We have awarded a college scholarship for the 2020-2021 academic year’s scholarship program! For more details, please visit our “News” page.
News: 2020 - 2021
Since the inception of the Viet-Sun Foundation, inspired by a family trip back to our homeland in Vietnam and travels through the rural landscapes and villages, we (with your help and generosity) continue our efforts to provide education to the village children. Many of these children to whom we provided scholarships years ago continue to thrive.
We are pleased to provide an update that one of our scholarship recipients has been accepted to, and is now attending, the University of Architecture in Vietnam! This institution is the flagship university in Vietnam specializing in academic programs for architecture, civil and infrastructural engineering, and urban design and research. The Viet-Sun Foundation is proud to see its recipients grow and succeed. Rewarding him for his academic achievements, we have provided this indvidual with an academic scholarship, which will further assist him in his studies. We hope this individual will continue to thrive and pursue his passions. Upon graduation, he hopes to be instrumental in building Vietnam's still-developing infrastructure.
In the meantime, the Viet-Sun Foundation continues to accept and review scholarship candidates over the next year, and assess each application for eligibility and funding necessities. As always, we continue to thank our donors for their contributions. Every dollar counts. A donation of $20 can assist in sending a grade school student to school. Please help the children pull themselves and their families out of poverty through education.
Team
Timothy Bui - Chairman
Dr. Timothy Bui, DPM, is Chairman on the Board of Directors of the Viet-Sun Foundation. Timothy attended medical school in New York, NY, after he graduated as an Honors Scholar from the University of Connecticut where he majored in Mathematics and minored in Chemistry. Timothy is part of the Pi Mu Epsilon honor society, is a member of Alpha Lambda Delta, and is also a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. He was also Valedictorian of his high school class. Timothy currently resides and works in New York City.
Jeremy Bui - President
Jeremy is President on the Board of Directors of the Viet-Sun Foundation. Jeremy works in Intellectual Property law, residing and working in Washington, DC. His charitable work also includes consulting children and teenagers in starting charities and fundraising programs. Jeremy earned his Juris Doctorate from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C., and graduated as an Honors Scholar with a dual degree in Business and History from the University of Connecticut. Like his older brother, he also graduated as Class Valedictorian of his high school.
Zachary Bui - Vice President
Zachary, a software engineer, is Vice-President on the Board of Directors of the Viet-Sun Foundation. With his computer engineering background, Zachary designed this foundation’s website. Zachary graduated from the University of Connecticut, with a major in Computer Engineering and is currently undergoing studies in pursuit of his business degree (MBA). He concurrently runs his own web service on his off-time, in which he builds servers and provides technical support to his clients. Zachary has acquired acclaim for his consulting work, knowledge of computers, and for his creative website designs. He currently works and resides in Connecticut.
Village Life - The Life of a Vietnamese Villager...
With poverty overflowing into the streets, it’s the job of every village child to aid their families in order to bring the mere necessities, such as food and water, to the table. Money isn’t easy to come by and sacrifices must be made. Children resort to forgoing an education in order to help their families. Instead of paying for textbooks, supplies, and for an education, these children are burdened with the responsibility of taking care of their families rather than obtaining an education. They force themselves to obtain money by accomplishing numerous odd jobs that are hard for even us to conceive:
Outside of the cities; outside of the areas patrolled and protected by law enforcement on behalf of the safety for the foreign tourists, the roads are unbearable, houses consist of thatched or tin roofs, dirt floors, walls made of tin, wood, or straw, and with virtually no plumbing. Life in the country is difficult to comprehend, yet these villagers live these lives daily.
One of the only ways to make money is to resort to fishing in the sea, which is extremely dangerous. Countless fishermen die from stormy weather on the sea. What makes matters worse for them is that the fishing season only lasts eight months. Within that short period of time, fishermen have to work rigorously in dangerous conditions in order to catch fish.
Those who do have the luxury of owning a vehicle, mainly motor-bikes, make a living by giving rides to tourists in the city, while those who aren’t so fortunate are forced to commute as long as six hours to the city in order to sell fruit from the country and then go back home the same day late in the evening. Some family members barely have the time to see each other during the day, causing strain on a family’s environment. Vietnamese villagers only make a mere one dollar or even less per day, barely enough to buy enough food for one night. Having sacrificed so much, having worked so hard, they’ve received very little in compensation. It's a saddening fact that some families have to sell their own children, far away to the city, to work for the wealthy. Even worse, some young girls (some as young as 14 years old) have to go to such lengths as to prostitute themselves for quick cash. For some families, this is their only option. Children are unable to attend schools because their parents are unable to pay for it, so these children become illiterate and continue to work on the streets without an education.
