History of CPC
Incorporated on May 25, 1965, the Chinese-American Planning Council Inc. was initially called the Chinatown Planning Council, hence the acronym, “CPC.” It originated when a group of volunteers started working two nights a week to assist families, who were referred by local schools through CPC’s Demonstration Program of Family Counseling.

After its establishment, CPC held its first public meeting to inform the community of the rendered services. The large turnout at the meeting reflected the need for such a centrally located social service organization within the Chinese community.

A CPC board member donated CPC’s first office space on 3 Pell Street. Although dusty and littered with debris, this location soon became a home for enthusiastic youth and volunteers. CPC officially opened its doors on July 5, 1966 with its Head Start and Youth programs for pre-school and school-age children.

Originally, CPC operated thirteen hours a day. During the mornings it welcomed the children of working immigrants, while it offered support services to teenagers and families in the evenings. From these humble roots sprouted the current youth, family, and community-oriented services. CPC’s embryonic multi-social services evolved into a Multi-Social Service Center for walk-in and by-appointment clients at 45 East Broadway. Today, CPC operates twelve daycare centers, three multi-social service centers and over twenty youth programs.

In 1972, CPC established the Project Open Door Senior Citizen Center, which served the needs of the increasing number of elderly in the community. Project Open Door remains one of the most popular senior citizen centers in Chinatown. CPC currently operates two other centers for the elderly, Chinatown Senior Center and Nan Shan, in addition to having aided the construction of two senior citizen residential buildings in Chinatown, Chung Pak and Hong Ning.

CPC officially launched its employment and training component with the English Language Center in 1975. These new facilities provided new immigrants with job-readiness skills training and workplace English instruction. Today, the employment and training programs prepare adults for careers in the apparel, clerical, hotel, hospitality, and multimedia industries.

CPC’s commitment to the community has grown perpetually over the past twenty-eight years. CPC now serves over 6,000 people daily through fifty programs in twenty-three different locations in New York City, including Manhattan and other boroughs. With a mission to facilitate access to services, skills, and resources to reach the goal of economic self-sufficiency and integration into the America mainstream, CPC provides quality support with language-appropriate and culturally sensitive approaches. The Chinese-American Planning Council has helped many program graduates in their pursuits of individual goals and dreams, and looks forward to helping generations to come.



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