Three Generations of Impact
How one family’s connection to Impact NW came full circle.
October 30, 2026
“This place helps people.”
Hanh Vu, now an Impact NW employee, remembers a night when her father invited her to see where he works. When they arrived, she asked him, what do they do here? Her father said, “this place helps people”.
Hanh’s father, John (Huan) Vu, owned a janitorial business and was proud to show his daughter the Impact NW building his family helped care for. As they walked through the children’s playroom and gathering spaces, he explained that people came here for resources, support, and community.
John understood the importance of that work firsthand. When his own family needed help, Impact NW was there.
After immigrating from Vietnam in 1987, Hanh’s parents worked long hours to build a life in Oregon for their five children. Despite their determination and hard work, making ends meet was difficult. Through Impact NW, they received food and holiday assistance that eased financial pressures and created joyful memories for their children.
Today, Hanh works at Impact NW, helping other families like hers access resources and opportunities. And now her daughter, Haylee, joins her as a volunteer.
It’s a connection that has come full circle, spanning three generations. And it all started with one man who loved his family.
A father’s determination
When Hanh arrived in Oregon as a young girl, her family shared a single bedroom in a relative’s Beaverton home.
Her father, who had served alongside American soldiers during the Vietnam War, was determined to build a better future for his children. He attended English classes, practiced reading the newspaper, gained citizenship, and proudly took the American name John. Along the way, he and his wife started a janitorial business.
Her parents worked nights cleaning offices and hotels; they balanced long hours with getting five children to school and caring for their family. They saved whatever they could, but, like a lot of families, needed additional help.
To help teach her English, Hanh’s father invented a game: she had to circle words in the newspaper. One day while doing this exercise, John saw information about Impact NW. The holidays were coming up and John wanted to ensure his children got all the holiday magic they deserved.
For Hanh, some of her happiest memories came from the holidays. Every Christmas, her father decorated their home, even painting and crumpling paper bags to create a handmade manger scene beneath the tree. Somehow, there were always presents.
He would arrive home with groceries and gifts and tell the children, “Santa gave them to me. Santa’s at Fred Meyer.”
“We didn’t think they’re going out to buy them, because we didn’t have that kind of money,” Hanh remembers. “So it really did feel like Santa. I believed it.”
Years later, Hanh realized that those gifts, along with food and sometimes even the Christmas tree, had come from Impact NW and were generously donated by members of her local community.
Because of holiday support from Impact NW, Hanh’s parents could breathe a little easier while giving their children holiday memories – the ones that Hanh treasures to this day.
More than a helping hand
Today, Impact NW continues to support families facing many of the same challenges Hanh’s parents experienced.
For 60 years, Impact NW has been preventing homelessness and helping people build lasting stability. Serving over 15,000 people annually across Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, and Clark counties, Impact NW supports people of all ages, from newborns to older adults.
What makes Impact NW’s approach special is the understanding that families often need more than a single service to build stability. A family seeking help with rent may also need after-school programs for their children, employment opportunities, or parenting support. By offering a wide range of interconnected services, Impact NW meets people where they are, helping them navigate challenges and build a more stable future.
For Hanh, the importance of that work goes beyond the services themselves.
“Impact NW sees you. They saw my dad,” she says. “We don’t just see people as a client that needs to be served.”
Hanh remembers her father as a hardworking, resourceful man who took tremendous pride in caring for his family. John instilled in Hanh that it is okay to ask for and receive help, and have it be part of your story.
That understanding shapes how Hanh approaches her work today. She knows that behind every request for help is a person with their own strengths, experiences, and hopes for the future.
Sometimes, a little support at the right moment can make all the difference.
Passing it on
Last year, Hanh returned to the Holiday Hope Store, this time as a volunteer alongside her daughter, Haylee. Together, they spent time with children while parents and caregivers selected gifts for their families at no cost.
For Hanh, it was a poignant moment. As a child, she experienced the joy of receiving gifts from Impact NW made possible by community generosity. Now she was creating that experience for other families alongside her own child.
“Bringing her [here] is like a circle. It’s like, hey, this is where it all started, Haylee.”
Haylee has since expressed an interest in nonprofit work herself, something Hanh hopes will continue.
“I planted the seed. That’s all.”
Create the next generation of impact
For families struggling to cover rent, utilities, groceries, and other necessities, the holidays can bring additional financial pressure. No parent should have to choose between meeting their family’s basic needs and creating special memories for their children.
At the same time, significant funding cuts and growing demand have made community support more important than ever.
While donated gifts help make the Holiday Hope Store possible, financial contributions sustain the essential programs that keep families remain housed, navigate unexpected hardships, and build stability throughout the year.
Your support makes the holidays possible for families in need:
Make a financial gift. Support the year-round programs that help families meet immediate needs and create opportunities for a more stable future.
Give a gift. Donate new, unwrapped toys or organize a gift drive to help stock the Holiday Hope Store.
Nearly 30 years after her father first told her, “This place helps people,” Hanh is carrying that work forward. And now, her daughter is finding her own way to do the same.
What began with a helping hand has become a family tradition of helping others. Please lend your helping hand by donating today.
Give a gift. Share the hope. Make an impact.
