About the MLCCC
Established in 2003, the Main Line Chinese Culture Center, Inc (MLCCC or Ming Lang)
is a nonprofit-501c3, nonpartisan, nonpolitical organization that serves as a catalyst
to increase understanding between American and Chinese cultures. The MLCCC's mission
is to provide compelling insights of China's culture to interested families within
the greater Philadelphia area in order to support their educational needs and career
aspirations. The vision for the group is to grow its operations such that its diversified
sources of funding will enable the organization to secure its own site facility,
full-time staff, and financial self-sufficiency that will lead to the most effective
Chinese cultural education instruction within the state of Pennsylvania.
The MLCCC provides a window to Chinese culture by offering basic language instruction
(Mandarin) as well as classes in traditional Chinese dance and other art forms (Chinese
painting, self-defense, etc.). Through weekend and summer classes taught at rented
facilities, MLCCC instructors leverage a traditional Asian teaching style that emphasizes
strong study skills and discipline. Since its inception in 2003, the MLCCC has grown
from an informal group of thirty students to an enrollment of over three hundred
students by the end of 2008. Currently, three part-time staff, 16 instructors, and
a very considerate group of parent volunteers serve a PreK-12th grade student population
of which 87% are of Chinese-American descent. Satisfied parents have confirmed the
value of the program model as the MLCCC's growth has been driven primarily by word
of mouth alone. Finally, global CEOs like Ethnic Technologies' Zack Wilhoit have
commented, "The Main Line Chinese Culture Center reaches out to so many children
and their families with valuable insights on Chinese-American culture and the significant
implications for our future relationships with China".