10000 DOLLARS FOR VACCINES

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10 January, 2008

Los Angeles, January 10, 2008 – Getting into the Christmas spirit
and garnering further support to alleviate Armenia’s vulnerability
to vaccine shortages, the Millennium Armenian Children’s Vaccine
Fund (MACVF) received a $10,000 donation from the Law offices of
Geragos & Geragos to purchase life-saving vaccines for Armenia’s
children. The donation is derived from a law suit settlement, which
was filed against insurance companies on behalf Armenian Americans
who purchased insurance policies when they immigrated to the United
States during the Armenian genocide but were originally denied the
right to collect on their policies. Part of the settlement was also
earmarked for Armenian charities.

Mark Geragos, an Armenian- American prominent trial attorney was one
of four lawyers in a federal class action lawsuit against New York
Life Insurance for policies for victims of the Armenian Genocide of
1915 in which 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered by Ottoman Turks.

The gift from Mark Geragos’s firm demonstrates the growing support
for the MACVF children’s immunization campaign, which has brought
together an impressive network of donors in the Armenian Diaspora,
health experts and advisors dedicated to strengthening the National
Immunization Program of Armenia. "Mark Geragos understands the
challenges faced by Armenia’s children and we greatly appreciate
his contribution toward securing life-saving vaccines" stated
Raffy Ardhaldjian, chairman of the Ani & Narod Memorial Foundation,
the organization spearheading the Armenian children’s immunization
activities.

Mr. Geragos is an active member of the large Armenian community
of Los Angeles and serves on the advisory committee of Birthright
Armenia. He’s also a chairman of Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry,
and a member of the Armenia Fund International board of trustees.

Besides providing funds towards Armenia’s national immunization
program since the turn of the century, the MACVF – as part of
a large consortium of public health donors- has in 2007 October
actively participated in Measles and Rubella mass immunization
campaign providing financial, logistical, and technical support. The
mass immunization campaign against measles and rubella targeted all
individuals aged 6 – 27 years, a total of approximately 1.2 million
people.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress