The Beacon of Light’s first volunteering event was a cooperation effort with Maison Chance.  We were all anxious to begin our first mission of service together.   For weeks, we planned out all the things we could help out with, from gathering around 30 shoe boxes, which many of us probably saved without anticipating their potential uses, to wrapping those 30 shoe boxes (resourcefully, of course) to making table labels, to having ao dai dilemmas, and the list goes on!
The day came and I’m sure we were all psyched to help the ones in Viet Nam!  We arrived at Kim Son early in the afternoon to get everything ready, and before we knew it, the fundraising event was about to begin.  We all scurried to assemble ourselves into neat lines, and each of us waited for our turn to usher the guests to their tables. Before we knew it, the place was packed! Around 1000 guests were present, all with the same mindset to help as much as they could, just as we, the Beacon of Light team, were there to do.  The night was packed with music and dance  entertainments, auctions, and good food, which we ate when we were not scattered throughout the grand ballroom to sell raffles and collect donations. All in all, it was a great success; everyone helped to raise over $100,000 for Maison Chance! If one was to think about it, everyone there was united in having the heart to give, whether it be time or money, to hopefully help Maison Chance founder, Tim, make a difference in these people’s lives back in our mother country; I would like to think that we did. 

With Our Hearts and Hands, We Can Build a Village