TOLEDO, Ohio — UPDATE: The D.O.V.E. fund raised over $200,000 at their Gala Dinner and Charity Auction on Saturday.
The D.O.V.E. Fund -- Development Of Vietnam Endeavors -- is a charity run mostly by Vietnam veterans. For the last 23 years, the Toledo-based organization has raised millions of dollars in funds for clinics, schools, daycare centers, water treatment systems and homes for Vietnamese families.
On Friday, the group prepared for its biggest fundraiser of the year: The Gala Dinner and Charity Auction. It takes place Saturday at the Pinnacle in Maumee. The 2023 gala has sold out, but anyone can still bid on online auction items. To do so, click here.
Jeff Grimm, the D.O.V.E. Fund's vice chairman of Vietnam projects, has been with the fund since the beginning and said those who want to participate with the charity in any way possible can, and should, because every single penny raised goes toward a good cause.
"We built another one, another one, another one, and now we've built 57 schools in Vietnam," Grimm, a Vietnam War veteran, said.
To celebrate the group's hard work, Grimm hosted a cookout for everyone to stop by. Since Grimm and his fellow U.S. military veterans have been giving back to Vietnam for years, he said it has been therapeutic since the two countries were once at war. Even though Grimm was injured during the war, he said he sees no need for hate, just help.
"I don't think they wanted to be at war any more than we did. I was drafted, so I definitely didn't want to go. But I felt my responsibility as an American citizen to support," Grimm said.
There is only one paid employee in the D.O.V.E. Fund: Bui Cam Nhung. She is a lawyer in Vietnam and has been working with the charity for the last 16 years. Since Nhung is too young, she wasn't alive during the war, but she said she iss grateful to the veterans behind the fund for helping her support her country.
"It's a great feeling that I can give my hand to help a little bit, to develop my poor homeland," Nhung said.
Her homeland, the Quang Ngai Province, is poor, she said. Efforts from a group like the D.O.V.E. Fund are greatly appreciated.
"I'm constantly sharing ideas with her," Grimm said, "We're thinking about starting an eye care program."
Since those programs need money, the biggest fundraiser of the year has filled Grimm's home with auction items for event attendees and online bidders to bet on. Nhung is beyond excited for the fundraiser since it is her first time in America for charity work.
"It's the first time, that I myself, can witness the auction of the D.O.V.E. Fund," Nhung said.
Grimm said everyone loves raising funds and taking trips back to Vietnam for one big reason:
"Seeing the kids and the teachers and the appreciation they have. The kids are beautiful and the teachers are fantastic."