January 31, 2022 IN: Our Voices, Staff Blog
Tết’s light endures – a letter from SEARAC’s Executive Director
Dear SEARAC community,
Growing up Vietnamese American, Tết was awesome. We were allowed to skip school and spend the day going from one relative’s house to another collecting lì xì, playing, and eating. Today, SEARAC is closed in observance of Tết and Mien New Year to allow our team the same opportunity to celebrate with their loved ones.
But this year Tết for me and so many in our community is different. This is my first Tết without my Dad, who passed away six months ago. Because of his loss, I’m celebrating Tết more than ever, especially to pass down the same traditions to my 15-month-old son, Khài, in hopes that he too will grow up knowing the joy of Tết and family.
In the darkest of times like this pandemic, our communities have experienced so much loss. Yet through this darkness, light endures through our love and protection for one another, for family, for community, for this generation, and the next.
We welcome the year of the Tiger to continue having the courage to embrace light in the darkest of times, and to embody the Tiger by building our community’s fierceness, boldness, and strength.
We are so blessed by the many hands and hearts that have built this strength, including the 168 SEARAC donors who have helped us to fundraise more than $25,000 since December – exceeding our goal and representing the largest amount we’ve ever fundraised in our year-end campaign!
Because of you, we are blessed to start this year with love, support, and power.
Chúc mừng năm mới and Baengh Orn Siang-Hnyangx from the SEARAC family to yours.
Quyên Đinh
Executive Director, SEARAC
