Armenian Professionals Summer Mixer Helps Raise Over $8,000 for Demining Efforts in Artsakh
August 15, 2018GLENDALE – Last week, over $8,000 was raised for demining efforts in Artsakh at the Armenian Professionals Summer Mixer held at the Giggles Lounge in Glendale. On August 9, over 400 young Armenian professionals came together to expand their networks, connect with other Armenians, and to most importantly raise funds for a worthy cause. The mixer raised $4,310, which was later matched by an anonymous donor totaling the amount to $8,620.
The Armenian National Committee of America’s Professional Network (ANCA PN) in collaboration with Birthright Armenia, Armenian Volunteer Corps, the AGBU Young Professionals of Los Angeles, the Armenian Professional Network – Los Angeles Chapter, Armenian Professionals Society, and Nerouj organized an Armenian Professionals Summer Mixer at Giggles Lounge in Glendale with the aim of also raising funds for a campaign called #JobsNotMines organized by OneArmenia and the HALO Trust in Nagorno Karabakh.
“The Armenian Professionals Summer Mixer was, to say the least, a huge success! On behalf of Birthright Armenia, I will say that we are ecstatic that the night served its purpose of bringing all organizations together, bringing together and empowering so many young Armenian Professionals, all the while greatly improving the lives of those working to create a safer, brighter, and mine-free future for Artsakh! Birthright Armenia looks forward to collaborating with all the organizations who co-hosted with us again in the near future in hopes of continuously strengthening this momentum of bringing our youth together, building strong relationships with each other and empowering Armenians not only here in Los Angeles but in Armenia as well,” said Birthright Armenia Los Angeles Ambassador, Karina Halajian.
The “Job Not Mines” campaign aims to train and employ two teams of 8 local deminers over the next two years, providing them with a steady, higher-than-average income as they work to clear the last remaining minefield near Kavak Monastery. Once mine-free, Kavak Monastery, which offers a 360 panorama of southeastern Artsakh and Iran, has the potential to become a new tourist spot in Artsakh, bringing more positive attention and resources to the area. Since 2000, the HALO Trust has removed over a quarter million explosives from the countryside, thus bringing otherwise fallow land back into agricultural production.
For more information on the campaign: https://onearmenia.org/campaign/
https://www.facebook.com/onearmenia/videos/1862679420456883/
“It was a pleasure collaborating and showing a unified front with the rest of the professional organizations for this mixer,” said ANCA PN Co-Chair, Shaunt Kevork. “Our collective efforts proved to be very successful in both connecting young Armenians and raising funds for an initiative that makes a difference in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Artsakh.”
For photos of the event, visit the ANCA PN Facebook page.
The ANCA PN is an association that connects thousands of Armenian-American professionals and develops the next generation of leaders through social, educational, and community engagement programs and events. ANCA-PN is an initiative of the ANCA Western Region, the largest grassroots public affairs organization devoted to advancing issues of concern to the Armenian American community.
For more information on the ANCA Professional Network and how to get involved, please email pn@ancawr.org. You can also connect with ANCA-PN on Facebook at Facebook.com/ANCAProfessionalNetwork and stay tuned for more upcoming events.
Birthright Armenia, also known as Depi Hayk, is a volunteer internship enhancement program that also offers travel fellowships to eligible participants to assist in the development of Armenia.
Armenian Volunteer Corps (AVC) is a volunteer placement organization based in Yerevan, Armenia. The organization offers opportunities to individuals to come to Armenia to perform short or long-term volunteer service to participate in the country’s economic and social development.
The AGBU Young Professionals (YP) is a growing network of groups and supporters around the world who preserve and promote the Armenian identity and heritage for young Armenians between the ages of 22 to 40.
Founded in 2016, the Armenian Professional Network is a professional and social community organization providing Armenian American professionals the opportunity to interact, share, guide and assist one another.
The Armenian Professional Society is an organization for professionals, formed in 1958, for the advancement of education and fellowship among Armenians.
Nerouj was formed under the leadership of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church of North America with the goal of developing a new platform for communication between Armenian youth and Los Angeles based professionals.