Master Calvin Chin just confirmed that Helen Gee Chin Scholarship Foundation is awarding two $2,500 college scholarships for young martial artists, who have demonstrated achievements in academics, martial arts and community service. The deadline for the application is July 31, 2011.
With the encouragement of his loving wife Helen, Master Chin established Calvin Chin’s Martial Arts Academy (CCMAA) in Newton Highlands, MA in 1996. The Academy offers rich Chinese martial arts programs for kids and adults, i.e. Kung Fu, Tai Chi, Tai Chi Fan, Sparring, Lion Dance, Tai Chi Push Hands, weapons forms, etc. The Academy has enjoyed success and recognition in the local community as well as the national martial arts community.
Last year, out of the blue, Helen felt sick in June. At the beginning, the doctor thought that she had pneumonia but symptoms worsened. In July, she was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. No one could believe this - not even her own physician - because Helen was very health conscious. She ate organic foods, exercised, and received a clean bill every year on her physical. She was fit and looked in her thirties when she was 55. On Dec. 16, she passed away. No one could accept this sad reality. Eight hundred people showed up for her wake, many were from out-of-town, and some came all the way from California. Friends and students sent condolences and some wrote beautiful words on the school website in her memory.
Master Chin recalled that before his 60th birthday last year, he was talking to Helen about their upcoming retired life. But with this tragedy, nothing mattered anymore. He felt that we simply have no control of our lives. Helen’s death humbled him. Unlike other grieving widowers, Master Chin has not lost his passion for martial arts and humanity. In February this year, he decided to set up a scholarship foundation in memory of Helen. The support from his academy and community was overwhelming. One student who is an attorney applied for the non-profit status while others joined the Foundation Board and designed the scholarship program. Within two months, $25,000 was raised. This year, the Foundation will give out two scholarships. Master Chin hopes that they will be able to do more in the coming years.
When asked what Helen would say about memorializing her in this way? Master Chin said that Helen loved kids and treated all young students in the Academy as her own children. She would love the idea of helping young martial artists succeed. “But Helen probably would not want to use her name for the award since she was so modest and never took credit for anything,” commented Master Chin.
The requirements for eligibility are as follows:
- Be a U.S. citizen
- Be high school seniors or high school graduates
- Plan to enroll full-time as a freshman at an accredited U.S. four-year college or university for the entire 2011-12 academic year
- Have studied one or more of the Chinese Martial Arts – Kung Fu, Wu Shu, or Tai Chi – for a minimum of 5 (five) years
- Have a “B” average.
Scholarship recipients are selected based on the following factors:
- Martial arts achievement (e.g., tournament medals, contribution to the martial arts)
- Academic achievement
- An essay explaining what the study of martial arts has meant to the applicant;
- Recommendations
- Participation and leadership in community and school activities, work experience, educational and career goals, and unusual circumstances
Selection of recipients is made by the Trustees of the Helen Gee Chin Scholarship Foundation. Family members of the Trustees are ineligible to apply.
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