During our exploration of Vietnam in 2007, our family organized a distribution of rice to the poor in our mother's home village. A local nurse from the Red Cross made the arrangements with the government's permission to allow a gathering of the poor at my grandmother's home. At the arranged time, many of the poor villagers flooded through the gate of our grandmother's home. Those who could not fit inside formed a long never-ending line that snaked through the narrow streets of the village. We gave each family rice; each person was either emaciated with hunger, or debilitated in some way that a family member had to act as a human crutch.
From that experience, we knew we had to do something, but something greater than just passing out food, which would not last them forever. We decided that in order to bring these families out of poverty, we had to start at the core, the children, the future. These children need a valuable education; otherwise they will continue as their parents have in the past and their parents' parents have, going through an unnecessary never-ending cycle of suffering. The Viet-Sun Foundation's purpose is to provide these impoverished children, yet bright and determined, to earn a chance to continue their progress in learning and benefiting from an education through academic scholarships.
Our Story
Our parents arrived in America as refugees following the Vietnam War. Encountering struggles while establishing their lives, only through education were they able to reap the benefits of the opportunities offered by the United States.
Our mother, who left Vietnam in a small fisherman's boat during the Vietnam War, arrived in America alone. Upon arriving to America with literally nothing, she had to work 3rd shifts while attending school in order to support herself. Our father came with his family, but still had to work while attending college in order to support his family. Having overcome numerous hardships and obstacles, both of our parents are now living successful lives and are an inspiration to all of us. Our mother is a chemist and a business owner with a Masters Degree and our father is an engineer and professor, with a Doctorate Degree.
Both of our parents raised the three of us on the basis of traditional Vietnamese values – stressing the utmost importance of education and giving back to the community.
After taking a trip to Vietnam to our parents’ homeland, we were struck with a sense of disturbance as we saw the wide division between the social classes. We felt the need to do something in order to help the poor we saw struggling. We helped those with what we could at the time by providing the poor with food. However, in our hearts, we felt that rice would not be enough to erase the problem, but would only delay the inevitable.
History - Your Impact
To our supporters,
It seems like we're growing every day thanks to your part in increasing awareness of our cause. It takes a lot of effort to raise funds to send poor Vietnamese village children to school through academic scholarships. Through your donations, we are able to raise much needed scholarship funds to help send these desperate students of poverty-stricken villages to school. We believe in the capacity of an education to raise these families out of poverty. Only then will they be able to pursue their own dreams of health and happiness
Throughout the Viet-Sun Foundation's existence, we've grown support through walk-a-thons, Recycling-Can-Drives, Kick-Ball Tournaments, and Dress Down Days. Schools like Enfield High School and Enrico Fermi High School in Connecticut played large roles in solidifying our existence by contributing funds towards our cause. Word of our cause spread drastically. Local support grew to national support. Checks of modest to generous amounts came in from those who we didn't even know and from across the nation.
Awareness grew even further after President Jeremy T Bui got recognized by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. Finally, we made it official. We became a 501(c)(3) NON-PROFIT organization, where we could now offer tax exemptions for donations.
We like to think that we are all together on a journey to learn about a culture so distant while, at the same time, we are making worthwhile contributions to promote educational goals that these students strive for. This is the story of caring hearts and love coming together in order to better the world in unprecedented levels by promoting education. We thank you for reaching out.
We thank you for your continuing support. If you are new to the Viet-Sun Foundation, we welcome you to please explore our website. If you have any questions, please contact us.
Thank you for visiting the Viet-Sun Foundation's website.
The Viet-Sun Foundation was established on the basis of helping poor Vietnamese children earn an education through academic scholarships and grants. This non-profit foundation relies solely on the donations of money and services. The Viet-Sun Foundation is organized exclusively for charitable purposes under section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code.
Donations to the organization can be made by check to:
"Viet-Sun Foundation Inc."
and then sent to
Jeremy Bui
2 Patricia Circle,
Enfield, CT 06082
We will mail a receipt to you after your donation is received.
