PRESS RELEASE
Cafesjian Family Foundation
15 South 5th Street, 900
Minneapolis, MN 55402
USA Contact: Mr. John Waters
612-359-8991
john.waters@glcenterprises.com
Armenia Contact: Ms. Madlene Minassian
zukrun@aol.com
Minneapolis, MN
June 19, 2007
Hope For The City Donates Another Aid Shipment to Armenia
Armenian Relief and Development Association (ARDA) Recipient of $158,745
USD Food and School Supplies
Minneapolis, MN and Yerevan, Armenia – Hope For The City, working in close
collaboration with the United Armenian Fund and the Cafesjian Family
Foundation, has donated four forty foot containers of food and supplies
with a total value of $158,745 USD to ARDA representations in both Yerevan
and Gyumri, Armenia. The last container arrived on May 30, 2007 and was
greeted by ARDA Founder and President, Mr. Steve Lazarian.
The shipment of fortified rice and soy protein meal packages, school desks
and clothes will be distributed to nineteen ARDA sponsored kindergartens
located in various regions of Armenia, as well as to eleven other
kindergartens located in Yerevan. Since 2005, six containers have already
been donated to ARDA valued at around $298,385 USD.
`Every day more than 2,500 children attending our sponsored kindergartens
receive food and medical attention and the aid donated by Hope For The
City is very vital,’ stated Mr. Lazarian. `We are very pleased with our
collaboration with Hope For The City. Today due to this collaboration more
than 6,000 people annually receive free medical care in our Health and
Resource Center in Gyumri.’
The Hope For The City delegation, including Co-Founders Dennis and Megan
Doyle, Executive Director Clare Brumback and bio-medical technician
Patrick Donahue from Universal Hospital Services (UHS), last visited
Armenia in April of 2007. They paid visits to various institutions that
have already received assistance from Hope For The City; thus fostering
cooperation and compiling assessments for further needs. New relationships
with institutions were also established for future aid. Since their
initial visit in April of 2005, Hope For The City has donated over eleven
million dollars of aid from the United States to Armenia.
Hope For The City is a humanitarian aid organization that was established
by Dennis and Megan Doyle that uses corporate surplus to fight poverty,
hunger and disease. The US/Minnesota-based, non-profit organization
collects overstock products from top retailers, medical companies, and
food distributors and donates the items to people in need through partner
non-profit organizations and foundations. Since its inception, Hope For
The City has donated over $360 million USD in wholesale value goods.
The United Armenian Fund is a collective effort of the Armenian Assembly
of America, the Armenian General Benevolent Union, the Armenian Relief
Society, the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, the Prelacy of the
Armenian Apostolic Church of America, and the Lincy Foundation. Since its
inception in 1989, the United Armenian Fund has sent over $496 million USD
of humanitarian assistance to Armenia on board 143 airlifts and 1,449 sea
containers.
The Cafesjian Family Foundation, Inc., was established in 1996 by Gerard
L. Cafesjian. The US based, non-profit organization supports a variety of
Armenian causes in Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and the United States. A
primary focus of the Cafesjian Family Foundation is the security of
independent Armenia and the further development of a free, democratic
society through economic development and the strengthening of the
US/Armenia relationship.