Welcome to VAYA's Official Blog. This exciting new blog provides an opportunity for VAYA to engage in a dialogue with our members, the community, and those interested in our organization. This blog will feature commentary and observations from VAYA Executive Board Members, contributions by VAYA Staff and members, as well as approved guest bloggers from outside of VAYA. This blog will only be a true community if you participate, so please send your thoughts to eboard@vayasd.org. Please be respectful and considerate when posting comments and thoughts. All comments will be reviewed and approved prior to publication. Thank you for visiting this blog!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

VAYA Official Newsletter: 09/24/09 (Volume V1: Issue 10)

Dear VAYA Members and Supporters,

Please find the latest updates from VAYA in the following categories:

I. VAYA General Updates
II: VAYA Tet 2010 Updates
III: Community Relations Updates
IV: VAYA & other Organizations Updates
V: Vietnamese Americans for the Cure
VI: Other Announcements & Information

I. VAYA General Updates
A. Upcoming VAYA Events
The VAYA Mid-Autumn (Tet Trung Thu) Festival will take place on Saturday October 3, 2009 at the City Heights Recreational Center (4380 Landis St. San Diego, CA) from 3:00 - 7:00 PM.

The VAYA 6th Annual Street Clean Up Event will take place on Saturday October 17, 2009 at Hoover High School (4474 El Cajon Blvd San Diego, CA 92115) from 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM.

B. 2010 Asian/Pacific Islander American Youth Conference (APIAYC)
VAYA is in the process of forming the committee for our 2010 Asian/Pacific Islander American Youth Conference (APIAYC), aimed for July 2010. Please visit our official website (http://www.vayasd.org/) for further information and "Conference Coordinator" applications if you want to be a part of the organizing committee. Please email eboard@vayasd.org if you have immediate questions or concerns.

C. Ways to get MORE involved with VAYA
Are you looking for ways to get more involved with VAYA? Hoping to make an impact in your community? Want to build up your leadership skills? Or do you simply need community service hours?

If you answer "YES" to any of these questions, then we HIGHLY encourage you to apply for a position currently vacant in VAYA. These positions will include Tet Staff positions, the Asian Pacific Islanders American Youth Conference Coordinator positions, VAYA General Staff positions, and our latest "Community Outreach Intern" position(s). At VAYA, we work to promote youth leadership, cultural awareness, social activism, and community development. Therefore, we make every effort to provide our members the opportunity to lead and make a difference. Remember...

"There is a powerful driving force inside every human being that once unleashed can make any vision, dream, or desire a reality.”
--- Anthony Robbins

Please visit our web site for more information. Please direct any questions or concerns to VAYA Secretary, Anthony (Vinh) Nguyen, at secretary@vayasd.org.

D. VAYA "Community Outreach Internship"
Interested in getting more involved with community development, community outreach, and social justice? Then apply to be a VAYA "Community Outreach Intern". You'll be working directly with the VAYA External Vice President, the Community Relations Coordinators, and VAYA Executive Board (in general). Network with other San Diego community-based organizations and work on community projects tailored towards your personal interest and/or career goals (including public health, education, community safety, youth violence, etc). If interested, please contact VAYA Secretary, Anthony (Vinh) Nguyen, at secretary@vayasd.org for further information. We're looking for 2-3 intern(s) to start ASAP for Fall 2009.
*** Access Application @ http://www.vayasd.org/downloads/ (use the same application as VAYA Staff Application ‘09-’10)

II: VAYA Tet 2010 Updates
A. VAYA's Miss Vietnam of San Diego™ 2010 Pageant Mixer
The date for the MVSD 2010 Pageant Mixer is set for Saturday October 10, 2010 at the Santa Fe Room in Balboa Park from 5:00 - 9:00 PM. If you are interested, please fill out an application @ http://www.sdtet.com/. All applications received before Thursday October 8, 2009 11:59 PM will guarantee an interview time during mixer, otherwise it will based on time available. For more information, please visit http://www.sdtet.com/.

B. General Tet News & Information
Don't forget that VAYA is actively recruiting new general VAYA staff and Tet 2010 Committee staff to add to our team. Please visit our official website (http://www.vayasd.org/) to download the application along with a document detailing the duties and responsibilities for each of the position. All applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis. While the majority of the Tet 2010 positions have been filled, we are looking for a few more candidates to head the Sponsorship and Ticketing Committee. If interested, please email the Tet Co-Chairs at: chair@sdtet.com. Congratulations to those already selected to be a staff for the 2010 VAYA Tet Festival. A reminder that for the FIRST time, the 2010 VAYA Tet Festival will be hosting the First Annual Mr. Vietnam of San Diego. Further details TBD and TBA.

For more information about the 2010 VAYA Vietnamese Lunar Year Tet Festival, please visit: http://www.sdtet.com/. The site has been recently revamped and updated.

