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This year, we were fortunate enough to be a sponsor for the Holiday of Hope 2022 celebration at Oceanside High School, which primarily serves the northern portion of San Diego. Mr. Nguyen, Vice-Chair of The Doan Foundation and board member of North County/Oceanside Promise, has helped organize this event for several years.

The primary objective of this annual event is to unite the community, families, and organizations such as the school district and local police departments, for a night of mutual support and community building in a world when isolation is all too common due to the prevalence of electronic devices. We got to see kids having fun and families sharing a moment of happiness together unhindered by technology. The value of that in and of itself is immeasurable.

This year, the Doan Foundation was able to fund the sponsorship of multiple families in need of assistance. We anticipate accomplishing much more in the years to come.

Though our organization’s main objective is to launch the professional lives of young creatives, we must never lose sight of the fact that the foundation for success is laid in the family.

Our three-week Holiday Hope Drive met and exceeded its goal. We appreciate the generosity of our customers, their friends, and complete strangers who came by to donate to these kids in need. We want to express our deep appreciation to you and everybody who helped us throughout this holiday season. We gathered more than three XL boxes worth of toys, games, and sports equipment, including rare collectibles, educational games, board games, stuffed animals, and more.

This holiday season, we decided to partner with the Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego (@rmhcsandiego ) because we believe in their mission and share their vision. The goal is straightforward: provide assistance and solace to ailing children. They were grateful for our gifts right from the start and kept us informed every step of the process. Families whose children are receiving treatment for serious, often life-threatening disorders at area hospitals can turn to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego as a “home-away-from-home.”

We anticipate an impactful partnership with them for many years to come.

Visit https://rmhcsd.org/ to learn more about the Ronald McDonald House Charities’ mission and successes and to find out how you can help them help those in need.

San Diego’s VAYA has been serving the Vietnamese community here in San Diego for quite some time. They host an annual Tet festival and try to keep the event free for the public to enjoy. These fundraising dinners help with that. Our founder and president, Dennis Doan was asked to auction off the original “Model Minority” art print, otherwise known as “Hate is a Virus”.

Here are his words regarding the piece.

“Creating “Model Minority” ©️2020 was somewhat unintentional. As my tattoo business was shut down at the peak of the pandemic, I found myself sitting at home with nothing to do- feeling useless for the first time in my life. I came across the organization “Hate Is A Virus” who was trying to shine a lense on the blooming hate against our Asian-Americans. This inspired me to sit down and let my mind paint my thoughts.

After 20 or so hours, my vision came to life. It was just a piece of art that I wanted to post to help spread the word. But unbeknownst to me- it would shake up the world.

It wasn’t until my wife and good friend, owner of ShareTea pretty much forced me to turn this piece into t-shirts that people could wear that I gave in. This unintentional route ended up becoming the diamond that saved my business from shutting down due to inactivity during the 7 months we were forced to shut down.

This piece allowed me to reach not only tattoo enthusiasts, but every day people that wouldn’t have discovered me otherwise. All over the news and social media, rallies and educational institutions. It feels surreal until this very day.

This paradigm shift allowed me to turn my presence of merely a tattoo artist into a presence that represents action. It allowed me to start The Doan Foundatin to help marginalized youth, especially in minority communities like my own.

It was only right that I would auction this original piece off at the Annual Gala Fundraiser for the San Diego Tet festival. This event helps keep the festival free for attendees to enjoy and learn about our culture each and every year.

As I get older and my perceptions have shifted, I see clearer the importance of not only preserving our culture but ESCALATING awareness of it. Our youth is losing touch with their roots, but we have the power to change that.

Thank you Tri, owner of NotPolish for your generous bid and congratulations on winning this piece that was originally my own hung up on my own wall. Thank you for your selfless contribution to our people and for recognizing the impact that VAYA has for their futures. I can now retire this piece.

We were able to help VAYA raise almost $10,000 from auctioning this piece.

So proud to be a sponsor to Viet Film Fest 2022!! We were able to enjoy the night with our Chair, Dr. Thao Ha as she welcomed us to the beautiful theater and introduced us to all of VAALA‘s board members and great volunteers. We were blown away from the beauty of the films that we were able to watch. It is so amazing to see what an impact an organization that has been around for so long can make in today’s world. We are looking forward to the next one!
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Viet Film Fest is the largest international Vietnamese film festival in the world, showcasing the best creative work by and about the Vietnamese people. They have had their films, which have won multiple awards, shown in a wide variety of venues across the globe. In 2003, the Vietnamese American Arts & Letters Association (VAALA) established Viet Film Fest as a way to honor the many films that feature Vietnamese characters and settings. The festival has been going strong for over a decade, thanks in large part to the thousands of people from all over the world who come to see the breathtaking showcase of shorts and features that filmmakers from all over the world.

The Viet Film Fest is a celebration of Vietnamese cinema that uses the global language of film to bring people together and encourage new viewpoints and ideas. The Viet Film Fest fosters cross-cultural communication between artists and the general audience. The festival serves as a focal point for the Vietnamese film industry, bringing together notable filmmakers, media professionals, and producers.

The Viet Film Festival is not only a great place to watch films, but also a great place to learn about the culture and history of Vietnam and the Vietnamese people today. They are using art to drive social change.