Author: Vy Hoang

2017 Fall/Winter Underprivileged Children and Orphanage Aid Update: Vietnam (4th Quarter)

Typhoon Damrey made landfall on November 4th, causing severe damages to the coastal communities of Central Vietnam. More than 400,000 people were in need of humanitarian assistance after the devastated cyclone and other storms that came during the last quarter of the year 2017.

The areas of Điện Bàn, Duy Xuyên, Duy Phước were among the poorest districts of Central Vietnam. Via networking, our volunteer in Danang, Ngọc Anh found the poorest schools of these areas and contacted the school administrators of these districts to learn about the conditions of the students. Together, they selected 350 students from these 10 schools to awards aid-packages comprised of warms-waterproof jackets (since these students have to walk long ways to school under the chilling rain), backpacks, notebooks, other school supplies and milk. Most of the selected students are orphans or have lost one parent, are living under very difficult conditions. However, they always seem to be in good spirits and always study hard. They were so happy to received our gifts, as a brand new jackets and milk are not something that often come their way.Right after Typhoon Damrey, we also supplied Ưu Đàm, the orphanage in the outskirts of Hue city, with 500 kg of rice and other needed food items and supplies as the rice supply of the orphanage was running low. The weather in Hue is brutally cold during the winter. We hope the rice and other food supplies will help keep the children of the orphanage get thru another month.

As Christmas is near and another year is coming, we are very happy that we have provided aid to more than 1,600 children from 3 orphanages and 37 schools in Quảng Trị, Huế and Quảng Nam provinces. We are happy to hear that five more children from Uu Dam orphanage gọt accepted to Universities, one of those is in Australia (with full scholarship). We are very thankful to ATG’s sponsors and donors who continue to support our cause and make it possible for us to secure the much needed items for the children and help them with their journey for a good education.

We also very much appreciate our volunteers in Viet Nam, chị Mãng Phan, anh Nguyễn Chí Hùng, chị Ngọc Anh, và chị Liên Hoa, who helped us not only with selecting the students but who also spent time to search and select the appropriate suppliers of the needed items for the children. We are very touched to see the ATG logo on the clothes and backpacks. We hope the children will look at the ATG logo and remember that we were there for them and will cheer for them a long the way.

 

We thank you for your generous support in our mission to help these children in need and for allowing us to make a direct impact in their lives and futures. It is with your support that we can continue to improve the lives of underprivileged children and give them hope of a brighter future. Please continue to support our cause by donating.

We wish you a very happy and safe Christmas and New Year!

Celebrating Asian American Talent for a Cause at ATG’s 9th Annual Fashion for a Passion

Photo | Kathy Tran

Nov. 29, 2017 (DALLAS) – Fashion for a Passion presented by Audi Dallas (title sponsor) gave guests from all over the Dallas community a fresh take on Asian American fashion, music and art at its 9th annual event on Nov. 11 at new venue sixty five hundred. Through sponsorships, ticket sales, live and silent auctions, a raffle and additional donations, more than 350 glamorous guests gathered together to raise more than $30,000 net, all of which benefit the mission of Against The Grain Productions, a Dallas-based non-profit, with its supported orphanages and underprivileged children in Asia, scholarship fund and community outreach programs for 2017.

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Going Against The Grain: Uyen Vuong

Uyen was born in Nha Trang City, Vietnam. She grew up in a tailoring/design school, within walking distance to the beach. Her creativity seed was planted by her parents at a young age. With fabric remnants, her father meticulously crafted unique patchwork garments for her wardrobe. She sported them with pride knowing that every piece was one of a kind and made only for her. Uyen’s love for colors, contrast, and asymmetry stemmed from her extraordinary childhood. Her appreciation for one of a kind art was what drew her to marble painting. Her work is inspired by vivid memories of sandy beaches, deep blue ocean, golden rice fields, high cliffs, waterfalls and natural lakes hidden in tropical forests. Most important were memories of her hardworking parents and endless summers roaming in nature with her brothers. This was where Uyen’s Color Tales began. It was her way of expressing her deepest thoughts and bringing her fondest memories to life.

