On June 16, 2023, a special Toy Distribution followed by a Pizza Luncheon was offered to 35 Ukrainian refugee children at the ISC. This special event was made possible by a 9 years-old Vietnamese-American 4th Grader, Ms. Vyvian Bui. This young lady, whose parents were among the first Vietnamese “Boat People” refugees to set foot on American soil after miraculously surviving their perilous sea journey in the late 1970’s to escape Communist persecution.

Deeply touched by the similar tragedy most Ukrainian children had to go through in their war-torn homeland, she decided to conduct a Toy Drive at her Westtown Thornbury Elementary School in West Chester. In early June, after gaining the support of her School Principal, Dr. Shawn Cruise, she mobilized a group of highly committed classmates and started a vigorous Toy Drive. On Friday, June 16, Vyvian with the help of her father delivered a truckload of donated toys to many happy Ukrainian children waiting at the ISC.

Vyvian is one of the youngest and most ardent volunteers of the ISC. Since 2018, with the support of her friends and family, she has been enthusiastically raising funds for our Overseas Mission every Christmas Season. The marvelous results of her hard work have been benefitting the Handicapped Children Care Center in Cu Chi, Bo De School for Orphans in Long An, Doi Them Dep Blind Youth Group in Saigon, and Anti Human Trafficking in Southeast Asia Alliance.