Help Send Students On Their Yearly Summer Retreat!

Hi, my name is Kenny and I am fundraising to help subsidize costs for my student's annual summer retreat.

A Little Bit About Me, My Students, and Our Youth Group:

I am a Youth Leader for a Vietnamese Catholic Youth Group - the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement (Thiếu Nhi Thánh Thể - TNTT in Vietnamese). We are a youth group that has multiple chapters in the United States serving students ranging from ages of 7 to 17.

I currently lead my chapter's Knights of the Eucharist division where I oversee a group of about 30 high school juniors and seniors working alongside 13 other youth leaders. Throughout the year, our main goal is to assist our students in living a more Christ-centered life, doing good works for those around them to live a life as good Christians and ultimately, just well-rounded and good people.

While we are Youth Leaders and there is the sense of a teacher-student relationship, my fellow Youth Leaders and I treat our students as more of older brother and sister figures.

As a Vietnamese American and a former student of this organization, I know what it's like to be in our student's shoes. Many of them don't have the guidance they need because they may be the oldest in the family, an only child, or might not have their parents around because they're busy working long hours to make sure their kids live a life that they did not have.

Because of this, for many of our students, for the 2 hours that they are with us on Sundays, this is their escape from reality and stresses of being a high school student. We create a safe and welcoming space for our students to be vulnerable with us so that they can gain the guidance and confidence that they need in order to become well-rounded young adults as they start to enter their adult years. For some, we as Youth Leaders, aren't just their leaders but rather the older sibling they wish they had growing up, sharing with them life experiences for them to thrive in this crazy world.

I'm fortunate enough to also say that I've watched my students grow over the last 10 years of being a Youth Leader for this organization. I've watched them grow from little 10-year-olds with no care in the world to thriving high school students with big dreams and aspirations. I've attached some photos below showing their growth throughout the years.

Why I Am Fundraising:

100% of your donation will go directly toward my students.

Every year, we go on an annual retreat where for one weekend, our students have a safe place to unwind, relax, and just enjoy each other's presence. They're able to disconnect from the real world, take off the (figurative masks) and just be themselves. During these retreats we have (sometimes tough) conversations about how to navigate faith in a scary world to career/life advice.

With inflation and the rising costs of everything around us, we need help. We as Youth Leaders don't get paid for the work we do and most (if not all) of the time, costs are coming out of our own pockets to throw events - Christmas Parties, Kayaking Trips, etc.

With your help, we'll use the funds to provide housing, activities, food, and transportation for our students. This will also help lower costs for our students as well.

Additionally, any extra funds that do not go towards this retreat will be used to help subsidize costs for their annual summer camping trip with all of the chapters in Orange County.

For many of them, this is the one event they look forward to every year and with your help, my fellow Youth Leaders and I are confident we can give them everything they want and more.

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My students are everything to me and I would love nothing more than to give them an amazing experience.

Thank you in advance for your donation, big or small, I cannot be more appreciative for your generosity.

Pictures 1 & 2 - Us On camping Trips Approx. 6-7 years ago.

Pictures Below - Us Today.