Recent Campaigns
PAINT A HEART for SAIGON
Because Only Together We Can
Give the gift of English literacy to the children of rural Vietnam
Who We Are
In April 2018, Vu Do, a market research consultant in St. Louis, Missouri, found herself surrounded by a versatile network of Vietnamese expatriate friends, scholars, and working professionals. The group, which quickly named itself Paint A Dream (PAD), was interested in helping her cause: to improve the quality of life and education for the children of Binh Hai, Vu’s hometown. This group, with members across the United States, reached out to their friends and colleagues in the US and in Vietnam to organize a non-profit organization to build new classrooms and stock new libraries for the children of Binh Hai and other communities Vietnam.
Vu Do, founder: Vu started Paint A Dream in 2018 while she and her husband were brainstorming charity ideas that could give back to Vietnam. Having come from a small village in Binh Hai, Quang Ngai, Vietnam, she understands how much help -and how much hope- disadvantaged children need.
Vu has a background in marketing and is currently working as a higher education professional and educator in Saint Louis, MO. She’s also a seasonal contributing writer for several large newspapers in Vietnam.
Joel Schad: With a background in both media production and engineering, Joel helps oversee and advise on the technical aspects of PAD’s marketing materials and fundraising campaigns. A fan of Vietnamese food and culture, Joel also has a passion in helping improve the lives of children and the people there. In 2020, while running the first half of #PaintAHeart campaign to raise funds for Covid19 victims in Vietnam, Joel undertook a bike trip challenge from Saint Louis to Kansas City, Missouri, covering over 300 miles within 5 days.
Joel currently works as an electrical engineer for a private firm in Illinois. He is also Vu’s husband.
Thao-Ly Tran: A Director at Cornell University who oversees a partnership between this prestigious university and Vin University in Vietnam, Thao-Ly has a great interest in educational and charitable projects that help the young, especially in Vietnam. Thao-Ly offered the first private grant for the PAD English Library to be established and run in Vietnam, serving kids aged 3 to 12. Thao-Ly is also a very effective fundraiser, reliably bringing in funds for Paint A Dream fundraising campaigns for the indigent of Vietnam.
Hoa Khanh Hoang: A Senior Researcher at the University of Missouri and mother of two girls, Dr. Hoang is a strong advocate for education and improving the quality of life of Vietnamese children. One of the first managers of Paint A Dream, Dr. Hoang raised funds and help promoted the group’s mission through many creative initiatives, one of which later became her business Viet Craft Village, which sells custom quilled cards made by local artisans in Vietnam. These initiatives raised funds for, among other things, fully equipping Binh Hai preschool in Quang Ngai, Vietnam. Dr. Hoang also founded another initiative, EVG – Empowering Viet Girls, which supports young female students in Vietnam in their pursuit of a better education.
Huyen Nguyen: A Vietnamese-American with a deep passion for Vietnamese culture and people, Huyen joined Paint A Dream at the beginning of 2020 and has since helped the team by overseeing money matters, from collecting and summarizing the funds/proceeds raised through different fundraising campaigns to forwarding those funds them to Vietnam. Huyen loves being the aunt of her two nieces and many other children of her friends.
Huyen works as an Administrative Coordinator at Washington University in St. Louis.
Allison Barrows: A Library Specialist working for two public libraries in Edwardsville, Illinois, Allison has always loved books and education. This passion drives Allison as a program advisor to the PAD English Library since it opened in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in 2019. With her English literature teaching and library programming experience, Allison has trained and advised volunteers in Vietnam with effective methods to engage children in English learning and reading activities.
Allison presently represents the PAD while working with Dr. Hong-Van Le to run PAD-SuperKids partnership library program in Tay Nguyen, Vietnam.
Paint A Dream’s goal is to provide a safe and educational environment for young, indigent children in rural areas such as Binh Hai and to provide Vietnamese children access to English-language educational materials. The organization aims to nurture young Vietnamese minds with quality resources, giving them the foundation to paint their dreams as big and as brightly as they can.
What We Do
01.
— We improve classrooms
We provide furniture, technology, and other equipment to preschool classrooms in rural Vietnam.
02.
— We make English accessible
Through the PAD English Library program, we provided free, public, English lessons and reading sessions to children in Ho Chi Minh City (2018-2020) and will begin providing them in Buon Me Thuot City, Vietnam in 2022.
03.
— We build libraries
Having purchased or shipped to Vietnam thousands of children’s English language books, we have provided library services to elementary students and independent reading groups, completely free of charge.
04.
— We build networks
We connect Vietnamese and American professionals in the US with volunteers in Vietnam to plan, coordinate, and organize fundraising/educational projects together.
05.
— We provide support
We provide emergency financial support to low-income households in crisis, including victims of the Covid-19 economic crisis and the central Vietnam typhoon and flood victims of 2020.
06.
— We raise funds
We raise funds in supportive communities in the US and Vietnam to drive educational projects for children in Vietnam.
Impact Stories
A BRIGHTER FUTURE - Binh Hai preschool
In 2019, after multiple fundraising campaigns, PAD presented Binh Hai prechool in Binh Son District, Quang Ngai province, Vietnam, with furniture and equipment for their operation of three new classrooms: 120 classroom chairs, 60 classroom tables, three televisions, three computers, three Kidsmart educational software licenses, three computer desks, three bookshelves, three sets of lockers, three filing cabinets.
This gift provided Binh Hai preschool with the resources to serve an additional 60 children from low-income families.
A HELPING HAND - Paint A Heart Campaign
In October 2020, nearly 300 low-income households in Duy Xuyen district, Quang Nam province, and Binh Son district, Quang Ngai province, Vietnam, began receiving monetary and food support from PAD’s #PaintAHeart campaign. This aid mitigated the adverse economic conditions created by Covid-19.
In November 2020, 48 low-income households in Binh Son district, Quang Ngau province received additional financial support from the #PaintAHeart campaign to cover repair of catastrophic damage after typhoon Molave.
ENGLISH FOR ALL - PAD Library
From 2018 to 2020, over 100 children in Ho Chi Minh City attended PAD Library, a weekends program providing access to free English books and lessons organized by PAD volunteers.
