VIETNAMESE ASSOCIATION OF ILLINOIS

Programs

1. Community care program - vai's homecare program serves seniors in cook, dupage, kane and will counties. Multilingual vietnamese, chinese, arabic, albanian, greek, amharic and spanish homecare workers provide care for homebound seniors, such as with daily tasks and household chores. In fiscal year (fy) 2025, vai provided care for over 353 seniors and employed 305 homecare workers. Vai provided 4 trainings for homecare aides with topics of sexual harassment prevention, cyber security for seniors, public benefit updates, know your rights for immigrant communities and domestic worker's rights. In addition to homecare services, vai provided an avenue for seniors to get involved in their community, by encouraging them to attend our monthly community meetings and community events like lunar new year and our 50th anniversary of the end of the us-vietnam war.

   $7,279,417 spent$7,794,513 earned by the program
   81% of program spending

2. Vai provides comprehensive services in both public benefits and immigration assistance. Our public benefits programs help low-income and limited english-speaking immigrants, refugees, and asylees access essential resources such as medicaid, snap, ssi & retirement, crisis assistance, and other support programs. Additionally, we offer immigration assistance and education on immigration and other legal matters to help clients understand their rights, complete immigration applications, and connect to reliable legal resources. In fy'25, vai assisted 506 families in immigration and legal services and 464 families with public aid applications,translations and interpretations, and referrals to community services. In addition to direct services, vai provided educational workshops and info sessions on public benefits and immigration updates, civic engagement, and local issues impacting the community.

   $963,240 spent$38,494 earned by the program
   11% of program spending

3. Vai's community organizing work builds solidarity among vietnamese american, immigrant and working-class communities in uptown, chicago and the chicagoland area to build power and advance social change for the benefit of all. Through grassroots organizing, public education, and leadership skill-building, we develop community members to become aware of their ability to shape conditions and work with other people to meet the changing needs of our community. In fy25, we hosted biweekly mutual aid distributions with the help of 10 volunteers, engaging almost 200 community members to address needs in the neighborhood and build community through activities, conflict resolution, and collective problem-solving. We have facilitated 25 educational workshops on current events and issues in the community, 6 book club meetings for youth, and a workshop on vietnamese american identity and history with uic's vietnamese student association. We led 2 voter education workshops, coordinated 5 phone and text-banking sessions, and organized an early voting drive to provide interpretation support at the polls. This year, we launched our monthly senior and youth membership meetings, with 25 senior and…

   $310,155 spent
   3% of program spending

4. Adult education - the adult literacy program provides english (esl) and citizenship instruction to limited-english-proficient community members, preparing them for their naturalization interviews with uscis and to improve their capacity to communicate in english. In fy'25, the program provides options for on-line learning and expanded services to approximately 406 learners with esl and citizenship instruction provided by 50 volunteer teachers. The program also expanded to dupage and will counties, such as a partnership with the crest hill public library to refer vai services to new immigrant population. In addition to on-line learning, in person instruction was provided at vai offices in chicago and carol stream, including one-on-one instruction at the bezazian public library in chicago.

   $171,775 spent
   2% of program spending

5. Youth program - vai's youth program provides year-round services for culturally diverse youth, ages 6-13, from an after-school program to all-day summer youth program. As a part of our programming, we offer academic support, mentoring, and enriching experiences that foster personal growth, connection, and community. In fy'25, we consistently engaged 30 youth participants and now hold a waitlist of at least 20 students for each program. Our curriculum focused on creation and community building from fun activities like making slime and painting to discussions around latinx history and juneteenth.

   $245,761 spent
   3% of program spending

The 5 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $8,970,348.