Gallery: https://www.thecolortales.shop/gallery
Facebook: https://facebook.com/thecolortales
Instagram: @thecolortales

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Going Against The Grain: DJiun Wang

DJiun Wang is Taiwanese American designer and photographer based in New York City. He is currently the Creative Director of Voyce Global and the head designer of Prince & Bond. He has collaborated with some of the most pioneering designers at Parsons School of Design and studied retail strategies at Columbia Business School. His clients have included Tiffany & Co, Carnegie Hall, J Mendel and Lanyu Couture. DJiun’s photography as been featured publications such as Vogue, Elle, Out, and Nylon Magazine. Through his work he aims to challenge, shape and inspire a more innovative world. He was also a 2013 ATG Artistic Scholarship Winner and will be presenting his men’s swimwear and art at ATG’s 9th Annual Fashion for a Passion.

Instagram: www.instagram.com/djiun
Facebook: www.facebook.com/djiunw/
Website: www.djiun.com
Thesis: bfacd.parsons.edu/2017/future-flow

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Meet Our 2017 ATG Scholarship Winners

The ATG Scholarship Committee is proud to announce our 2017 Scholarship Winners. Scored based on strength of GPA, leadership/community involvement, portfolio/video submission, essays, letters of recommendation and a final phone interview, we chose ten students who are brilliant, shining examples of what it means to go Against The Grain. We are truly proud of this exceptional group and look forward to all that we know they will accomplish for their vocation and for the Asian American community in the future.

And the winners are:

ATG Artistic Scholarship

  • Yasmeen Anand
  • Mai-Phuong Bui
  • Maia Schmidt
  • Lauren Huynh
  • Inaara Muhammad

Bruce & Pat McRae Artistic Scholarship

  • Serena Shen

#LiveLikeLyly Memorial Scholarship

  • Uyen Truong
  • Alyssa Domenico

Groundbreaker Leadership Scholarship

  • Nataly Keomoungkhoun

Lily Pabilona Emerging Entrepreneur Scholarship

  • Jessica Lee

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Announcing the 2017 Fashion for a Passion Artist Lineup

Dallas-based non-profit ATG Against The Grain Productions is proud to announce its 9th Annual Fashion for a Passion Exhibiting Artists. The roster of talented Asian American artists who practice a variety of media, includes a mix of emerging, established and 2017 Against The Grain Artistic Scholarship finalists. Fashion for a Passion, which serves the organization’s mission to support and provide a platform for emerging Asian American artists, will take place Saturday, Nov. 11, at new venue sixty five hundred near Love Field Airport.

Guests of Fashion for a Passion will have the opportunity to bid on each artist’s work through a silent auction. Proceeds from the silent auction and tickets to the event will benefit ATG’s supported orphanages and underprivileged children in Asia, artistic and leadership scholarship fund and community outreach programs.

This year’s Fashion for a Passion emcees include veteran Ben Smithee (CEO of The Smithee Group and past panelist for Against The Grain’s leadership-focused event Groundbreakers Speak) and Hillary Kennedy (Emmy Award winning Host and style blogger).

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Meet Our 2017 Fashion for a Passion Performers

Dallas-based nonprofit Against The Grain Productions is proud to announce the lineup of performers for their eighth annual Fashion for a Passion charity event on Saturday, November 11, at sixty five hundred near Love Field Airport. This year’s show will feature a wide variety of Asian American talent, and we are extremely excited to present these talented individuals to you all.

This year’s Fashion for a Passion emcees include veteran Ben Smithee (CEO of The Smithee Group) and Hillary Kennedy (Emmy Award winning Host and style blogger). The evening includes a fashion show with live auction, raffle, art exhibit, tasty bites and sips and will again conclude with an extended wrap party for guests, artists and volunteers to mix and mingle until midnight.

Proceeds from the evening’s ticket sales, art and lives auctions as well as generous sponsors benefit ATG’s supported orphanages and underprivileged children in Asia, scholarships for student artists and leaders and community outreach programs in the U.S. to inspire, educate and entertain the community.

General Admission and VIP Reserved Tickets range from $50 to $125 and are on sale at www.AgainstTheGrainProductions.com/events/ffap.

