PRESS RELEASE
Armenian American Cultural Association, Inc.
1300 Crystal Drive, Suite 1504
Arlington, VA 22202
Contact: James Faris
TEL: 703-416-2555
FAX: 703-416-2557
E-mail: [email protected]
Edward and Helen Mardigian Foundation Pledge $250,000 for the Wellness
Center in Armenia
By Christina Yagjian
WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian American Cultural Association (AACA), US-based
sponsor of the Armenian American Wellness Center in Yerevan, Armenia,
recently announced a generous pledge of $250,000 from the Edward and Helen
Mardigian Foundation of Michigan. This heartfelt contribution will help to
realize the Wellness Center’s largest transformation to date – the complete
renovation, expansion, and seismic reinforcement of the six-story building
which currently houses the Wellness Center. The expansion project will cost
an estimated 3 million dollars and is expected to be completed by October
2007.
The Wellness Center, originally founded in 1997 to provide previously
non-existent breast screening services to Armenian women, expanded its
services in 2001 to include Western standard cervical screening through Pap
smears and basic gynecology, facilitated by its state-of-the-art pathology
lab.
Upon completion, the renovated Center, in addition to the quality
female-centered services it already provides, will be home to the most
modern Primary Health Care facility in Armenia, emphasizing Family Medicine
and providing quality diagnosis and on-site treatment. The building will
introduce seismic reinforcement techniques developed in California, Western
building standards, and environmentally clean energy generation through
solar power and an innovative energy system known as Combined Heat & Power.
In honor of the Mardigian Foundation’s gift, the fourth floor of the
renovated Wellness Center will be named the Edward & Helen Mardigian
Outpatient Surgery Complex, signified by a plaque placed at the floor’s
entrance. Additionally, they will be recognized by an individual plaque
displayed in the main lobby of the Center. The fourth floor will house an
outpatient surgery complex, introduced in Armenia for the first time, which
will include a fully-equipped surgery room, preparation and recovery area,
sterilization room, and post-surgery observation rooms. The floor will also
include a chemotherapy treatment area and a medical conference room.
“I believe that all of us must work to ensure Armenia’s future, and an
essential piece of the puzzle is developing the country’s capacity to
provide primary healthcare services to everyone,” said Helen Mardigian. “The
Wellness Center has done an excellent job in preventing breast and cervical
cancer in Armenia, and I fully support them as they expand their services to
provide quality healthcare to families as well. The renovated Center will
serve as a model for all other medical facilities throughout Armenia.”
As philanthropists, the Mardigians have long been dedicated to improving
access to quality healthcare and are longtime supporters of issues related
to the Armenian religion, culture, education, and social welfare. Most
notably, they have supported Saint John’s Armenian Church in Detroit, the
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, the Armenian Assembly of America,
and the University of Michigan at both the Ann Arbor and Dearborn campuses.
Helen Mardigian recently made a donation to the Beaumont Hospital in Royal
Oak, Michigan in memory of her daughter, Marilynn Varbedian.
Reflecting on the Mardigian family, Rita Balian, AACA President and Wellness
Center Founder, explains, “Helen Mardigian and her late husband Edward are
highly respected among Armenian and American communities for their
humanitarian spirit, philanthropy, leadership, and kindness. Helen has been
a role model to me ever since I first met her in the late seventies when we
were working with AGBU/USA under the dedicated leadership of her husband and
I am simply elated that she has decided to reach out and support the
life-saving work of our Wellness Center in Armenia, in which I am so deeply
involved.”
Prior to his retirement in 1985, Edward Mardigian served as the Vice
President of the AGBU International Board and as President of its U.S.
Central Committee. Helen Mardigian has supported the Wellness Center since
2002, and shares in the Center’s mission to save, prolong, and improve the
lives of Armenian women and their families, through early and accurate
detection of breast and cervical cancer and the provision of primary health
care services.
AACA is currently seeking sponsors to fund the construction of individual
floors, with each floor dedicated in honor of its benefactor. The
construction of each floor is estimated at over a quarter of a million
dollars and, to date, AACA has secured sponsors for the second, fourth and
fifth floors of the building.
Although partial funding for the Center’s expansion is being provided by the
United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which has
supported the work of the Wellness Center since 2000, AACA is responsible
for raising over $2 million on its own through grassroots fundraising.
Without the help of generous donors such as Helen Mardigian, Anoush
Mathevosian, and others, this project would not be possible.
For more information about the Wellness Center, or to make a donation,
please contact AACA, a US-registered 501 (c)3 non-profit organization, by
e-mail at [email protected], or by phone at (703) 416-2555.
