Chinese Culture and Community Service Center (CCACC). He turned the pain of losing a child into great love and devoted himself to improving the well-being of Asian American children in immigrant families and creating a more supportive environment for them to grow and thrive. At the same time, he actively promoted the participation of Chinese American citizens in the community development. Mr. Li's unremitting efforts not only received a lot of response, support and recognition, but also won the 2023 Golden Lantern Community Award.
The award ceremony was held grandly
The 2023 Golden Lantern Awards Ceremony was held grandly at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on the evening of Friday, October 13th, with many guests. Under the careful planning and arrangement of the organizer, Chinese American Museum DC, the atmosphere of the venue was warm, touching, and lively. Coupled with the reverberation of singing and playing music, the attendees experienced "an evening to inspire" which was the theme of the ceremony.
There are four winners of this Golden Lantern Community Award. One of them, Paul Li has experienced unspeakable pain in life. He established the Calvin J Li Memorial Foundation for his beloved son. He stated on his website: On June 25, 2015, we lost our dear son, Jiaxin Li. The car he was riding in had an accident, and he lost his young life in the car accident. He died less than two months after celebrating his eighteenth birthday. To commemorate his short life, we established the Calvin J Li Memorial Foundation to support ministries that are relevant to him and that he cared about.
In the program brochure of the 2023 Golden Lantern Awards, there is a statement: the foundation was established in 2015 to commemorate his son who died in a car accident one month after graduating from high school. Overcoming unspeakable pain, Paul Li and his family established a nonprofit foundation focused on promoting the well-being of Asian American children growing up in immigrant families. The Foundation's mission is to help bridge the cultural gap between parents and children, increase awareness of children's emotional health, and create a more supportive social and family environment for children to grow and thrive. In 2016, the foundation established a research endowment to support Asian American research at the University of Maryland.
A call to advance a common mission for future generations
In his speech at the award ceremony, Paul Li, who has always been modest, thanked the Chinese American Museum DC and praised it for becoming a cultural ambassador for Chinese Americans, enhancing everyone's understanding of the experiences of Chinese Americans, and raising people's awareness of Chinese Americans who contributed to the United States.
Mr. Li said that "Our unique experience really positions us well to BE the culture bridge, to tell our interesting stories, to enrich America with our splendid culture, and most importantly, to pass on this great culture heritage to the next generation and the generations after. We need to teach our children that they don't have to give up their culture heritage in order to become an American. They don't have to choose between being an American and being a Chinese. They CAN be both. And that's what's so beautiful about America (pun intended. America in Chinese means beautiful country)."
He noted "These are important tasks in front of us. With the help of organizations like CAMDC, we can together build a more vibrant Chinese American community."
Mr. Li's expectations echo his sentiments on the Calvin J Li Memorial Foundation website's Chinese page: Jiaxin Fund should not be our personal ministry, but should be the ministry of our entire Chinese community. Jiaxin has left us, and no matter what we do, we can't bring him back. But in our community, there are many children like Jiaxin. They long for our understanding and need our support. For their future, let us work together. No more silence, no more indifference, for our children! The website of Li Jiaxin Charity Foundation is https://www.cjlfoundation.org/
Paul Li came to the United States from China in 1991. He became a Christian in 1992. He has served in multiple churches and Christian fellowships, and taught in church Sunday schools. He also serves on the board of directors of United Chinese Americans, a non-profit organization that promotes community participation among Chinese Americans. In addition, he is the current Board Member of CCACC. CCACC, a non-profit organization, is one of the largest grassroots organizations in the Washington Metropolitan area.
Mr. Li received his PhD and MBA from Cornell University, a master's degree from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a bachelor's degree from Wuhan University. He lives in Rockville, Maryland with his wife and daughter.
Mr. Paul Li, current board member of CCACC, won the 2023 Golden Lantern Community Award.
Mr. Paul Li called for passing on the great cultural heritage to the next generation and future generations.
The 2023 Golden Lantern Awards Ceremony was held grandly at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
