Silent mirror brings joy to everyone

Ms. Chau Tran Quynh Trang

I have known her since the first days of working at the agency, when she was still participating in the Youth Union activities. There were times when she participated in training for Youth Union cadres or when she participated in Youth Union activities and movements, the image of Ms. Chau Tran Quynh Trang left a good impression on me. At that time, Ms. Trang was also a Youth Union member, Deputy Secretary of the Youth Union of the Provincial Party Committee's Internal Affairs Committee, and then Secretary of the Youth Union of the Inspectorate of Soc Trang province (old).

What left the deepest impression on me was that in 2018, Trang had the idea and boldly established the Love Sharing Club. Trang shared: “Since I was a child, I have witnessed people around me living in poverty. When I had better conditions, I began to learn about volunteer models and cherished the desire to establish a club to do something useful for the community.” As said, Trang prepared the procedures and established the Love Sharing Club with an initial number of only a few members who were union members and youth working in the same unit or participating in the Union activities in the same group as Trang. The main purpose is to connect volunteers to join hands to help those in difficult circumstances and lives lacking both material and spiritual things.

Up to now, after more than 6 years of operation, the Love Sharing Club has had nearly 30 members. Over that time, this model has carried out many activities to support the disadvantaged, especially the lonely elderly and poor but studious students living in remote and disadvantaged areas in the locality.

One of the outstanding activities that the Love Sharing Club has implemented is fundraising with the Youth Booth model. Here, Club members will connect to sell OCOP products of Soc Trang province and make handmade items to sell to contribute to the fund. Members also contribute their own money to maintain a stable fund source.

Meeting me in the center of Can Tho City, Ms. Trang excitedly said that since its establishment, the Love Sharing Club has coordinated to organize 7 "Spring Volunteer" activities to give rice and necessities to poor households, students, students of charity classes, sponsored subjects at the Social Protection Center and poor patients. In addition, the Club also sponsors 6 orphaned students. Every year, these 6 children are supported with tuition fees, notebooks, books, backpacks, shoes; at the same time, rice, necessities and an amount of 200,000 to 300,000 VND/child/month are supported. In 2024 alone, the Club has given away more than 1,500 gifts, 1,000 notebooks, 500 sets of clothes, 300 teddy bears...; connected to build and donate 1 charity house to a household in difficult circumstances. Total implementation cost is more than 250 million VND.

In the first months of 2025, Ms. Trang organized many meaningful activities. One of them is the Volunteer Connection Program for Beloved Juniors held on the morning of February 8, 2025 at My Phuoc A Primary School. Through the Program, the Love Sharing Club coordinated with the Youth Union to donate 11 bicycles, 10 backpacks, over 1,000 notebooks, over 100 cartons of milk to students of My Phuoc A Primary School. At the same time, the Club also opened a booth with cakes, drinks, and games to serve the students, bringing them meaningful spiritual gifts to start the new semester. In addition, the Club also organized the Journey to the Source Program to give gifts to students at the Charity Class on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025).

Particularly during the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2025, Ms. Trang initiated the Club to carry out the program Continuing the Smile - Full Moon Festival in disadvantaged communes in Can Tho City such as Dai Hai, Gia Hoa, Phong Nam,... In each destination, through the form of social mobilization from businesses, benefactors and making lanterns by hand, Club members gave meaningful gifts (lanterns, pia cakes, moon cakes,...) to poor and studious students to enjoy the full moon festival. Ms. Trang herself also transformed into the character Hang Nga in each destination, creating a joyful and loving atmosphere for students and local people.

Not only stopping at helping people in difficult lives and circumstances, the Club also implements other meaningful models, including the Green Booth model; Grains of Love; Zero-dong Raincoat Cabinet; Bread of Love; Box of Love Milk; Children's Playground... and the youth project "The Second Journey of Tires". In the near future, the Club will also repair and build charity houses for those facing housing difficulties.

Ms. Trang confided that with the Love Supermarket program, at first there were only a few stalls selling necessities, but later with support from donors, it became more diverse with many essential items such as cakes, candies, milk, etc. Love Supermarket was opened in rural areas, especially in ethnic minority areas, with many difficult lives. This is also a form of giving gifts to poor households and those in difficult circumstances, but the new point is that gifts are not prepared in bags or boxes, but people can receive gifts by choosing the items they need themselves.

Ms. Trang also added that with the Green Booth model, this is also a form of non-profit exchange. Students can bring plastic bottles and recycled scrap to exchange for school supplies. In 2024, the Love Sharing Club collected more than 500 kg of plastic waste to the recycling facility and planted more than 500 trees. The youth project "The Second Journey of Tires" also significantly contributed to reducing discarded tires by recycling and assembling them into playgrounds for students.

Currently, continuing the past journey, in order to have funds to maintain operations, in addition to mobilizing benefactors and donors, the Love Sharing Club also implements fundraising models such as: Youth booth; Beverage booth; Love lottery. Through fundraising activities, recently, the Love Sharing Club has called for help for the case of Mr. Son Thanh (67 years old) who is deaf and mute, receiving more than 10 million VND. Mr. Thanh's situation is very difficult, his family is poor, his 2 children work for hire, he had to be hospitalized for rectal prolapse surgery, but did not have enough money to pay the hospital fees.

Mr. Dang Hoai Thuong, a member of the Love Sharing Club, said: “I have joined the Club for just over 2 years, but thanks to this group, I have grown up. Looking at the smiles of the children and the joy of the people when they came to receive gifts, I am also happy and want to contribute to participating in as many activities as possible. As for Trang, I am very impressed with her role as a youth leader. She is always active, enthusiastic, and does what she says and does it thoroughly.”

It can be affirmed that the Love Sharing Club, chaired by Ms. Trang, has had many meaningful programs and activities for poor people and children in a short time. In that meaningful journey of love, it is impossible not to mention the silent but proud contributions of Ms. Trang. She is the one who proposed and oriented the activities of the Club, mobilized resources, and sought the support of benefactors inside and outside the city to organize social security activities.

With such humane actions, Ms. Trang was honored to be one of the individuals receiving the "Beautiful Youth" Award in 2020 from the Central Committee of the Vietnam Youth Union; Ly Tu Trong Award in 2022 from the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union. In addition, during her work, Ms. Trang also achieved many achievements in professional work as well as studying and participating in writing contests about Uncle Ho. Specifically, Ms. Trang was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Head of the Propaganda Department of Soc Trang Provincial Party Committee for winning the Encouragement Prize in the literary and journalistic composition contest on "Studying and following Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and style" in 2022; Certificate of Merit for advanced youth following Uncle Ho's words in 2023; Certificate of Merit for outstanding achievements in studying and following Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and style in 2023; and was commended by the Youth Union of Soc Trang Province's Agencies and Enterprises as an Outstanding Youth Union Cadre in 2024.

After nearly an hour of meeting, somewhat hurriedly due to work, Ms. Trang said goodbye to me and returned to Gia Hoa Commune Party Committee to continue working. Here, with the newly assigned task of Deputy Chief of Office of Gia Hoa Commune Party Committee, it is known that Ms. Trang has also quickly adapted, promoted the sense of responsibility and completed the assigned tasks well. Although she has held a leadership and management position, although she is nearly 35 years old, the age when she will have to mature in the Youth Union, I believe that Ms. Trang will continue to bring energy and warmth of love to continue maintaining the Club to share love as well as contribute her efforts.

Nguyen Canh

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/tam-guong-tham-lang-mang-den-niem-vui-cho-moi-nguoi-a191842.html