In all communities, change starts with care and commitment. The Chinese American Service League (CASL), the Midwest’s most prominent Chinese social service agency, embodies those two traits in all that it does.

Even though the 44-year-old agency with over 600 employees is still growing — by 70 new employees and 20% more clients in the past year alone — it still maintains an unparalleled, hands-on presence with Chicagoland’s Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.

CASL supports the AAPI community with a range of services that span all stages of life, from educational and cultural programming for children to health and wellness support for seniors. Additionally, CASL provides resources to ensure housing security and promote financial health, English as a second language (ESL) services, immigration services, and thorough job training that enables the local workforce to thrive.

While CASL has been making a difference for decades, the impact of the pandemic on its community illuminated the importance of its services, especially for seniors. The abrupt onset of the pandemic caused a free meal program for Chinatown’s seniors to shut down, and they suddenly faced the risk of food insecurity. After families brought the dire situation to the attention of CASL, the organization jumped into action, setting up an industrial kitchen and shifting resources accordingly to meet this new need. CASL began serving three hot meals to hundreds of seniors each weekday, a service that persists to this day. Meals are prepared by participants in CASL’s culinary training program, which aims to set students up for success in the food service industry by equipping them with hands-on experience as well as state and city licenses and sanitation certifications following graduation from the program.

With successful programs like these and support from partners like Wintrust, CASL continues to grow its service offering and expand its reach.

John Czyzycki, executive vice president of Wintrust Commercial Banking, is a longtime volunteer leader at CASL, serving as treasurer on the organization’s board. Czyzycki cherishes the opportunity to help CASL thrive and takes pride in the positive impact the organization has had in its community.

“Over the last year, we expanded our services to support the permanent inclusion of the Senior Meal Program, launched the new Behavior Health Clinic with an added mental health component, launched the Illinois Welcoming Center for immigrants new to the state, and launched the Anti-Hate Action Center to respond to incidents of hate actions toward AAPI community members,” said John Czyzycki, Board of Directors, CASL and Executive Vice President at Wintrust Commercial.

“Growing our staffing to meet the needs of the communities we serve has only been possible through support received by Wintrust. The volunteer leadership of John Czyzycki has ensured that CASL remains a fiscally responsible organization,” said Paul Luu, CEO of CASL.

Considering that Wintrust and CASL share a community-oriented mission and values, this partnership brings out the best of both organizations, allowing each to make a difference in  their shared community.

“Since 2015, Wintrust has been a steady and loyal supporter of CASL, which is critical to our continued success,” said Paul Luu, CEO of CASL. “We truly believe that Wintrust understands and values the work that the CASL staff does every day to empower our clients to lead thriving, independent lives.”

Learn more about the Chinese American Service League here.