Dec. 9, 2015 (DALLAS) – Dallas-based nonprofit Against The Grain Productions is proud to announce it is a recipient of a $5,000 grant from the inaugural Orchid Giving Circle at Dallas Women’s Foundation grant cycle on Dec. 1. Against The Grain plans to use the grant to create a trailer for its second documentary film feature project Light of Day, which will give voice to the untold stories of domestic violence against Asian women and children.
“Dallas Women’s Foundation invests in women and girls and empowers women’s philanthropy in order to build a better world. Through the Orchid Giving Circle at Dallas Women’s Foundation, we are helping empower a group of women philanthropists who are committed to supporting social change and services for Asians in North Texas,” said Roslyn Dawson Thompson, President and CEO of Dallas Women’s Foundation. “In partnership with the Orchid Giving Circle, we are very proud to provide a grant to Against The Grain Productions, which will produce a much-needed film telling the untold stories of local women of Asian origin who have faced gender-based violence.”
Against The Grain’s latest film project comes exactly a decade after Tammy Nguyen Lee’s internationally acclaimed and award-winning documentary, Operation Babylift: The Lost Children of Vietnam, a documentary film that followed the journey and compelling stories of orphans that were airlifted to the United States from post-war Vietnam 1975.
“This award from the Orchid Giving Circle means so much to Against The Grain as we go back to the very roots that began our journey to becoming a nonprofit,” said Against The Grain Co-Founder and President Tammy Nguyen Lee. We are going to explore and expose a complex and emotionally heavy topic that silently affects many in our community. For me, this is personal. Through Light of Day, we hope to bring awareness to the unique issues facing women of Asian origin and be a tool for outreach and awareness.” Read more
The ATG Scholarship Committee is proud to announce the 2015 Scholarship Winners. Scored based on strength of GPA, leadership/community involvement, portfolio/video submission, essays, letters of recommendation and a final phone interview, we again 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 all that we know they will accomplish for their vocation and for the Asian American community in the future. We are also grateful to the family of Lyly Koenig Mendez and Bruce & Pat McRae for generously donating so that we could give three special scholarships this year!