Glow Together
Glow Cultural Center’s Youth Empowerment Program
Who We Are
Glow Cultural Center’s “Glow Together” Youth Empowerment program empowers youth to make an impact in their communities and it is partially funded through a foundation grant from Cathay Bank. Through on-site job training activities, students are exposed to what it is like to work in a fast-paced, real-world environment. In just half a year, we have increased leadership-strengthening opportunities for the youth, encouraging teamwork, and improving public speaking skills.
Interested in volunteering?
Complete these 3 simple steps to become a verified volunteer :
1. Fill out the volunteer intake form and email it to: contact@glownyc.org
2. Join GCC’s discord server!
(We will email you a link after we process your intake form.)
*All of our volunteer opportunities are posted on the Discord server. It will briefly describe the event, date, and how many people we will need. If you’re interested, you can react to the message to confirm your attendance (as long as it doesn’t go over the limit).
3. Change your GCC server nickname to your first and last name. Go to #roles and choose any languages you feel comfortable speaking in
Once everything is completed, we’ll verify you on Discord and you’re now free to accept any volunteer work! (all volunteer opportunities can be found on #event-announcements)
Volunteering at Glow Cultural Center –
Events Big & Small
Lunar New Year 2023
Our dedicated volunteers spent two months attending volunteer meetings to prepare for our 3rd annual Lunar New Year Celebration. They helped GCC host a grand cultural fair, EXPO, and live performances for the year of the rabbit! They took on a variety of roles during the event, including serving as origami assistants, teaching young kids how to fold paper into rabbits, and managing lineups to ensure everyone had a chance to participate.
Our volunteers also played a crucial role in managing stage performers, setting up the venue for the audience, handing out bags of giveaways, managing the raffle lottery, and promoting our organization to the community. They worked tirelessly behind the scenes, making sure that everything ran smoothly and that everyone had a great time.
2022 GCC Love & Unity Fall Festival
On September 24th, 2022, our youth volunteers worked tirelessly to make our annual Fall Festival a success! From operating the cotton candy/popcorn machines, maintaining the lines in front of the bouncy houses, pony rides, and moving tables, chairs, tents, and other equipment around the fairgrounds, their support was essential. We’re proud to have awarded our 58 dedicated volunteers, some of who arrived as early as 7 am with City Council-approved Volunteer Certificates, recognizing their hard work and commitment to serving the community.
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2022 Fall Festival Volunteer Meeting 5
Guest Speaker
Officer William Kwok: NYPD Community Affairs Bureau – Immigrant Outreach Unit
Michael Moy: Former NYPD officer (9 years) & Former NYPD detective (17 years)
Involvement: Was invited to speak about serving the community, a deeper insight into the NYPD, and a general Q&A session on how to keep yourself and others safe.
Guest Speaker
Instructor Paul Lin: A self-defense coach whose mission is to train the Asian community methods of self-defense to stand up against anti-Asian hate crimes.
Involvement: Was invited to speak on public awareness, and public safety, and held a self-defense workshop with the youth. Along with his team of trained professionals, our volunteers had the chance to punch, kick, and practice self-defense moves.
2022 Fall Festival Volunteer Meeting 4
Our team leaders guided volunteers throughout their respective training process and helped them develop their communication and public speaking skills. Activity management team volunteers went through protocols in case a child lost sight of their parents, and line management team volunteers received customer service training to provide a positive experience for everyone participating in the event. Team leaders played a critical role in preparing training courses for their team members, ensuring that everyone was well-prepared for their roles. They also provided guidance and support throughout the festival, helping volunteers overcome any challenges they encountered. Our volunteers took their roles seriously and worked hard to ensure that everyone would be safe and happy during the festival.
2022 Fall Festival Volunteer Meeting 3
Guest Speaker
Dr. Hsing-Lih Chou: A recognized specialist in Asian culture. Curator for various art exhibitions and has been the Chief Coordinator for many cross-cultural festivals, including events during Asian-Pacific Heritage Month held at Ellis Island.
Involvement: Dr. Chou as well as his own volunteers were invited to open the meeting up with a Cultural Conference and in-depth presentation on Chinese culture. The last topic was the historical importance of calligraphy and its origins, which Dr. Chou transitioned into a calligraphy workshop. Every student was able to practice calligraphy with a brush and ink, and they used what they learned to draw on paper fans, which they could take home.
2022 Diabolo 2 Lipman Plaza Event
During our Lipman Plaza event, our dedicated volunteers acted as crowd management control, ensuring a smooth and safe experience for all attendees. They also took charge of signing people up for our classes and promoting our organization, GCC, to the public watching. Our volunteers were actively engaging in community outreach, sharing information about our organization’s mission and services with those who were interested. They were knowledgeable about our programs and answered questions with enthusiasm and confidence.
2022 Fall Festival Volunteer Meeting 2
Guest Speaker
Andy Chen: Community activist & Queens Executive Director (BRACE) & (CAACR) NYCADC.
Involvement: Was invited to encourage our youth (and his) to take action in the community, not being afraid to take on more responsibility in the future, and gave us a lesson on public speaking.
Guest Speaker
Clifford Temprosa: CACF Budget Policy Coordinator
Involvement: Was invited to speak about the branches of government, and gave our youth a deeper understanding of how everything works and is connected to one another.
GCC Volunteer Spotlight
See what our volunteers have to say about their experience here at Glow Cultural Center!
Brian Chez
I would describe the environment at GCC as a very welcoming place where people from all kinds of backgrounds can work together.
Noelle Hamah-Kilik
Working with GCC undoubtedly enhanced my ability to deal with pressure and interact with people
Yongna Guan
At GCC, an open welcoming environment is maintained allowing me to expand, enhancing my skills whilst work with new people.
Brandon Cabrera Gonzalez
Sitratul Muntaha
Eric Chen
Throughout the course of the many volunteer meetings we had over the summer, I grew to be closer with some people and made some friends along the way.
Maya Escobar
Interacting with the public gave me a feel for the community and also taught me how to better handle rejection.
Ryan Maca
Brendan Lin
Over time, I feel that I’ve grown closer with the community and I’m more confident in my leadership skills.
Nathalie Tjhin
GCC’s strengths are compassion, kindness, and enjoyment. At GCC we help make sure everyone has a fun time at the events and that we’re enjoying what we’re doing.
Eduardo Hermida
I enjoy being at GCC because I am able to work while enjoyably interacting with others.
Anell Barrett
Cassie Yu
Working with GCC has impacted me in many ways, from making me more communicative, collaborative, and hard-working to also making new friends and branching out of my comfort zone.