It’s been a big year for Von Tran.
She and her team at the First Senior Center celebrated the anniversary of opening the largest senior care center for the Vietnamese community in Georgia.
Tran is a transplant from Texas and arrived from Dallas as a young entrepreneur seeking new opportunities in Atlanta in 1998. She originally studied medicine while pursuing her dream to be a physician.
“Like any good Vietnamese kid, you just follow your parents’ dreams,” said Tran with a smile. “I quickly realized that I like to take charge of my own destiny and I am not suitable for a rigid corporate career.”
Credit: Georgia Asian Times
Credit: Georgia Asian Times
Her involvement with seniors happened by accident. Tran and a group of close friends had started a nonprofit charity aimed at fundraising to assist underprivileged children in Vietnam. The funds were used for worthy endeavors, such as building schools and paying salaries for teachers in the remote underserved countryside.
“I had an awakening moment in 2007 when a senior citizen shared a request with me privately,” said Tran. She was asked to start a facility where senior Vietnamese can congregate and meet for social activities. Many seniors had expressed loneliness when left alone at home, as their grown children were busy at work and younger family members struggled with language barriers.
“I soon realized that I had to do something about it. I knew nothing about the senior daycare business and jumped right into it without much research,” Tran said.
After initially partnering with a Chinese senior center, Tran decided to open a center dedicated to Vietnamese seniors. The center quickly grew to serve about 100 members, and she financed it out of pocket as most of the members could not afford to pay the monthly fee.
“Serving the seniors is my passion. I have achieved so much in life and I wanted to give back to the community. The joy of witnessing precious moments of these seniors having a good time at the center means a lot to me,” Tran said.
Her latest venture, First Senior Center, provides full daycare services for seniors and physically challenged individuals. The center offers a wide range of services such as daily health monitoring by qualified nurses, physical therapies and fitness programs. Tran added unique services by introducing spa massages, hairdressing and beauty salon services on-site.
As for recreational activities, singing and dancing sessions are the most popular activity in the center. Seniors are also taught English and computer classes. Other popular activities are Chinese chess, dominoes, table tennis and painting.
The center also partners with the Atlanta Community Food Bank to operate a food pantry serving over 3,200 households monthly in the community, becoming the second-largest food pantry service in the state to partner with the food bank.
“I have successfully built my business in the first 50 years of my life. Going forward, I plan to dedicate the next 50 years of my life to giving back and serving the community,” Tran said.
HOW TO HELP
For more information, visit the First Senior Center’s website at firstseniorcenter.com/en/ or Facebook page at facebook.com/ADHFirstSeniorCenter.
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