10th Anniversary Annual Fundraising Dinner Report

Dear partners, sponsors, members and friends,

Thank you for participating in the Hands for Hope (H4H) 10th Anniversary Dinner held last Friday night, 17th September 2010 at Happy Reception, Ascot Vale, Victoria. As anticipated, about 450 guests and members attended, with the event attracting many distinguished guests, former members and new faces. One of our distinguished guests present on the night was H4H’s honoured medical project partner, Dr Le Duc To who joined us from Vietnam. Co-founders and founding members were also present at the VIP tables.

The opening ceremony commenced at 7:35pm and guests were treated to an exhilarating lion dance performance by a team of 20 from Chinese Cultural Centre of Victoria Lion Dance Troupe. This was the first time the auspicious lions visited the H4H dinner. A four minute video clip followed of well wishes from various stakeholders congratulating H4H on their 10th year Anniversary. MC Bruce and Khiet Ngan stepped out to welcome the guests with their big smiles and Khiet Ngan adorned elegantly in her beautiful white modern Ao Dai.

Entertainers both local and from Sydney kept the guests amazed with their performances throughout the night including the spectacular Ao Dai show, the hip hop dances, the Salsa dance lesson, the songs, the moves....

A welcome speech was delivered by the president, Nhan Nguyen, acknowledging the partners and sponsors and reporting on H4H achievements, then launching the special H4H 10th Anniversary video clip. The footage visibly moved the audience particularly when they saw Chung, a child from our Medical Program. Prior to the Corrective Surgery, Chung walked on the back of her knees and calves and was now making her very first steps on her own two feet after the H4H funded operations.

The president introduced medical project partner Dr Le Duc To who was warmly welcomed by the guests with a loud round of applause. Dr To presented a slideshow on case studies from the medical program and narrated using his medical expertise on the subject matter. Following this, the exclusive H4H 10th Anniversary Award was presented to 10 sponsors and partners in recognition of their long term contributions in the last ten years with the honoured recipients including:

• Dr Le Duc To
• Mr Ha Lu
• Diamond Head Fashion
• Mr. PTA
• Rotary Club of Springvale City
• Gia Dinh Phat Tu Chanh Dao
• Gia Dinh Phat Tu Dai Bi Quan Am
• VNTV
• SBS Radio, Vietnamese Language
• Dr Thuy Nguyen

A live auction was held with items including an Ao Dai, a 2005 1.5L of Penfold bin 307 Cabernet Sauvignon, an oil painting by Hung Thang "Ha Long Bay" and many other items that were part of the silent auction. Valuable prizes were given out including 3 raffle ticket prizes and a prize for best guest’s Ao Dai. Congratulations to all the winners.

It is inevitable that there are some hitches with organising and conducting such a large event and foremost, we would like to acknowledge the contributions of singer Tram Anh from Sydney, the Chinese Cultural Centre of Victoria Lion Dance Troupe, recognising the presence of My Ly from the Australian Vietnamese Association, Mr Nhan Le and family and to any others that may have been omitted. We take this opportunity to apologize for not making the above acknowledgments on the night.

Thank you to all sponsors, donors for your generosity and support and thank you members and volunteers for your time and effort in helping organise and make the night the success that it was.

Let us celebrate our achievements and continue our collaborative support for the less fortunate children of Vietnam. There is yet much work to be done.

Warm wishes Hands For Hope 2000- 2010 Celebrating 10 years of making difference