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PRESS RELEASE
Monday, August 8, 2005
TEENAGE VIOLIST RAISES $4,000 FOR AGBU CHILDREN’S CENTERS
Ari Balouzian Becomes Youngest AGBU Member to Have an Endowment
Established on His Behalf
On May 1, 2005, 16 year-old violist Ari Balouzian raised $4,000 for
AGBU Children’s Centers by sponsoring an intimate benefit concert at
his home in Los Angeles, CA. Accompanied by sister Emma on the violin
and musician friends ranging in age from 10 to 17, Ari presented a
diverse program of international works including Bach, Beethoven,
Handel, Komitas, Marcello and Stevie Wonder.
>From the beginning, proud parents Rafi and Zela Balouzian have
emphasized the importance of Armenian philanthropy to their
children. As a result, the entire Balouzian family has a long
tradition of charitable giving to AGBU.
In 1996 at the tender age of six, Ari had saved $92 in allowances,
birthdays and holidays, and chose to donate all his funds to AGBU to
help children in Armenia. In 1998, on the occasion of Emma’s baptism,
the Balouzians requested that, in lieu of gifts, donations be given in
her honor amounting to a tribute gift of $3,000 to AGBU.
“I feel that when given so much in life, it is only right for one to
use his/her talents to give back to the community,” Ari said.
In honor of Ari Balouzian’s enthusiasm, initiative and commitment to
the Armenian heritage, AGBU has established the Ari Balouzian
Endowment Fund to benefit the AGBU Children’s Center. He is the
youngest AGBU member to have an endowment fund established on his
behalf.
With a combined enrollment of 3500 students ages seven to nineteen and
an administrative staff of three hundred, AGBU Children’s Centers in
Yerevan provide a constructive, after-school environment for young
Armenian students to nurture their talents and broaden their knowledge
in courses unavailable to them at overcrowded public schools. Located
in Arapkir, Malatya and Nork, the three Centers offer four hours daily
instruction in music, art, crafts, dance, computers, language, history
and gymnastics. For more information on AGBU Children’s Centers or to
make a donation, please contact AGBU Central Office at (212) 319-6383
or email [email protected].