A winning story of Leidos 50 years Celebration

Charity: Charitable Organization for Vietnamese Education and Sustenance – COVES

https://www.leidos.com/insights/leidos-serves-new-charity-vietnamese-children-was-decades-making

Hi Friends and Colleagues,

I have made a promise to myself to help people in Vietnam twice a year, I am asking for your support. These are about giving food to poor people and giving children a chance to go to school. 

Every year, I attempt to do two things for unfortunate people in Vietnam, giving food on New Year and school supplies at the beginning of School Year. I would be unable to do those things without your generosity. Each year we support many children in a small village and give each of them a small stipend (700,000 Vietnam currency ~ $35). Those kids used that amount to buy school supplies and had little extra money for breakfast/lunch.

Why have I to do that?

I grew up in a small and poor village in South Vietnam while American and South Vietnamese soldiers were fighting to defend freedom. My parents divorced when I was 6 years old. My grandparents raised me even they were struggling themselves because they depended on support from their children. 

April 1975, South Vietnam lost its freedom to Communism. My childhood was hard, now harder, and so fragile, I had no money to buy breakfast or school supplies. Each school year, I collected loose blank papers and bound them together for notebooks. Rarely, I had a new outfit on New Year; my cousin passed down his clothing to me and I had to patch them when they wore out. However, I was lucky to have an opportunity to attend school. Most of my classmates and village kids dropped out because they had to assist their parents on rice farms or sell goods on streets for a living and they struggled the rest of their lives in poverty. 

Years ago, I escaped from Vietnam on a small fishing boat to find freedom and future. In my heart and mind, I want to help unfortunate village kids go to school.  I have two charities over dozen years; one of them is to help those poor kids in villages, I want to give them the same chance to go to school like other kids. This is a reflection of my childhood. I understand that only education can take them out of poverty and give them the freedom and wings to fly away to a bright future. My finance is so limited but my colleagues and friends are great, they have supported my good cause with their generosity and love without a border.

I appreciate the opportunity to tell my story and any consideration in helping me support this noble cause would help me support and prosper these poor unfortunate children.  However, a sure thing for me is an opportunity to express my thinking, love and appreciation to my colleagues and friends and I am certain a big winner already.

Tan H. Nguyen

COVES President

COVES stands for Charitable Organization for Vietnamese Education and Sustenance. The primary mission of COVES is helping unfortunate children to pursue in education. Besides education, those children and families need food, clothing and shelters, so children can have a peace of mind while in school. With your contributions, COVES is able to lift those children and their families out of poverty. We have a power in helping them to have better lives.

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Link https://www.instagram.com/p/B08wvpPHCWd/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet​