With the growing number of the Vietnamese-American communities in the US Southern region, especially the younger generations population, there has been a great demand within the Vietnamese American community to create some environment where the youth can get involved, develop their cultural identity awareness, learn about the heritage culture and bridge the gaps between their generation and their parents generations. In order to have such an environment, there is a need to build a strong group of young community activists who are well prepared with good leadership skills and great enthusiasm to bring about positive changes for the community.
Although there have been many youth-led community organizations, there has not been an effort to bring them together in a unique opportunity where they can network, share their experiences and the difficulties they had through years of community involvement and develop the leadership skills together. Such an opportunity will help tremendously to create the collaboration among strong community activists across the nation and to form a network for them to work together in future community projects.
With that in mind, the Vietnamese Culture and Science Association in Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth area would like to propose a plan to organize a Youth Leadership Development Camp for all young community activists from different regions across the nation.
Last year, Len Duong99 attracted more than 300 campers, the majority of whom were young community activists in their local cities. The result of the camp has been so significant that we would like to continue this camp as a traditional event to provide the community youth leaders an opportunity to meet, to share experiences and to inspire even more community commitment. The camp Len Duong 2000 will be held at Camp Carter YMCA campsite in the Fort Worth Area during the Memorial Holiday long weekend of 2000 (from May 26, 2000 to May 29, 2000).
The goal of the Vietnamese-American Youth Leadership development camp is to develop the leadership skills for future emerging leaders of the Vietnamese-American communities.
The objectives of the camp are as followed:
| To develop the leadership skills for the young community leaders, activists across Texas and other regions; |
| To create an opportunity for these young people to network with each other, to share their experiences of their involvement in the community; | |
| To create a friendship and open possibilities of future collaboration of Vietnamese-American youth-led organizations across the Texas region and others; | |
| To develop the knowledge of the heritage culture to bridge the gaps between different generations in the Vietnamese-American community. |
| The VASAs officers for all universities in Texas and other states across the nation. Focused areas including: Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin, College Station, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Georgia, etc. | |
| The leaders of other youth-led organizations who have a strong interest in community involvement. | |
| Young community activists who have been involved in some community projects and have a strong interest in community involvement. |
Dear fellow campers,
- Dat Nguyen, National Football League Player, Lombardi Award Recipient, First Vietnamese-American professional Football Player (Dallas Cowboy - Dallas, Texas).
- Josephine Cam Van Nguyen, Graduated 2nd Place out of 868 midshipmen from US Naval Academy, May 1999; Class of 1897 Sword and Cup Award Recipient for outstanding leadership as commander of the second regiment; Standford University, California.
This is the third time LEN DUONG Camp is organized by the Vietnamese Culture and Science Association in Houston, Texas, and in Dallas/Fort Worth Area. You will have a unique opportunity to meet young community activists from different regions who share with you the same interests: volunteerism, the desire to sharpen your leadership skills and to share your experiences throughout years of community involvement.
The camp will be organized on a very scenic camp site offered by YMCA around the lake area in Fort Worth, Texas. Beside the workshops and forums focusing on leadership skills development, there will be numerous exciting games emphasizing on team building, team work and learning about Vietnamese cultural heritage and history. On Saturday night, there will be a "PowWow" bonfire for campers to share their thoughts on community involvements. On Sunday night, there will be the main bonfire with team competitions and lots of fun. This year, Len Duong2000 will also have special program to celebrate the new millennium.
So plan to be there! Every day is packed of meaningful and enjoyable activities and programs. Come and join LEN DUONG CAMP 2000! Dont miss out this camp because it will definitely be a memorable experience that you will want to come back to, year after year.
Camp Carter YMCA
6200 Sand Springs Rd
Fort Worth, Texas 76114
(817) 738-9241


The camp fees include a T-Shirt, camp button, eleven meals during the three-day camp and air-conditioned cabin for lodging.
1. Follow all instructions and activities set by Camp committee.| 6:00pm Friday May 26, 2000 | |
| 2:00pm Monday May 29, 2000 |
| From the South side of Fort
Worth 1) I-45 North (or North I-35E) 2) I-20 West (approx. 40 minutes) 3) 820 N (Exit 428) - Note: on I-20 West will hit NE Loop 820 first (exit 442B). DONT take this exit. 4) Travel on 820 North, take Exit 10A then turn right (exit 10A called 199 East) 5) Travel on 199 East approx. 0.5 mile then turn right at the first light (Roberts cut-off). 6) Travel on Robert cut-off approx. 2.4 miles then turn right on Meandering Rd. (Always keep right on Meandering) 7) Travel on Meandering Rd approx. 1.4 miles 8) When reaching the dead end, turn right at Sand Springs Rd. 9) Travel on Sand Spring for 0.2 mile and the Camp Site is on your right. |
|
| From the North side of Fort
Worth 1) Go South on I-35 W 2) Go 820 West. (right turn). 3) Travel on 820 West and take Exit 10A or 199 East. 4) Follow step 5) as described above. |
|
| From the East side of Fort
Worth 1) West HWY 183 2) West Loop 820 3) Exit 10A or 199 East 4) Follow step 5) as described above. |



Registration Deadline May 15, 2000
| The total number of campers are limited to 200. Please send your registration form early to guarantee your seat. | |
Print the enclosed Registration Form, fill in the form and mail it with payment to Vietnamese Culture and Science Association (V.C.S.A.) at the address below on or before May 1, 2000. Len Duong 2000 Camp |
| Austin, TX | ||
| (512)707-2350 | ||
| California | ||
| (714)524-3036 | ||
| Chicago | ||
| (832)594-4434 | cachte@hotmail.com | |
| Dallas/Fort Worth, TX | ||
| (817)654-4284 | eaglecom@airmail.net | |
| mtran91@hotmail.com | ||
| Florida | ||
| (407)298-4084 | bengoan@juno.com | |
| Houston, TX | ||
| (713)271-4197 | dhoang@flash.net | |
| (281)587-9456 | huyenthanhluu@hotmail.com | |
| Louisiana | ||
| (504)865-4539 | tieulong1@hotmail.com | |
| Louisville, KY | ||
| (502)366-9219 | kimngan@win.net | |
| Ohio | ||
| (216)707-0966 | minhlyn@yahoo.com | |
| Oklahoma City, OK | ||
| (405)840-5875 | dongthuybui@juno.com | |
| Oregon | ||
| (503)646-8967 | dakao98@yahoo.com | |
| Philadelphia | ||
| (215)537-5815 | loima@elvis.rowan.edu | |
| Seattle | ||
| (425)750-8047 | doanle@hotmail.com | |
Pillow, blanket, bed linens (or sleeping bag). A must!
Toiletries (toothbrush/paste, towel, soap, shampoo, etc)
Casual clothes, summer clothing, slippers, hat, swim suit, etc.
Miscellaneous items: flashlight, umbrella, camera, address book, notebooks, pens, etc.
Please DO NOT bring weapons, jewelry, TVs, radios, walkman, electronic video games.
For out of town camper, please book your flight to DFW (Dallas Fort Worth) International Airport to arrive on Friday May 26 and send your flight schedule to Luu X. Bao at luuxuanbao@yahoo.com. The transportation team will contact you shortly regarding the pick-up time. We will pick up out-of-town campers/guests every three hours on Friday starting at noon, and we will let you know the pickup location
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Send mail to vhkh@vhkhvn.org with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 1997 The Vietnamese Culture & Science Association
Last modified: June 09, 2000