Our Programs |
An organization your can trust.
Through our different programs and just by the sheer support of private donors, LATO has been able to help tens of thousands of people with everything from food and medicine to a home or an education. Our volunteers, including Leyna Nguyen herself, are personally involved in the purchase and distribution of goods. We pride ourselves on the transparency of our funds and activities to ensure all of your hard-earned money goes to help those in need. You can help by participating in our Meaningful Gifts Program, our Sponsor a Child Program, or simply by making a tax-deductible cash donation.
Meaningful Gifts
"If there's one thing I could give to the struggling people of the world it would be self-reliance. Everyone deserves the dignity of providing for themselves and their families." ~Walter Cronkite
Help families become self-sufficient through the donation of farm animals. Our "Meaningful Gifts" program was created by LATO board member John Brobst and his wife Jeannette. It's been wildly successful! An animal gift is like a living savings account for impoverished families. The most popular animal gifts are pigs, but you can choose any of the following to help a needy family thrive!
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Pig $65Pigs are one of the easiest animals to feed and care for. They need little land and can thrive on crop and garden by-product scraps. An average sow can provide a family with up to 16 piglets a year. And they can grow to more than 200 pounds in six months! A real "piggy bank" for the lucky family. This is by far our most popular meaningful gift. So successful that when the families decide to sell a pig for profit, the money you donated to purchase it is returned to LATO so that another family can receive a pig. It's truly a gift that keeps on giving!
Cow $100-$600A good dairy cow can produce four gallons of milk a day - enough for a family to drink and share with neighbors. Malnourished children will thrive on milk protein. Milk is the most absorbable source of calcium, which is essential for strong bones and teeth.
And since the cow produces so much milk, the family can sell what they don't consume to have income to pay for medicine, clothing, food, and school. You can donate a cow for $600 or share in donating one. Click the donate button and help things get mooooving along for a family in need. Chickens $40A good hen can lay up to 200 eggs a year - plenty to eat, share or sell. Eggs add much needed protein to malnourished diets. $40 buys a flock of chickens and soon, the receiving family will be having eggs for breakfast. A great way to start off the day before the kids are sent off to school! Click donate below to give a flock of chickens.
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Sponsor a Child
For less than $2/day, you can feed a child three daily meals and send them to school. Education is such a priority in many Vietnamese families that they often go hungry to be able to afford school, or the oldest in the family will pass on what they've learned to younger siblings who can't go to school. An education is their key to a brighter future, and you can help make that happen. LATO identifies deserving students by taking applications requiring information on the child's family, their income and personal situations, as well as academic record. We make home visits to confirm their status, and also to ensure that the sponsorship money is going toward schooling and meal costs only.
A little goes a long way:
$25/mo will pay for schooling costs
$55/mo will pay for three meals a day, tuition, and school supplies!
Here's how it works:
LATO goes through a confirmation process in which after a family or child submits an application for sponsorship, we conduct unannounced home visits to confirm their family situation is what they say it is. This includes talking to neighbors, other family members, etc. This visiting of their home also continues after they are accepted, to make sure the funds are being used for the child's schooling and meals, and not for other purposes such as home improvement. While that is also important, we want to make sure that the program to send kids to school succeeds. This is also the reason why we only disburse funds monthly and not lump sum, and we also require their school grades to continue. We ask that our sponsors commit to at least a year of sponsorship.
Our sponsors sometimes send extra money during the holidays or for no reason at all. Some of our sponsors have direct contact with the child, but most find it easier to use LATO as the go-between for communication and to send the money. We will send you pictures of your child, address and other contact info if you'd like to contact them yourself. You can also send money directly to them, or LATO can do it for you. There is no "cost" or overhead for this. All the money goes to the student. LATO absorbs the cost of running the program so that these families can fully benefit from your generosity.
Make your first contribution now, and once it's received we will match you up with a child, send photos and exchange information.
A little goes a long way:
$25/mo will pay for schooling costs
$55/mo will pay for three meals a day, tuition, and school supplies!
Here's how it works:
LATO goes through a confirmation process in which after a family or child submits an application for sponsorship, we conduct unannounced home visits to confirm their family situation is what they say it is. This includes talking to neighbors, other family members, etc. This visiting of their home also continues after they are accepted, to make sure the funds are being used for the child's schooling and meals, and not for other purposes such as home improvement. While that is also important, we want to make sure that the program to send kids to school succeeds. This is also the reason why we only disburse funds monthly and not lump sum, and we also require their school grades to continue. We ask that our sponsors commit to at least a year of sponsorship.
Our sponsors sometimes send extra money during the holidays or for no reason at all. Some of our sponsors have direct contact with the child, but most find it easier to use LATO as the go-between for communication and to send the money. We will send you pictures of your child, address and other contact info if you'd like to contact them yourself. You can also send money directly to them, or LATO can do it for you. There is no "cost" or overhead for this. All the money goes to the student. LATO absorbs the cost of running the program so that these families can fully benefit from your generosity.
Make your first contribution now, and once it's received we will match you up with a child, send photos and exchange information.
