Ash Kalra for State Assembly

Jenny Do & Vy Gia Truong - Prayer Ceremony

Jenny Do's Wish List

Attorney Jenny Do recently was diagnosed with stage IV cancer.   The prognosis is 3-6 months survival rate or less.

The community has been rallied around her to support her and her causes.   In the 2007, she was named Woman of the Year by the California State Legislature in her district and she received a number of  recognitions for her anti-human trafficking and charity work in the Bay Area. 

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My Wish List

Your outpouring of messages, texts, phone calls and postings on social media since my diagnosis has lifted me up. Your prayers and wishes give me strength and courage. I apologize that I have not been able to thank and answer all of you individually, as I have been overwhelmed by your responses!

But dear brothers and sisters, this is not the time to be sad. If we shed tears, let us crystallize them into positive energy. There is so much left to do, so little time to do it. Here is my short wish list for the causes dear to my heart:

1. The welfare of the Friends of Hue (FHF - www.friendsofhue.org

) children and youths continues to be my priority concern! Thanks to the generosity of our donors and supporters, the self-sustainability initiative of FHF’s outsourcing center, and our financially conservative operations, we don't need a huge amount of money to bridge the gap and cover the basic needs of our children.

My first wish therefore is that FHF continues to take care of the children living at the center and those we sponsor in the vicinity. I wish that we keep supporting them until they can fly on their own. Please help me continue the annual fund raising drives.

2. Next on my mind is the Ao Dai Festival (www.aodaifestival.org

). Its fourth edition will take place on May 15th, with or without me. More than just a celebration of the Vietnamese culture and history, ADF binds our youths to a common goal and empowers them for years to come!  I wish that this vision continues after I leave you, that ADF’s fourth edition isn’t the last, and that the torch is passed to willing and able volunteers who will carry on the tradition.

3. I have also fallen in love with the children of Madagascar, one of the poorest countries in the world. There I met Father Pedro Opeka, the founder of Akamasoa, an association that built 18 villages housing 3,000 families who used to live in cardboard boxes in the Antananarivo dumps.

I see in him the presence and beauty of human decency and humanity. Please trust this living Saint, who was nominated for a Nobel Peace prize in 2012. Send him your support (http://www.madagascar-america-foundation.org

). By donating $100, you can save a child from a garbage rummaging life.

4. Last but not least, I wish that our long-awaited, long-promised and long-dreamed Vietnamese-American Community Center of San José becomes reality. Oh, how I wish this to come true before I leave this world!

Its establishment has received the support of many City Councilmembers, community leaders, businesses, and individuals. Many plans have been proposed, many discussions have taken place, but the center still remains just a dream.

It is now time to make it a reality!

I have discussed with like-minded friends. In a few more days, I will describe our vision for a sustainable Vietnamese-American Community Center. It should be a place where the elders meet, where the youths gather and participate in healthy activities, where certain basic services are provided, and where people from different walks of life or cultures share experiences and enrich the community. It should also be a place where music and arts can thrive.

Self-sustainability will be essential. This will require a strong organization to plan and manage the project. We will need a diverse and robust board of directors, an experienced management team, support from all sectors and seed funding to get the project off the ground.

In order for our wishes to come true, I will need your help beyond anything that you have extended to me in the past. Our community is strong; if we join force, we can move mountains!

Please share the dream with me. Let us make a gift to ourselves and to future generations.And please accept my gratitude. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you all.