The Vietnamese Cancer Awareness, Research & Education Society (VN CARES) is hosting a virtual health fair this month.

The health fair will be pre-recorded and available on and after Nov. 8. You can check it out at the VN CARES website or YouTube channel.

VN CARES is a nonprofit, student organization at the Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy. The health fair will be virtual for the first time.

Nhi Bui ’23, the first-year external co-chair of VN CARES, has worked to help transition the health fair from in-person to online.

“This health fair has definitely been a lot different than prior to COVID-19,” Bui said. “I really enjoyed taking on the challenge. It was a collaborative, creative effort.”

The fair will feature educational videos from student committees and organizations about anemia, cancer, antibiotics, over-the-counter medication awareness and more.

“We wanted to find a way to make fun but informative educational videos that the community can watch on their own time,” Bui said.

Bui looks forward to continuing to expand the audience for the videos.

“We plan to have subtitles and voiceovers uploaded to increase accessibility to communities in Stockton, Sacramento and the Bay Area,” Bui said.

Throughout the changes due to the pandemic, the VN CARES’ core goal of promoting health care in neglected areas has not wavered.

“Our target population is always the underserved population,” Bui said. “We strive to make the best health care accessible to them. Since (the health fair) is online, we increased our range to people of all ages who want to learn about health topics.”

The shift to online has forced VN CARES to change the format of their work, but their dedication to providing crucial health information and connecting the community to necessary resources continues.

Look for VN CARES events for Cervical Cancer Awareness Month in January. For more information, visit https://www.uopvncares.org.