VietRISE

About VietRISE

Founded in 2018, VietRISE is dedicated to building power with and serving Vietnamese and other immigrant communities of color in Orange County. Our mission is to advance social justice and build power with these communities through organizing, narrative change, cultural empowerment, and civic engagement.

Orange County, CA is home to the largest Vietnamese community outside of Viet Nam, with over 200,000 residents. Despite the community’s significant political and economic presence in the county, many Vietnamese residents continue to face significant challenges, including rising costs of living, housing instability, incarceration and deportation, limited access to health care, and underrepresentation in local government. There is a growing desire for change, and we believe building a strong community organizing infrastructure is essential to turning that vision into reality.

Our programs:

1. Tự Lực School for Organizing -- a 12-week after-school program designed for Vietnamese American youth aged 14-18 who are interested in deepening their understanding of social justice, activism, Vietnamese history, and community organizing

2. Community Resource Hub -- where we support community members with their basic needs, which have included distributing $450,000 to undocumented Vietnamese and Latinx immigrants excluded from federal pandemic relief, accompanying community members navigating evictions, supporting formerly incarcerated and system-impacted Vietnamese and other immigrant community members with navigating post-incarceration life and deportation defense

3. Political Tours of Little Saigon -- free political education walking tours of some of the most important landmarks in Little Saigon and the untold stories of the Vietnamese community's activism and organizing throughout the last several decades.

Here’s what your donation will help us achieve in 2025:

• Expand our community leadership programs to train more youth and adult leaders who will organize and advocate for social justice.
• Provide direct support to Vietnamese seniors and immigrant families facing housing insecurity, eviction threats, and immigration legal challenges.
• Strengthen our voter engagement efforts by ensuring more community members are informed and empowered to participate in local government.
• Grow our organizing and political education programs, including organizing schools and workshops, to equip even more individuals with the tools and skills they need to create lasting change.