III: Community Relations Updates
A. California Endowment Updates
The California Endowment has selected City Heights as one of 14 communities to invest significant resources over the next 10 years as part of its state-wide initiative on Building Healthy Communities. Tri Nguyen, along with members Calix Vu-Bui and Huong Nguyen currently work with Mid-City CAN (Community Advocacy Network) to educate our community about this invaluable opportunity to shape policies that will have significant impact on City Heights in the next 10 years. They are interested in hearing from residents, service providers, and community leaders in City Heights on what they think this community needs most. For more information or if you want to get involved, please contact

Upcoming Important Meetings

  • School Attendance Momentum Team: TBD
  • Community Peace Promotion Momentum Team: Wednesday, September 9, 2009 4:00 - 6:00 PM at the City Heights Center Office.
  • Momentum Team Open House: Saturday September 26, 2009 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM at the Performance Annex (City Heights). Flyer links below.

For more information on the CA Endowment Initiatives, please visit http://www.calendow.org/. For more information on the Mid-City CAN, please visit http://www.midcitycan.org/.

B. VAYA Endorses the California Endowment

The Vietnamese American Youth Alliance (VAYA) of San Diego would like to extend our strong support for the California Endowment's mission “to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians.” Furthermore, we commend the California Endowment for selecting Mid-City CAN as the conveyor of the Building Healthy Communities Initiative, an initiative which we believe has the potential to bring about significant change over the next 10 years for both Vietnamese-American residents and all other residents living in City Heights.

To read our full statement, please visit our official blog: http://vayasd.blogspot.com/

C. Taste of Asia 2009

The Taste of Asia 2009 event is back in Balboa Park on Saturday, September 26th from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. This annual event, emceed by NBC 7/39's own Tony Shin, is hosted by a variety of local Asian community organizations as a collaborative effort to raise money and awareness for those who are less fortunate. This is a completely volunteer-based charity event and 100% of the proceeds are donated to charities in Asia. For more information, please visit: http://www.tasteofasiasd.com/. Tickets are available at the door.

ENGLISH
http://www.midcitycan.org/files/090908-Open_House_Flyer.pdf

VIETNAMESE
http://www.midcitycan.org/files/090908-Open_House_Flyer-VT.pdf

GO TO http://www.midcitycan.org/pages/planning.htm for details/locations.

IV: VAYA & other Organizations Updates
A. Vietnamese Alliance to Combat Trafficking (VietACT)

VAYA's very own Community Relations Coordinator II (Non-Vietnamese Community), Calix Vu-Bui, is currently in Taiwan as the latest VietACT Intern (http://www.vietact.org/). Calix will be in Taiwan until late January working on issues of human trafficking at the Vietnamese Migrant Workers and Brides Office (http://www.taiwanact.net/). VietACT & Calix Vu-Bui would like to thank all those who took a stand against human trafficking and participated in the Art Drive. Connect with her experiences in Taiwan and check out the Artwork YOU made possible by linking to her Blog @ http://vietactintern.blogspot.com/.

V: Vietnamese Americans for the Cure
Tet Trung Thu is coming up (there are a total of 3, two on Oct 3rd and 1 on Oct 4th) and we will be doing our first fundraiser and awareness drives during that weekend. The objective is to inform the Vietnamese community regarding breast cancer awareness information and resources that can provide treatment and other things, as well as raising money for our team. We will be passing out information during the three festivals as well as answering basic questions regarding Vietnamese women and breast cancer.

In order to prepare for this, the wonderful staff at Komen San Diego is willing to provide us training that will prepare us for the drive. They will teach us what to say and what things to be sensitive about when discussing breast cancer to the public and provide us additional resources to use during the upcoming drives. The training is Thursday @ 5:00 PM, October 1st, at the Komen San Diego office and the fundraiser awareness drives will take place at all three Tet Trung Thu’s (two on Oct 3rd, one on Oct 4th). Please contact Nick Tran for more information if you want to be involved: NickTran01@gmail.com.

On behalf of all of VAC and the Vietnamese community, congratulations to Kim-Hong Duong for being selected to be the official National Anthem Singer for the 2009 Komen San Diego Race for the Cure. Thank you to Thuy-Anh Le and Nikki Lam for trying out. Lastly, VAC's team page is up and running so please visit and begin registering! Please visit: http://sandiego.info-komen.org/site/TR/RacefortheCure/SAN_SanDiegoAffiliate/239222970pg=team&fr_id=1190&team_id=115761
Thank you for being part of the cure!

For more information about the race, please go to http://www.komensandiego.org/komen-race-for-the-cure.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us:

VI: Other Announcements & Information

In 2010, the U.S. Census will define who we are as a nation. Taken every 10 years, the census affects political representation and directs the allocation of billions of dollars in government funding. As a 2010 Census partner, you can educate your community about the importance of participating in this historic event and help ensure no one is left uncounted. You can help your community receive the fiscal and social benefits to which it is entitled. Achieving a complete and accurate 2010 Census is in our hands.For more information about the U.S. Bureau of Census, please visit: http://www.census.gov/.

For a complete listing of VAYA's upcoming events/meetings, please visit our official calendar at: http://www.vayasd.org/calendar/. Please direct any questions or concerns to VAYA Secretary, Anthony (Vinh) Nguyen, at secretary@vayasd.org.

On behalf of VAYA's Executive Board and Staff, thank you for your continual support.

About the Author: Anthony (Vinh) T. Nguyen serves as Secretary for VAYA.


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