Nancy Jusky column: A salute to Chasong and the Hmong Mutual Assistance Association

We congratulate Chasong Yang, executive director of the Hmong Mutual Assistance Association in Sheboygan, for being honored as the Hmong Man of the Year during the Hmong New Year celebration held at Wisconsin State Fair Park.

As one of the Sheboygan & Plymouth Area United Way's affiliated agencies, we have worked with him and the Hmong Association for many of the 27 years he has headed the association and can attest to his contributions to our community. We are proud to call him a friend and champion for the Hmong community.

Yang, whose family was one of the first Hmong families to settle in Sheboygan in 1976, joined the Hmong Mutual Assistance Association — an organization his father helped start — in 1983. He is now the most-senior director of a Hmong association in Wisconsin and has served two terms as president of the Wisconsin United Coalition of Mutual Assistance Associations, the statewide umbrella organization of all Hmong associations.

Yang and his wife, Miva, a public health nurse, and their four children have been active in their church, schools and community.

The United Way-funded program with the Hmong Mutual Assistance Association is the Family Care Program headed by Mai Xiong. The program provides linguistically and culturally appropriate case management service to best meet the needs of limited English proficient (LEP) Hmong and refugee population in Sheboygan.

Thank you, Chasong and staff, for partnering with United Way to make a difference in the lives of those who live in Sheboygan County.

On another note, the United Way 2010 Campaign is working hard to make its $2.25 million goal so that we can continue our support of the Hmong Association program and 65 other agency programs.

At 80 percent of our goal, we are making a plea to the community to give to United Way before the end of the year.

Send your contribution to the United Way, 2020 Erie Ave., Sheboygan, WI 53081 or give online at www. sauw.org.

So many programs and so many people in need are depending on you.

Nancy Jusky is the marketing coordinator for the Sheboygan & Plymouth Area United Way. This is one of a series of columns about the services that United Way agencies provide in the community.

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