Fund for Armenian Relief
Media Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR)
Press Office
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 889-5150; Fax: (212) 889-4849
email: press@farusa.org
web:
blog: farusa.wordpress.com
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Fundraiser for FAR’s Gyumri Information Technology Center Successful
Nine years ago Elena Sarkissian and her brother Patrick
Sarkissian visited the city of Gyumri in Northern Armenia with the
Hayastani
Kidak Society (former Young Professional Trips) of the Fund for
Armenian Relief
(FAR) – What they saw there, from the
destruction of the 1988 earthquake, led them to seek proactive ways to
make progressive change possible for Armenia while getting the word
out to
Armenian-Americans, encouraging collective action.
Their efforts culminated in the creation of GTech Committee
three years ago – a board actively focused on fundraising and
communication
efforts to support FAR’s Gyumri Technology Center ("GTech"). Ms
Sarkissian, as
chair, along with her brother and eight committee members of all
professional
backgrounds are the core energy center behind donor events,
multi-media
marketing promotions and GTech’s distinct branding.
Most recently, Ms Sarkissian and the GTech Committee (Talene Baroyan,
Greg Bazarian,
Martha Mensoian, Patrick Sarkissian, Shant Madjarian, Marina Sarian,
Rafi Hovsepian,
Melanie Dadourian, and Kirk Hourdajian) spearheaded a fantastic
fundraising event
– "GTech: The Future of Hye-tech" –
for friends, colleagues, Armenians and non Armenians alike at Soho
House in
Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. Their aim, achieved successfully,
was to
spread the word on the GTech cutting-edge IT education, its benefits
to
Armenia’s labor force, and the progress of its graduates since 2005,
the
school’s first operating year.
As Patrick Sarkissian put it in the evening’s opening
remarks, "There is a brain drain in Armenia, and we need to help
Armenia keep
its talents at home." His words conveyed a concern to create a middle
class in
Gyumri and Armenia by giving opportunities to young talent to advance
and
practice their professions in their hometown region.
To follow, the committee presented a USAID video, edited by
committee member Melanie Dadourian, on Gyumri and GTech. With emphasis
on high
unemployment rates even now 20 years after the earthquake and the
subsequent
loss of college-educated professionals from the region, the importance
of
keeping up a post-graduate IT professional school competitive with
current
global market trends shined through.
Mr. Sarkissian is clear about the Committee’s role in making
the necessary changes: "Our goals are to expand the program and build
a
permanent, self-sustaining IT school with hundreds – if not thousands
– of
graduates who will substantially contribute to the revitalization of
Gyumri and
in return Armenia at large. We are working towards achieving
self-sustainability within the next three to five years."
Elena Sarkissian’s dedicated efforts as chair are key to
keeping a school like GTech alive. Students’ tuitions are primarily
donor
funded, and events such as these spread the word of GTech’s mission,
successes,
and needs. Without Ms Sarkissian’s ability to gather new and concerned
individuals to the cause, many talented students would lose this
lifetime
opportunity.
In closing remarks, Ms Sarkissian encouraged guests to get
to know 16 current students whose pictures and biographies the
committee
displayed around the room. Bringing individuals in New York up close
to
individuals in Gyumri created a special connection bridging two
worlds. Her
heartfelt words expressed how everyone’s involvement helps these
students help
Armenia progress.
"GTech – The Future of Hye Tech" was no ordinary event.
Elena and Patrick Sarkissian’s unique brand of initiative not only
focuses on
fundraising but communicates new ways to get involved. They have
opened up
unique avenues by which Armenian-American professionals can connect
their talents
and energy to the talents of their less-fortunate Armenian
peers. Thanks to
these untiring efforts, Gyumri’s talented youth now has more
opportunity than
ever to advance and practice their professions in their own hometown,
materializing once-impossible dreams.
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About FAR
Since its founding in response to the 1988 earthquake, FAR has served
hundreds of thousands of people through more than 220 relief and
development programs in Armenia and Karabagh. It has channeled more
than $265 million in humanitarian assistance by implementing a wide
range of projects including emergency relief, construction, education,
medical aid, and economic development.