Last year, Ivy participated in a wonderful fundraising event called "Compassion" which was organised by a prominent member of the Vietnamese community - Mr. Luong Le Phan.
This year, the community was once again called together by Mr. Le Phan to help raise funds for Roof of Love, "a Canadian Charitable Organization determined to improve lives within poverty struck communities in Vietnam while building awareness and engaging individuals in Western countries in order to establish collective action."
Ivy was happy to lend a hand, too, by performing along with many other talented artists from the Vietnamese community for Mr. Le Phan's Roof of Love fundraising dinner, hosted at the Bronson Centre on October 8th, 2011.
Here are some photos from the event:
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| Photo taken by Philippe Le Phan from backstage |
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| Photo courtesy of Robert S. Vibert |
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| Mr. Luong Le Phan (left) pictured with members of the Vietnamese community (Photo courtesy of Robert S. Vibert) |
Here is a video of Ivy performing "Je suis malade" by Lara Fabian:
Ivy first knew Dominic D'Arcy as the "singing policeman" when she watched him perform during her years as a young elementary school student. It was not until many years later, after Dominic had retired from the police force, and Ivy began performing around Ottawa, that their paths crossed again. This time, Dominic invited Ivy to be part of his Rising Stars Program.
From Dominic D'Arcy's official website:
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| Kira Isabella, Ivy O, Alex Lacasse |
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| Past and current Rising Stars with Dominic D'Arcy and some special guests |
In December 2001, Senator Vivienne Poy proposed a motion in the Senate to designate May as Asian Heritage Month. The month of May became recognized as Asian Heritage Month when the Government of Canada signed an official declaration, in 2002.
Since then, every May, Canadians of Asian heritage have celebrated the successes and contributions that Asian-Canadians have made which have helped to transform Canada in to the culturally diverse country that it is known to be.
As a Canadian of Asian heritage, Ivy is a proud volunteer for both the Chinese and Vietnamese communities in Ottawa. Recently, Ivy participated in two Asian Heritage Month events. On Wednesday, May 25, 2011, Ivy sang the Canadian National Anthem at the Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag Unfurling ceremony, hosted at the Ottawa Police Headquarters on Elgin Street.
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| Distinguished members of the Ottawa Police with representatives from the Vietnamese community, unfurling the freedom flag. |
On Sunday, May 29, 2011, Ivy sang at the annual "Journée portes ourvertes sur l'Asie", held at la Maison du citoyen (the city of Gatineau's City Hall). Here is a video of her singing "La Lettre", originally performed by Lara Fabian.
Since before Ivy even began her post-secondary studies at the University of Ottawa, she was recruited to be a part of the school's Vietnamese Student Association (VSA). Although Ivy has been a part of VSA since 2006, she had never participated at Ignite, before. Now, five years later, Ivy was proud to end her undergraduate student career, and time with VSA, by being part of the winning team at this year's Ignite Cultural Show in Toronto.
For three long months, many evenings and weekends of the VSA Ottawa (University of Ottawa and Carleton) Ignite 2011 team were spoken for by non-stop rehearsals. On March 19, 2011, at the Markham Theatre for the Performing Arts, VSA Ottawa went up against the Universities of Toronto, Waterloo/Laurier, Ryerson, McMaster, Queen's, Western and York. Out of the 8 groups competing, VSA Ottawa placed first, Ryerson second, and York came in third (to see a video of the winners being announced, click here). The Ignite competition was a fun way to unite Vietnamese-Canadian students from all over Ontario, but it was also a learning, cultural experience that teaches the value and meaning of our Vietnamese heritage.
Along with musicians/students Andrew Lusk and Ben Tramontini, Ivy helped launch the 5 Days for the Homeless 2011 campaign at the Opening Ceremonies on Sunday, March 13, 2011. Here are some photos, taken by Marie-Anne Laplante (V.P. Technologies of the 5 Days for the Homeless Committee).
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| Ivy singing in front of Morisset Library |
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| Michael on harmonica, Ivy, and Ben |
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| Ben performing |
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| Andrew performing |
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| Ottawa's Mayor Jim Watson is pictured here with participants from the University of Ottawa's Telfer School of Management (left) and from Carleton University's Sprott School of Business (right). |
