Square & Circle Club, the oldest Chinese-American women organization in U.S., celebrates its 100th anniversary of service and philanthropy

(SAN FRANCISCO) On June 15, 1924, seven very young, talented and educated Chinese-American women wanted to do something for the flood victims in China, so they co-founded the Square and Circle Club to raise funds. 100 years later today, the organization is still continuing its passion of service and philanthropy for the community.

The Square and Circle Club became the oldest Chinese-American women group in the nation. For the past 100 years, the Club has maintained its tradition as a women-only charitable non-profit organization.

Members of the Square and Circle Club celebrate its 100th birthday with the community in a series of events starting with a centennial celebration luncheon at the Hilton Hotel in San Francisco Chinatown on June 1. Mayor London Breed declared June 1 as the Square and Circle Club Day in San Francisco.

On June 5, Lorraine Dong, Co-President and Co-Historian of the Square and Circle Club, will provide a virtual lecture on the Club's history for the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California.

San Francisco Public Library also joins the centennial celebration of the Square and Circle Club by hosting an 3-month long exhibition at the Main Library to feature the Club's historic images and collections which documented the profound history of Chinese Americans in the city.

In 2004, the San Francisco Public Library History Center received a donation of 21 boxes of the Square and Circle Club's archives. The Library has been working for years to set up an archive for the Club. The upcoming exhibition will open for public view on June 15 throughout September 22 this year, and also showcase the Library's work on the archives of the club's collections.

The exhibition, Square and Circle Club: Preserving a 100-year Legacy, will be held on the 6th floor of the San Francisco Main Library at Civic Center. An opening reception for the exhibit will be held on June 22 at the Main Library.

"Unknown in American history, past and present, seven Chinese American adolescent girls formed a club in 1924 to serve the community—the Square and Circle Club. One hundred years later, the Club continues with their legacy of service, driven by compassion and mainstream society’s marginalization of their community. The Square and Circle Club celebrate their centennial with an exhibition showcasing 100 years as a pillar of San Francisco's Chinatown community," the Public Library stated on its website.

There have been lots of uniqueness for the Square and Circle Club in addition to its tradition as an all-women's organization. For the past century, most members of the Club have been professionals, American-born Chinese Americans, passionate for their Chinese community roots, generous to donate their talents and time to raise funds for the community. In fact, financial support was the motivation of 7 young women who decided to form the Square and Circle Club in 1924 to raise funds for the flood victims in China.

"All seven of them were very young women at ages 15 - 20 when they founded the Club," said Claudia Jeung, Co-President of the Square and Circle Club. "They were all American-born and, when of age, young professionals."

"In the heart of San Francisco Chinatown, the Square and Circle Club began in 1924, dedicated to promote and foster philanthropic projects and community service." The Square and Circle Club stated its goal to serve the community since 1924.

"In deeds be square, in knowledge be all-round” was the ringing motto of the Club. "Today, the Club continues to work not only for its birthplace but beyond. Our original Hope Chest Project to aid famine and flood victims in China has grown into multiple projects benefiting diverse communities," the Club wrote.

According to the archives of the Club, Reuter wire service reported in 1924 that the number of known deaths caused by the floods in China totaled 13,115. 15,000,000 people were estimated to be affected in the flood areas in the provinces of Hunan, Chihli, Kiangsi, Fukien, Kwangtung, Shantung, Honan, and Hupei.

"The first benefit event was a Hope Chest Dance in September 1924 to raise funds to aid flood and famine victims in China. 'Jazz music' to be featured and 'American party dresses' will be worn, noted the San Francisco Examiner," according to the records of the Square and Circle Club.

In the early years of the Club, most of their events were fundraisers in the forms of variety shows, art performances, fashion shows, dancing performances, cookbook publications, and more. Members of the Club also performed on the stage to raise funds.

Among the recipients of the Square and Circle Club’s fundraisers have been Asian Women’s Shelter, Chinese Hospital, Chinatown YMCA and YWCA, Chinese Education Center, On Lok, Self-Help for the Elderly, the Chinatown and Main branches of the San Francisco Public Library.

Alice Fong Yu, the Club's founding President and one of the 7 co-founders, was an outstanding Chinese American pioneer who made history as the first Chinese/Asian American teacher hired into the San Francisco Unified School District in 1926.

Yu taught at Commodore Stockton Elementary School in Chinatown for 31 year and moved to teach speech therapy in schools throughout San Francisco until she retired in 1970. In 1995, Alice Fong Yu Alternative School in the Inner Sunset neighborhood was named after her as the nation's first Chinese immersion public school. Yu passed at the age of 95 in 2000.

Presently two Co-Presidents of the Club, Claudia Jeung and Lorraine Dong, are also remarkable educators and community leaders.

Jeung has retired from the San Francisco School District and continues to serve actively as a curriculum writer and teacher trainer focusing on newcomer education. She was the principal of Jean Parker Elementary School in Chinatown. Jeung has been a Square and Circle Club member for over 55 years and served as its president for 12 years.

Dong retired as Professor of Asian American Studies at the San Francisco State University. She is also an author of publications on Asian American studies and has been a Square and Circle Club member for over 25 years. She recently started her work on the Club’s 100-year-old archives housed at the San Francisco Public Main Library.

Marlene Tran, Visitacion Valley community leader and retired bilingual educator, congratulated the century-long leadership of the Club. “Personally, I am especially grateful to two members, the late Rosemary Chan and the co-Chair Claudia Jeung, for also founding the first newcomer school in San Francisco, the former Chinese Education Center, and for hiring me to start my bilingual teaching career there that I retired after 35 years,” Tran praised.

"Their founding president, Alice Fong Yu's mission was 'for hearts to be bold, minds to be broad, in deeds be square and knowledge complete'," Tran added. "Although the founding members' mission started with their wartime efforts and helped raise money for flood and famine victims in China, the dedicated members have expanded the mission to promote and foster social and educational projects that they have been doing diligently for 100 years and without much fanfare."