About us

VNHELP was formally incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 1991, but its origins really trace back to two years before that, in 1989. That year, the US lifted travel restrictions to Vietnam after more than a decade of sanctions. This decision signified the first time since the end of the Vietnam War that Vietnamese Americans could freely return to the birthland they left following the end of the Vietnam War.

Many of VNHELP’s founders were among that first cohort of Vietnamese Americans to return, and when they did, they personally witnessed the poverty and desolation still prevalent throughout much of the country. They decided they had to do something to help ease the suffering. At first, it was just a couple of small, charitable projects they each ran on their own time: help a few kids get through school, raise funds for an orphanage here, send medicine to a community there. But then, in 1991, the friends who would become VNHELP’s founders got together and realized they could do so much more if they combined their resources. In that moment, VNHELP was born.

VNHELP has become one of the largest Vietnamese American-founded nonprofit organizations providing humanitarian and development assistance to Vietnam. Its programs have expanded to reach thousands of people each year through health, education, and economic development. Moving toward the future, VNHELP will continue to explore new ways to promote sustainable change that not only mitigate suffering, but also uplift people from poverty and restore integrity to their lives.

Whether it’s through grassroots initiatives, strategic partnerships, market-based solutions, or social business, our goal is to give everyone a chance to succeed in life. We won’t stop until it becomes reality.