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News | Events | Press Releases
A Quarter-Million Dollars Raised at the February 25 Benefit Dinner for the
Smithsonian Vietnamese American Heritage Project
Washington, D.C.— A Tet Dinner for the benefit of the Smithsonian Vietnamese American Heritage Project (the “Project”) netted a record $250,000. The amount far surpassed the initial goal of raising the additional $12,000 to finish the fundraising campaign
“With the additional funds raised at the Dinner, the Smithsonian APA Program is able to jumpstart the million-dollar endowment which will yield sufficient funds each year to support public programs and other educational initiatives dedicated to Vietnamese American culture and heritage. This will continue in perpetuity creating a permanent presence for Vietnamese Americans at the Smithsonian,” said Dr. Franklin Odo, Director of the Smithsonian APA Program.
Thanh-Thuy Nguyen, Ban Tran, and Dr. Thanh Nguyen led the Washington D.C. Working Group, a volunteer group working with the Smithsonian APA Program for the past year, to fill Fortune Restaurant to capacity. Approximately 500 people attended the dinner. The all-volunteer group secured corporate sponsors, donations for the silent auction, and famous Vietnamese-Americans singers.
“We never imagined raising this much tonight – this is unprecedented for the local Vietnamese American community. People gave because they saw the value of the Vietnamese American story – their struggles and accomplishments, being told by the largest museum complex in the world. We challenge other Vietnamese American communities, especially the business community in the West coast and around the country to step up and surpass what we have done here. We are busy and work full-time but we accomplished this as volunteers because we believe in it,” said Thanh-Thuy Nguyen, Chair of the Dinner.
Project Reception in Conjunction with the Vietnamese American National Gala, May 1, 2005
In conjunction with the Vietnamese American National Gala, the APA Program organized a reception for the Heritage Project. This event included a presentation about the Vietnamese American experience and an outline of the exhibit plans..
Black Tie Dinner Hosted by Dr. V. Thanh Nguyen, June 9, 2005
This formal dinner and reception at the Smithsonian Castle featured speeches by Dr. V. Thanh Nguyen, Ban Tran, Chau Nguyen, Dr. Franklin Odo, Francey Lim Youngberg and Dr. Vu Pham.
From Left to Right: Dr. Thao Dang, Larry La, and Dr. V. Thanh Nguyen. |
Event Host, Dr. V. Thanh Nguyen. |
California Outreach, July, 2005
In the third week of July, Project leaders traveled to California to mobilize the communities in Orange County and San Jose. The July 20, 2005 reception at Bridgecreek Development Company featured speeches by Frank Jao and John Duong.
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