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2017 Underprivileged Children and Orphanage Aid Fall Update: Vietnam


Going Against The Grain came from the idea that what you are born into doesn’t dictate the rest of your life. This aid expedition marked 10 years since Against The Grain’s first aid expedition. During that trip, we visited 3 orphanages and realized how little it takes to make a significant impact and change in a child’s life. Since that first trip, we have since grown to help support multiple orphanages and several underprivileged facilities across several countries. And the impact of our donations continues to help and encourage each child no matter which country they’re from.

During this Vietnam aid expedition trip, we helped over 300 underprivileged children across 21 different schools, and over 200 orphans and handicapped children. We were able to provide a year’s worth of school supplies and several months food with just $6,500 USD. $5,000 was used to cover for back-to-school needs (uniforms, backpacks, school supplies, milk) and $1,500 for the 3 orphanages we visited. With the additional help and donations from our ATG Founding Board Member/Ambassador Aivy Nguyen’s company Golin PR, she along with our much appreciated volunteers were able to spend the week with the different schools and orphanages and get to know how they’ve all progressed in the past few years since ATG’s first visit.

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2017 Underprivileged Children and Orphanage Aid Update: The Philippines

Thanks to the help of ATG Ambassador (Aid – Philippines) Jennifer Devany and her family, ATG was able to disburse a total of $2,900 to two orphanages: Missionaries of the Poor and Missionaries of Charity, and to the less fortunate children at the school of Ipil. 83 children have received an abundance of items to meet their basic needs.

At Missionaries of Charity in Naga City, we were able to provide the 25 children at the orphanage school supplies, diapers, clothes, formula, dried goods, and toiletries.

 

The 20 children residing at Missionaries of the Poor were provided formula, dried goods, diapers, clothes, and toiletries. ATG Ambassador Jennifer Devany reports,

“Brother Johnson would not allow me to take pictures with the kids; instead I was able to take pictures of the disbursement with the assistance of my family and one of the brothers of the missionary.  He also allowed me to take a picture with him in front of the orphanage and with another with a boy playing outside who had deformities. Brother Johnson was overjoyed and beyond thankful for our generosity.  He provided me with Father Lawrence L. Mendoza, who is the superior orphanage, in order to obtain approval to take pictures for if/when we return.”

The following week, Jennifer and her family took a boat across Buhi Lake and provided for underprivileged children at Ipil Elementary School.

“The week before, I went to the school and interviewed 36 students who were either being taken care of by one parent, their grandmother, or by themselves. This was a very touching experience, filled with tears.  When we arrived, the whole village helped bring boxes off the boat. They opened their church doors to us to assemble the goods, and they also helped with our assembly line.  We provided for 2 infants, 11 boys and 25 girls, ranging from 2-13 years old. Each one of these kids had tear jerking stories. One of the boys we had interviewed was very sick with a fever that day we disbursed, but he and his grandmother still managed to walk down to the church from the mountain top. Another child was 12 years old, providing for herself and two other sisters in their own home.  Their grandmother was up the mountain from where they lived to assist. The children, however, lived on their own with no parents. There were two boys who were being taken care of solely by their father due to their mother and newborn having passed away during childbirth. Stories like these are extremely humbling and help me appreciate what we have in the US. It helps me appreciate being a part of ATG; we can do our part in touching the lives of these less fortunate children so they may have a better future.”

We thank you for your generous support in our mission to help these children in need and allowing us to make a direct impact in their lives and futures. If you would like to donate to help our cause, please donate here.

 

Going Against The Grain: The Kinjaz

The Kinjaz are a Los Angeles based dance company formed in 2010, comprised of an all-star roster of creative directors, industry professionals and internationally renowned choreographers and instructors. They are known for their signature intricate choreography style and creative storytelling through dance and new media. The crew is extremely diverse, ranging from a wide variety of Asian ethnicities including Vietnamese and Korean as well as Caucasian, Hispanic and African American members. They were recent contestants on NBC’s World of Dance.

Website: www.kinjaz.com
Instagram/Twitter: @kinjaz
Facebook: facebook.com/thekinjaz
Youtube: youtube.com/thekinjaz

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