With just eighty attendees, the Vietnam Scholarship Foundation raised over $31,000 to fund scholarships for students in Vietnam at its Sixth Annual Benefit Event at New Holly Gathering Hall on August 20.
When VNSF started in 2001, it funded 10 students to go to school. Now, VNSF provides scholarships to 376 Vietnamese children from grade one through university in six different provinces. They aim to serve 20 more students each year.
This past year, Paul Tamura, VNSF board chair, said VNSF has expanded its Reading Room program to four locations in An Giang, Can Tho, and Saigon. This VNSF program buys books and renovates libraries. Since 2008, VNSF also sponsors bicycles so that children have a means of transport to get to school.
Tam Nguyen co-founded VNSF in 2001 with the help of his close friends. He is also the owner of Tamarind Tree restaurant and Long Provincial Restaurant, which catered the event.
Nguyen said he suggested the event theme of a night market because of his current work developing a night market in Georgetown with Emerald Night Market.
“I wanted to have everyone to have fun,” said Nguyen. “We were worried we were not going to raise as much money in the past, since everyone is having a tough time right now. But at the last minute, people started pouring in support.”
“The board has spent countless number of hours since April to organize this event,” said Tamura.
This is the first year the Benefit Event was held at New Holly Gathering Place.
Tamura explained that the decision to hold it at New Holly was so that the event could be “in the heart of the Vietnamese community and to save on rental fees.”
“If we save $100, it means a year of vocational school for someone,” said Tamura.
Tamura added most of the money raised from this event came from friends and friends of friends of VNSF.
Long-time VNSF supporter Kenneth La attended the event.
“I’m surprised by how much costs involved in going to school in Vietnam,” said La. “And I’m glad that there’s an organization like this to help students.”
“I’m honored to be here, to support an organization that works on development of youth” said Lee Lambert, President of Shoreline Community College and a first-time supporter at the event.
La added he is impressed that board members go to Vietnam to individually interview students.
Nguyen said he still remembers the story of one young girl in 9th grade who lived in Ca Mau.
“I had to take a canoe through a canal to get to her house and all I saw was a shed,” said Nguyen. “I was anxious to give her the scholarship. We need to confirm that she had the drive to finish school. When I got there, she asked if she could give her scholarship to her younger sister. She said her family could only afford to let one of them go to school and she said with her ninth grade education, she had studied enough. She should go to work now, but her younger sister need to go.”
“I had to hold back my tears, because I could see how much love she had for her sister,” said Nguyen.
He went back to the VNSF board and got special permission to grant the household two scholarships so that both sisters could go to school.
The event raised $31,000 of the $36,800 needed to pay for the entire education (grade 1 to College) of the 20 students VNSF hopes to accept next school year. To donate, please mail a check to: Viet Nam Scholarship Foundation, P.O. Box 16016, Seattle, WA 98116 or visit www.vnsf.org
JULIE PHAM/NVTB
