I’m excited that LIRS will be celebrating the Vietnamese New Year, Tet, with communities in California and Washington State. LIRS Assistant Director for Development James Corey will be visiting several cities, including Garden Grove and Seattle, to connect with many of the 80,000 Vietnamese that LIRS helped resettle in America, and to introduce the Refugee Alumni Network. Here’s what he has to say about his trip:
This Tet, I’m visiting the West Coast and reaffirming LIRS’s bond with our Vietnamese-American friends. We want to honor our shared memories and the achievements of our friendship.
We’re proud to have connected tens of thousands of Vietnamese with sponsors in the United States. In that way, LIRS and Vietnamese Americans share a bond in the California and Washington communities and their social, political, and economic successes.
During my February 6-12 visit to California, I’m scheduled to meet with a group of pastors in Long Beach, as well as Garden Grove City Councilman Chris Phan and Van Tran, former California State Assembly member, before taking part in the Garden Grove Tet Festival. I’ll also meet with the project director of the Vietnamese American Oral History Project, Thuy Vo Dang, and other community leaders.
While in Washington State from February 13 to 17, I’ll take part in the Seattle Tet Festival, meet with Lutheran Community Services of the Northwest, and connect with community leaders.
We’re honored to be a part of Tet festivals this February as part of reaching out for the LIRS Refugee Alumni Network. We welcome our Vietnamese-American friends to reconnect with LIRS and other Vietnamese former refugees by joining the network.
LIRS is building the Refugee Alumni Network as a way for former refugees to connect with one another, and to help new refugees who are facing hardships on their journey to the United States. You can learn about the network on our web page, lirs.org/alumni. Network members are invited to help LIRS lobby for better opportunities for refugees, and may even visit members of Congress in Washington, D.C. on June 20, World Refugee Day.
Tet is a great celebration and a time to reconnect with family and friends, so I’m looking forward to renewing the bonds that have grown between LIRS and our Vietnamese-American friends over many decades.
Image credit: Chris Vomberg
