One day while traveling through her family’s ancestral country of Vietnam, May discovered a small street market in the heart of the city of Ho Chi Minh (formerly Saigon). There was a fabric store selling silk fabrics of many beautiful colors, patterns, and varieties that caught her eye. As she went into the store, May began to have a conversation with the store merchant, inquiring in Vietnamese, about the various types of silks that were sold at the stall. The merchant replied that the fabrics were special silk material to create the custom Vietnamese national dress known as “ao dai.”  With sheer excitement, May knew she had to have her very own and thus began her journey to creating a charity ball based around the concept of the beautiful dress that she wanted to share with the world. On this very day, the idea of “A Summer in Saigon” was born.

 

After returning home from her travels in Asia, May decided to she wanted to organize a black tie charity event that would share with everyone both her passion for charity and her love for her native country of Vietnam. She knew in her heart she wanted to teach others about her two favorite charities, Corazon de Vida and Friends of Downtown San Diego. It became her goal to create an amazing experience with food, drinks, entertainment, and a silent auction to raise awareness and collect donations for charity. And of course, the beautiful dress would finally get to be worn!

 

In June 2016, “A Summer in Saigon” was an event that went down in history. The theme was Vietnamese culture, the venue was the breathtaking roof deck of the Icon building, and the million dollar views were that of Petco Park stadium in San Diego, Ca. Guests enjoyed delicious traditional Vietnamese food, live music and entertainment, and the silent auction raised $6,390.71!

 

Shortly after that, May learned that she had the ability to create enriching experiences that could forever change the lives of others. She wanted to give back and bring the community together through charity. May founded the 501 (c)(3) May We Give for Love (MWG4L) in order to organize more charitable events to help those that are less fortunate. In March 2017, the charity’s next main event is the Break the Silence golf tournament. The purpose of the golf tournament is to help rebuild the dorms of the Special Needs kids at Rancho de los Ninos orphanage in Valle de Guadeloupe. Please come support MWG4L.