When Angelina came to the U.S. from Vietnam in 2012 at age 5, she was unable to speak English, and her parents struggled to navigate the education system. They were relieved to find and enroll Angelina in VietAID’s Scholarly Program for Youth, VSPY. VSPY staff guided Angelina’s parents to find the right school for her, and VSPY teachers supported and encouraged her learning. She flourished, making significant strides in vocabulary and grammar. Now she is fluent in English and extremely interested in leading service learning projects. In June 2014, VietAID presented Angelina with the 2013-2014 “Spirit of VSPY” award for her confidence and leadership.
Angelina is a shining example of the great potential in every child given a supportive learning environment. There are many children like her who need the support. Vietnamese American children age 5 and above have the lowest rate of English proficiency in Boston. Compounding this problem, according to the Boston Public School’s Office of English Language Learners, in 2013 Vietnamese American students learning English received the fewest services in the Boston Public Schools.
VietAID provides critical language, education, socialization and parental support services to help reverse these statistics. We are the only program in Boston that fully supports cultural and linguistic development. Currently we serve 75-100 Vietnamese American children in grades 1-8 year round.
VietAID believes every child should have an equal opportunity to receive high-quality education despite family income. So we provide financial assistance for families in need. Last year, we provided $280,000 in scholarships for students in our VSPY afterschool program.
VietAID will continue to support Angelina and other children like her. But we need your help! We need your assistance to sustain our affordable, supportive learning environment for the many who need it. Please join us in building a stronger future for our children.
Any amount you can afford makes a difference!
$25 provides meals and educational materials for one day
$70 supports one student for one week in our afterschool program
$163 supports one student for one week at our summer camp
If you can afford to contribute more, please consider our Community Investment Tax Credit (CITC) donation program. Your donation of $1000 will support one student to attend our summer camp and will give you back a 50% state tax credit for 2014.
You can make a secure donation by clicking the Donate button above. Or you can send a check to VietAID, 42 Charles Street, Dorchester, MA 02122.
For more details of VietAID’s recent accomplishments, click here. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or want to learn more about our services.
We and the children we serve wish you happy holidays!
Nam Pham, Executive Director
nam@vietaid.org | 617-822-3717 X13
