5 questions For betty nguyen, cnn
(Photo Courtesy: CNN)
Betty Nguyen is a news anchor for CNN/U.S. Based in the network’s world headquarters in Atlanta, Nguyen joined the network in April 2004. Before joining CNN, Nguyen was an anchor for KTVT in Dallas. During her six-year tenure with the CBS affiliate, she covered numerous breaking news events including the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster and the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center towers in New York.
Nguyen began her career as a morning anchor and reporter at KWTX in Waco, Texas. During her tenure with the CBS affiliate, she received an Associated Press Award for spot news coverage. In 2003, she won the Legacy of Women Award and was named a Great Women of Texas Honoree and also won a regional Emmy award for “Outstanding Noon Newscast,” while anchoring for KTVT in Dallas. While conducting several humanitarian aid trips to her birth country of Vietnam, Nguyen provided extensive coverage of the deadly flooding along the Mekong Delta.
Nguyen is the co-founder of Help the Hungry, an organization that strives to alleviate global hunger as well as provide humanitarian relief to needy families around the world. Her philanthropic work also earned her a spot in the Philanthropy in Texas Hall of Fame.
Nguyen graduated magna cum laude from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism.
GAT: When did you start Help The Hungry?
BN: Help the Hungry was established in 2000. Our global mission is to relieve human suffering by providing humanitarian aid to the less fortunate. Food, clothing, medicine and basic essentials serve as a life-line to families facing extreme hardships. These necessities also provide those in need with hope, while recognizing their dignity and ability to solve their own problems.
We believe helping relieve human suffering is a calling we all must follow, whether you give of your time or your money. By distributing relief supplies during the most desperate of times, we’re demonstrating the power of human kindness.
GAT: What is the inspiration behind Help The Hungry?
BN: It’s pretty simple. Help the Hungry was created from a deep desire to help those in desperate need. When my Mother and I returned to Vietnam for the first time since fleeing the war, the poverty, hunger and despair was still very evident. We couldn’t help but think that it was only by sheer grace that we were not in those same circumstances.
In the rural areas of Vietnam, families have little more than grass huts with dirt floors and hardly enough food to survive. Combine that with the annual monsoons, and the destruction is both deadly and devastating. Something had to be done. Help the Hungry is the result of a simple passion to help those in need.
GAT: What are the key accomplishment for Help The Hungry in 2006?
BN: During our humanitarian aid trip to Vietnam in September we provided 2 tons of relief supplies to families facing extreme poverty. The flooding was so bad in some areas that we had to travel by boat to reach families literally trapped inside their homes. It’s hard to imagine people, just like you and me, living in such desperation. The fact is, it’s a reality for millions around the world. A reality that Help the Hungry wants to change.
GAT: What are your future plans for Help The Hungry?
BN: I’d like to see us grow. Our work in Vietnam is proof that lives can be improved by targeting a need and becoming effective in a particular region. Help the Hungry has been instrumental in helping thousands rise from devastation in Vietnam, and with the proper funding we plan on strategically expanding into other regions. But we can’t do it alone. We need your help. Tragedy and despair does not discriminate, which is why all of us must work together to make a difference.
GAT: How can the general public help your organization?
BN: I encourage anyone interested in supporting this important cause to send your tax-deductible contribution to:
Help the Hungry
P.O. Box 173217
Arlington, TX 76003
You can also log on to www.help-the-hungry.org for donation information.
Help the Hungry is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, which essentially means it’s a federally approved charitable organization. All donations are tax-deductible.
But supporting Help the Hungry is more than simply writing a check, it’s about improving our world. What I’ve had the privilege to learn is that the very people we help are the ones who give a much greater gift to our donors and volunteers. We are able to see first hand the smiles of a hungry child, tears of joy from worried parents, and relief in the eyes of the elderly. Keep in mind, Help the Hungry is not just about delivering humanitarian aid. It’s also about helping you, our donors and volunteers, experience life in a meaningful way.
So I encourage you to help us Help the Hungry… and start the experience.