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PRESS RELEASE
Friday, December 5, 2008
AGBU Young Professionals of Yerevan Help Gyumri Orphans
On November 2, 2008, the AGBU Young Professionals of Yerevan (YP
Yerevan) organized a trip to Armenia’s capital for 70 orphans at the
Nansen Orphanage in Gyumri, Armenia. YP Yerevan members hoped to give
these children a taste of Armenia’s capital city and the trip would
later serve as inspiration for an art project fundraiser.
The children enjoyed walking around Yerevan, visiting outdoor spaces, a
newly renovated Lover’s Park, restaurants, and spending the afternoon in
the National Gallery of Armenia. In the evening, the YPs treated the
children to a circus performance, which made a strong impression on the
young visitors.
After an exciting day in Yerevan, the orphans returned to Gyumri
inspired by their journey. YP Yerevan asked the children to create art
based on their impressions of the capital with the goal of selling the
work during a fundraising event for the orphanage.
Established in 2000, the Nansen Orphanage of Gyumri was created to help
parentless children who continued to feel the impacts of the 1988
Spitak. In 2002, the orphanage came under the administration of the
Republic of Armenia’s Ministry of Social Welfare. Today, the Nansen
Orphanage provides art, sports, dance, vocal and foreign language
instruction to dozens of children.
Helping the Orphans
On November 16, YP Yerevan hosted a fundraising event for the orphanage
at the Yerevan Puppet Theater. The theater’s auditorium was filled with
special guests, including famous singers and artists, bankers,
businessmen, and local celebrities, all of whom toured the display of
art that was inspired by their day in Yerevan. The children also
returned to the capital and gave several song and dance performances,
which created a festive atmosphere for the theater guests. A video of
the event is now available on AGBU’s YouTube channel:
The exhibition sale raised over 1,239,000 AMD (more than 4,000 USD),
greatly exceeding the organizer’s expectations. Proceeds from the art
sale will be used to build a computer center at the orphanage. Several
YP Yerevan members have IT training and plan on teaching the children
how to use the equipment. YP Yerevan plans to use any additional funds
from the event to hire English-language teachers to assist the children
to improve their language skills.
The AGBU Young Professionals are committed to preserving and promoting
the Armenian identity and heritage through educational, cultural, and
humanitarian programs. For more information on the AGBU Young
Professionals, please contact the AGBU YP Liaison at ypliaison@agbu.org
or (212) 319-6383.
For more information on AGBU and its worldwide programs, please visit