Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

37° Evanston, IL
Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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NU China Care hosts children for Halloween

The morning of Halloween, Northwestern China Care hosted an event for about 20 adopted Chinese students under 8 years old, who ran around the room in their Halloween costumes, had their faces painted and played tag with the volunteers.

“Today, we tried to incorporate both Halloween and Chinese culture (into the playgroup activities),” said McCormick junior John Lin, a playgroup co-chair. “We had five stations, including Chinese ghost stories, pumpkin decorating, coloring pages, mask making and face painting.”

This was China Care’s first playgroup event of the year. The group began at NU in 2005 and coordinates one-on-one mentorships between NU students and children older than seven from area schools, in addition to their playgroup work with younger children.

“I was at the face painting table,” said Weinberg freshman Jessie Fan, who participated in the event. “I can’t describe it but it was really cute and made me feel warm inside.”

While playgroup is generally a group event, the mentorships build stronger relationships between college students and the adopted children through both Chinese cultural tutoring and some academic tutoring.

“The parents of these kids really encourage them to learn Chinese,” Lin said. “Most of them know some words, but I haven’t met a kid who’s actually fluent in Chinese.”

Both playgroup and mentorship volunteers teach children adopted into American families about Chinese culture and language. The members of China Care are generally of Asian descent and organize fund-raisers year-round to support the high medical costs of orphans in China.

“China Care has a very good cause,” said Weinberg senior Molly Chen, China Care’s co-president. “Some of these kids may have some identity issues because many of them are adopted into non-Asian families. We want to be there to help them answer any questions and connect them with their culture.”

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881
NU China Care hosts children for Halloween