Dear Friends:
More than 40 years ago, the first generation of Vietnamese Americans arrived in the United States as refugees fleeing from a war-torn country. Our families came in search of the American Dream, which promised democracy, freedoms, and civil liberties. In the few decades before our arrival, laws such as the Voting Rights Act of 1958 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968 ushered in important social changes that guaranteed more equitable lives for our families.
We are thankful for the leaders who came before us and who fought for these landmark policies that provided protections to our new community. As a result, our communities thrived across the nation, allowing many of us to fulfill our dreams of becoming successful business professionals, lawyers, judges, and policy makers.
Regardless of our respective political affiliations, as beneficiaries of policies that assisted Vietnamese refugees and that allowed us to succeed, we must now stand against the racially-charged, xenophobic, homophobic, and intolerant rhetoric and proposed policies that will place some of the most vulnerable populations in our nation at significant risk.
Since 2010, the VABANC Law Foundation has raised significant funds to place public interest lawyers in our communities. Your support has paid for the salaries of lawyers working in organizations such as Advancing-Justice Asian Law Caucus and Orange County, Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center, and Communities for a Better Environment. Every donation dollar goes to pay these public interest salaries (as the Law Foundation board comprises of volunteers).
Now, more than ever, we need your support in order to continue our public interest fellowship and to ensure that legal services will be accessible to the most marginalized and underserved communities. Our past fellowship recipients are demonstrated advocates on critical legal issues, such as immigrant rights, worker’s rights, and environmental justice.
The VABANC Law Foundation (VLF) pledges to continue utilizing our $50,000/year public interest fellowship award to stand in solidarity with public interest lawyers who will work to protect our most marginalized and vulnerable communities, and who will stand against actions that undermine our Constitution, erodes our nation’s civil liberties, and threaten our fundamental human rights.
We are only $7,000 away from reaching our $50,000 fundraising goal. Please assist us in reaching this goal so we may award our seventh fellowship in 2017. Thank you for your ongoing support and service to our community. Best wishes for a safe and plentiful Thanksgiving!
Very Truly Yours,
The VABANC Law Foundation Board
Christine M. Pham
Andy Q. Le (Bay Area Legal Aid)
An Tu Dang (San Francisco, Office of the District Attorney)
Thanh D. Ngo (TDN Law Group)
Willie Nguyen (Cal/OSHA)
Mai Phan (Stragmalia Luu LLP)
Quyen Ta (Keker & Van Nest LLP)
Andrew Vu (SAP)