We were lucky to catch up with Huimin Hu recently and have shared our conversation below.

Huimin , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Three years ago, as I was preparing to retire from the hospital where I’d worked for 25 years, I began to think about how I wanted to spend my retirement life. Traveling around the world or returning to China to be with my siblings were both appealing options. However, I decided instead to establish the Memphis Chinese Community Center after recognizing the needs of the local Chinese community. While starting the center was challenging, keeping it running proved to be even harder, especially I heard many other Chinese community centers closed after only a few years. One of the biggest challenges was figuring out how to secure sustainable funding.

Huimin , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Huimin Hu, and I have worked as a research scientist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for over 25 years. When I decided to establish the Memphis Chinese Community Center, my first challenge was securing startup funding. I presented my plan to the board of the Greater Memphis United Chinese Association and received their support in principle, although they did not have funds available for facility renovation at the time. To expedite the renovation, I covered all the costs out of my own pocket, only receiving reimbursement from the funds we raised about six months later.
The Center has now become a hub for physical exercise, entertainment, educational seminars, and community meetings. However, as all services are provided free of charge and the Center is entirely volunteer-operated, it has been challenging to recruit volunteers for long-term service. Another ongoing challenge is finding sustainable sources of financial support to keep the Center running.
One fundraising idea I developed was to organize Dragon Boat Festival, which is a very popular Chinese tradition with over 2000 years’ history. We organized the festival for two consecutive years and decided to make it an annual event. The festival not only brought joy to the local Chinese community but also attracted more than 5000 people from various ethnic groups across the city. It drew attendees from all walks of life with activities like boat racing, food tasting, and cultural performances. At the same time, it helped us raise essential funds to keep the Center running.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Everyone has their own philosophy about life. To me, it’s about bringing joy and well-being to others, otherwise, I am just wasting resources. Though I can no longer continue my research work after retirement, I can still make a positive impact on others in other ways. Establishing a community center to serve local residents and inspiring everyone to contribute to society and give back to the community as much more as possible is my mission.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

The community center operates entirely on a volunteer basis. The dedication and sacrifices of our volunteers inspire me to do even more for the community. By collaborating with other ethnic minority groups, we have strengthened our relationships with them and raised the visibility and influence of the Chinese community in the Memphis area.

Contact Info:

• Website: Memphis Chinese Community Center website https://www.memphischinesecommunitycenter.com/ Dragon Boat Festival https://sites.google.com/view/memphis-dragon-boat-festival/events/2024-dragon-boat-festival
• Other: https://sites.google.com/view/memphis-dragon-boat-festival/events/2024-dragon-boat-festival

Image Credits

The photos were provided by Huimin Hu and Yunping Deng