Mid-Atlantic Union of Vietnamese Student Associations

Mid-Atlantic Union of Vietnamese Student Associations

Logo of the Organization

Mid-Atlantic Region
Formation 2007
Type Alliance
Headquarters Mid-Atlantic Region
Website http://www.mauvsa.org

The Mid-Atlantic Union of Vietnamese Student Associations (MAUVSA) (Vietnamese:Liên Hội Sinh Viên Việt Nam Mid-Atlantic) is a non-profit alliance of college-based cultural organizations from D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. It consists of local chapters from 11 major schools throughout the region: George Mason University, The George Washington University, James Madison University, University of Maryland – College Park, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Georgetown University, North Carolina State University, and Old Dominion University. MAUVSA seeks to unify the Vietnamese American community, facilitate communication and cooperation among the various schools, empower and develop young leaders, foster cultural awareness and education, and promote social justice.[1]

Recent News

ODU Becomes 11th Member School of MAUVSA

January 30, 2016

We had a memorable January summit because ODU VSA was bidding in to become the 11th member school of MAUVSA. Led by their president Vuong Nguyen, members of the eboard stood up there with their heads high and presented their case. After much deliberation, Amber Nguyen announced that MAUVSA and members of the CoRR has accepted ODU VSA's bid to become the 11th member. Congratulations to ODU VSA!

January CoRR Summit at Virginia Tech

The summit was very insightful as Christian Nguyen presented a Sponsorship Workshop. It focused on How, When, What, and Why to ask for sponsorship. We also broke out in groups and had everyone share their thoughts on a discussion on "Improving Your VSA". This topic ranged from "How do you keep members engaged and interested in VSA" to "How would you improve communication within your VSA".

2016 MAUVSA School Culture Show Dates

Here is the list of dates for all culture shows. Some of the schools locations and themes are TBA. Be on the lookout on our Facebook page for more information!

  • GWU - February 12
  • UVA - February 20
  • JMU - February 20
  • UMCP - March 5
  • NCSU - March 19
  • VCU - April 2
  • GMU - April 16
  • UMBC - April 23
  • GU - April 23
  • VT - April 30

History

In 2006, the Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations (uNAVSA) approached students from Virginia Commonwealth University with the idea of creating an umbrella organization in the Mid-Atlantic area, similar to UVSA and other regional networks. The seven universities that would form MAUVSA held their first summit on October 14, 2006.[2] Representatives from these schools were greeted by the helpful direction of uNAVSA President Hai T. Ton, External Vice-President Minh Thanh Nguyen, and Treasurer Aileen Pham. The uNAVSA officers presented an overview of leadership, and facilitated workshops on topics such as membership, coalition building, and project management. After this initial summit, leaders from the seven VSAs continued to meet throughout the academic year, and focused on drafting MAUVSA's new constitution. On July 21, 2007, they ratified and signed the constitution, officially recognizing and sanctioning the organization.

Members of the Union

Activities

Monthly Leadership Summit

The primary activity for MAUVSA is a series of monthly leadership summits. Each summit provides the opportunity for students to exchange information, establish relationships, evaluate activities, and coordinate programs at the campus level. The summit series also provides a forum for student leaders to discuss common organizational challenges such as membership recruitment, membership retention, conflict resolution, and project management.

Annual MAUVSA Advance Conference

Each January/February, MAUVSA hosts a 3-day conference for its general body members. Programming for the event emphasizes networking, leadership, and social interaction. Conference highlights include the MAUVSA games (team-building), keynote speakers, entertainment, a networking fair, and insightful workshops covering a wide range of topics including but not limited to: leadership, entrepreneurship, and Vietnamese culture and history. Other interesting topics may include traditional dance, mental issues, feminism, minority voice empowerment, and many more. The next conference is MAUVSA Advance Conference V, which will be from Feb. 26th - Feb. 28th, 2016.

For more info on MAC V: https://mauvsa.org/conferences/mac5

Strength through Unity

MAUVSA also supports and promotes the programs of its campus chapters, such as:

  • VSA Families, a mentoring program for new freshmen and transfer students;
  • VSA Interns, a training program for emerging leaders;
  • Cultural holiday celebrations, including Full Moon Festival and Tết Show;
  • Vietnamese language and culture classes; and
  • College Preparation Seminar, an outreach and development workshop for high school students.

Collective Philanthropy Project

Flier for MAUVSA's 2008 Formal Ball

Each year, the members of MAUVSA participate in a Collective Philanthropy Project (CPP) to raise money for charity. In 2007, MAUVSA's efforts benefitted the Catalyst Foundation, an organization supporting homeless and poverty-stricken children in Vietnam. After various fundraising activities and events throughout the year, MAUVSA donated $7,000 to Catalyst.

In 2008, MAUVSA successfully raised $7,700 for Vietnamese Overseas Initiative for Conscious Empowerment (VOICE), an organization offering legal and social services to Vietnamese refugees overseas. To celebrate and commemorate their achievements, the members of MAUVSA hosted a formal ball in June.[3]

In 2009, MAUVSA donated to VietHope, an organization dedicated to building schools and offering scholarships in Vietnam. MAUVSA presented a ceremonial check for $5,000 at a formal dinner gala in June.[4]

MAUVSA currently is helping with a new collective philanthropy project called Kids Without Borders. They are an ‘all-volunteer’ international non-governmental organization based in Washington state. Their work has reached more than 30 countries, with the majority of the programs and projects in Viet Nam. Kids Without Borders gives support to the orphans and children with disabilities linked to Agent Orange in Viet Nam.

Kids Without Borders helps orphans prepare to leave the orphanage at the age of 18 and for them to be ready to face the outside world. The focus of this year’s project will be on creating an exit plan for life after the orphanage, since the reality will be that a majority of them would end up living in poverty, become victims of crime, become trafficked or forced into marriage. With the proposed project, it will be able to provide the orphans with a better chance to become healthier, functional, and productive adults.

For more information about Kids Without Borders, please visit their website at kidswithnoborders.org

MAUVSA's charitable efforts and contributions have received attention from various media sources in the Vietnamese community. They have been featured on stations such as Vietnamese American Television (VATV) and Saigon Broadcasting Television Network (SBTN), as well as news websites such as VietBao Daily and Vietmedia.

See also

References

  1. ↑ About Us
  2. ↑ Groundbreaking Leadership Summit Brings Together..., uNAVSA News October 5, 2006.
  3. ↑ Miền Đông: Sinh hoạt của Liên Hội Sinh Viên MAUVSA, VietBao Daily Online June 11, 2008.
  4. ↑ Hoa Thịnh Đốn: Thế Hệ Trẻ (mauvsa) Đang Vươn Lên, VietBao Daily Online June 26, 2009.
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