If your company has a matching program for a donation, please forward the form to us.
The future of our foundation depends on how much help and contributions we receive from people like you in order to make a greater impact for the children in these villages.
We thank you in advance for all of your support and your generous donations toward our foundation. Our non-profit foundation, Viet-Sun, derives from the idea that we are the ray of light those unfortunate people seek when situations are most helpless. And we vow to stick to that motto...
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What does the Viet-Sun Foundation do?
We provide education to poor Vietnamese village children through academic scholarships.
2. How much does it cost to send one child to school for a year?
As little as $20 to as high as $50 dollars can send a Vietnamese student to school for a full year.
3. How do you select scholarship recipients?
Throughout the year, we collect scholarship applications from Vietnamese children. If selected as a scholarship recipient, funds will be sent directly to the student. Funds are allocated to these students based on financial need, academic merit, and their family situation. We encourage scholarship recipients to reapply each academic year, but they have to show proof of academic improvement.
4. Do our donation dollars go directly to the children?
Yes, funds go DIRECTLY to the scholarship recipients after their applications have been accepted. An estimated 99% of our funds go directly to the scholarship recipients. We make NO profit.
5. Can I "write-off" my donation to the Viet-Sun Foundation?
Yes, the Viet-Sun Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Therefore, donations to the Viet-Sun Foundation are applicable for tax-exemption.
6. Is it easy to make a donation to the Viet-Sun Foundation?
Yes, we accept checks made to the Viet-Sun Foundation. Please mail your check to our address. Remember that as little as $20 to as high as $50 dollars can send a Vietnamese student to school for a full year!
Dr. Timothy Bui, DPM, is Chairman on the Board of Directors of the Viet-Sun Foundation. Timothy attended medical school in New York, NY, after he graduated as an Honors Scholar from the University of Connecticut where he majored in Mathematics and minored in Chemistry. Timothy is part of the Pi Mu Epsilon honor society, is a member of Alpha Lambda Delta, and is also a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. He was also Valedictorian of his high school class. Timothy currently resides and works in New York City.
Jeremy is President on the Board of Directors of the Viet-Sun Foundation. Jeremy works in Intellectual Property law, residing and working in Washington, DC. His charitable work also includes consulting children and teenagers in starting charities and fundraising programs. Jeremy earned his Juris Doctorate from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C., and graduated as an Honors Scholar with a dual degree in Business and History from the University of Connecticut. Like his older brother, he also graduated as Class Valedictorian of his high school.
Zachary, a software engineer, is Vice-President on the Board of Directors of the Viet-Sun Foundation. With his computer engineering background, Zachary designed this foundation’s website. Zachary graduated from the University of Connecticut, with a major in Computer Engineering and is currently undergoing studies in pursuit of his business degree (MBA). He concurrently runs his own web service on his off-time, in which he builds servers and provides technical support to his clients. Zachary has acquired acclaim for his consulting work, knowledge of computers, and for his creative website designs. He currently works and resides in Connecticut.
With poverty overflowing into the streets, it’s the job of every village child to aid their families in order to bring the mere necessities, such as food and water, to the table. Money isn’t easy to come by and sacrifices must be made. Children resort to forgoing an education in order to help their families. Instead of paying for textbooks, supplies, and for an education, these children are burdened with the responsibility of taking care of their families rather than obtaining an education. They force themselves to obtain money by accomplishing numerous odd jobs that are hard for even us to conceive:
One of the only ways to make money is to resort to fishing in the sea, which is extremely dangerous. Countless fishermen die from stormy weather on the sea. What makes matters worse for them is that the fishing season only lasts eight months. Within that short period of time, fishermen have to work rigorously in dangerous conditions in order to catch fish.
From that experience, we knew we had to do something, but something greater than just passing out food, which would not last them forever. We decided that in order to bring these families out of poverty, we had to start at the core, the children, the future. These children need a valuable education; otherwise they will continue as their parents have in the past and their parents' parents have, going through an unnecessary never-ending cycle of suffering. The Viet-Sun Foundation's purpose is to provide these impoverished children, yet bright and determined, to earn a chance to continue their progress in learning and benefiting from an education through academic scholarships.
The future of our foundation depends on how much help and contributions we receive from people like you in order to make a greater impact for the children in these villages.