NYC Medical Student Recognized for Work Against Asian Hate
L’Oreal Paris names Michelle Tran a Woman of Worth and donates $20,000 to Soar Over Hate, charity she co-founded last year
| 03 Feb 2022 | 09:27
Michelle Tran. Photo: Michelle Alyssa Tran on Twitter
A NYC medical student is making waves after the charity she founded to fight back against anti-Asian hate received funding and recognition from beauty company L’Oreal Paris.
Michelle Tran, who is currently completing her MD/PhD studies at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, co-founded charity Soar Over Hate last year after being shocked and dismayed to see the epidemic of anti-Asian violence in NYC.
L’Oreal donated $20,000 to the charity she founded to fight back against anti-Asian hate and named her one of their Women of Worth.
“As a L’Oréal Paris Woman of Worth, I hope to demonstrate that love is more powerful than hate, and that healing can prevail even in the darkest of circumstances,” says Tran in a quote on the L’Oreal Women of Worth website.
In addition to L’Oreal Paris, Soar Over Hate is sponsored by beloved NYC restaurant chain Xi’an Famous Foods, cosmetic brand Bubble.T, and several others.
Tran’s charity initially began as a GoFundMe campaign, but quickly grew as donations poured in. Since late March 2021, they have distributed over 24,000 personal alarms, whistles, and pepper spray to Asian elders, helping equip them to better fight back against targeted violence.
Soar Over Hate has also grown to provide other services to the Asian American community, including a need-based college scholarship fund for high school seniors called the Bright Futures Scholarship. They also fund free culturally-competent therapy for Asian American seniors to promote their healing from trauma.
Those interested in donating may visit soaroverhate.org or Michelle Tran’s GoFundMe website.