rw. JYliso. CHINESE STUDENTS’ CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION IN NORTH AMERICA II SERVICE Central Office 347 Madison Avenue, New York Published, August, 1922 SERVICE “ I came to serve, not to be served ”—thus spoke one who, more than any other person in the history of the world, has elevated the moral plane of man’s behavior toward his fellows and ennobled and glorified unselfish service as the ideal of worthy human life. Jesus’ words are a constant challenge as well as inspiration to every red-blooded Christian who desires not merely to be a passive recipient of the benefits of others’ labor but also an active contributor to the sum total of human happiness. SERVICE is the raison d’etre of the C. S. C. A. It acts as the channel through which practical service is both rendered and received, whereby Christian fellowship is made real by mutual helpfulness and personality enriched by self-expression. To illustrate how the C. S. C. A. works as a service exchange, contributing definitely to the welfare of our students as well as opening oportunities to them for serving others, the following suggestions are made : I. Practical Assistance 1. To Students Returning Home. Our Transportation Department is ready to help them secure railway and steamship reservations, passports, etc., and in other ways to facilitate their journey. We shall be glad to notify the Association secretary at the port of arrival in China to meet the returning student and help him in regard to his baggage, custom examination, hotel, etc. All that is required is an advance notice to us. 2. To Those Going to Europe. Quite a number of our students go to Europe every year for advanced education. We are in close touch with the national student organizations in nearly all European countries. We can supply letters of introduction which may result, on the one hand, in the saving of much trouble, and, on the other, the placing of friendly assistance at their disposal not otherwise easily obtainable. 2 3. To New Student* Coming to America. Our officers and Secretaries at San Francisco, Chicago and New York are always glad to meet our new students on their arrival and help them proceed on their way to their destinations. In co-operation with other student organizations, enter¬ tainments and receptions are arranged for them at the big cities. We also maintain at the Central Office in New York an Information Bureau for students concerning colleges, courses of study, living expense, etc. This bureau also supplies information about Christian missionary work in China. 4. To Students Wishing to Communicate With China. Frequently for urgent reasons we are called upon to help students to communicate with their homes in China, especially those in the interior. Likewise requests some¬ times come to us from China to locate certain students in this country. We are able to give this help through the co-operation of the Y. M. C. A. and churches in China. 5. To Students Making Purchases. When students are in need of trunks, suits, suitcases, athletic goods, etc., our Purchasing Department may be able to help them get what they want at considerable saving of money, through securing discounts. 6. To Students Looking For Homes Or Employment. As far as possible we gladly help students to find employment, either for practical experience or for financial need. We also help them secure suitable lodging. II. Fellowship Under this heading are grouped other forms of service which are less material than those included in Group I, but nonetheless substantial and real. 1. Promotion of Friendly Relationship. Friendly Re¬ lations between Chinese and American students are much to be desired though not always easily attained. Each group would be benefited by association with the other but often the association does not come to pass owing to the lack of means of contact. The C. S. C. A., through its local units and in co-operation with the Committee on Friendly Relations Among Foreign Students, is in a posi¬ tion to bring our students in touch with American friends 3 and to introduce them to Christian homes and to build up that fellowship between Chinese and Americans, which is of value not only to the individuals concerned but also to the two nations. 2. Making Friends With New Students. A new student often finds himself friendless and lonely in a strange place and nothing can mean more to him than a friendly hand¬ shake from a fellow student who has been there before him. Our local units—the “friendly circles ”—will make special efforts to befriend new students, to introduce them to other students and make them feel at home in their new environment. 3 Organization of Discussion and Study Groups. Study groups are generally organized in connection with the local units to afford an opportunity for the study of the problems, social, political, religious, etc., which confront us as citizens of China and for the cultivation of the scientific attitude of mind. The officers of the departments and the secretaries visit the local units during the year and render considerable assistance in this matter. 4. Summer Student Conferences. With the help of the Committee on Friendly Relations we are able to invite our students to go to Silver Bay, New York; Lake Geneva, Wisconsin ; Asilomar, Californa : Seabeck, Washington ; Hollister, Missouri; Estes Park, Colorado; and Blue Ridge, North Carolina, for a week or ten days of rest, recreation and profitable fellowship when the student conferences are held in the summer months. This furnishes the opportunity for our students to meet representatives from the different colleges and to see Christian America at its best. 5. Publications. Besides frequent bulletins, the As¬ sociation publishes a periodical paper called “Fellowship Notes” which serves as the official organ for the circula¬ tion of information abont the activities of the Association and is sent to members and friends free. Members can co-operate by gathering and sending in news concerning groups and individuals. 6. Supplying Speakers. The Association co-operating with the local units will supply speakers for churches and meetings where an accurate presentation of facts about 4 China is needed. In this work the Chinese students can be of great service to promote better understanding of China on the part of the American people. 7. Promoting the Welfare of Our Compatriots. There are many Chinese in the United States and in Canada in business and other occupations, who do not have the same opportunities and privileges that the student enjoys. Naturally he feels it his duty to do what he can for their welfare. Educational classes are conducted for them at various places, and in large cities like San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, and New York in the United States, and Vancouver, Victoria, Winnipeg, and Calgary in Canada’ the Y. M. C. A. has been organized. These activities merit our generous support, not only in money but in personal assistance. III. Organization 1. Central Board and Departments. For effective operation the C. S. C. A. is divided into four departments —the Women’s, the Eastern, the Mid-Western and the Western—each with its own elected officers. The members in each locality form the local unit, the “ friend¬ ly circle. ” The affairs of the Association are directed by the Central Executive Board, elected by and out of the officers of the departments. 2. Employed secretaries. There is a general secretary with headquarters in New York, and field secretaries located in different cities. Half of their time is spent in traveling and visiting the colleges where our students are. They hold themselves ready for any service that they can render to our students, and anyone needing their service should not hesitate to let them know. 3. Affiliation. Tho Association is affiliated with the Committee on Friendly Relations Among Foreign Stu¬ dents of the International Committee of the Y. M. C. A.’s of North America, the National Committee of the Y. M. C. A. in China, the Chinese Students’ Christian Union of Great Britain and the Chinese Y. M. C. A. in France. Its own field of service is the United States and Canada. It works in close co-operation with the mission boards, churches, college Christian associations, and kindred organizations. 5 4. Meaning of Membership. Membership is open to both Chinese students and American friends. It means two things—(I) Approval of the aim and work of the Association and (2) purpose to co-operate for the fulfill¬ ment of the same. 6