Video Series Unleashes AYF Youth Corps 15th Trans-Atlantic Mission
By Allen Yekikan on

Asbarez
Dec 4th, 2009 and filed under Community, Videos.

GLENDALE-The Armenian Youth Federation’s Youth Corps program released
on Thursday the first in a series of promotional videos as part of a
year-long campaign to build momentum for the program’s much
anticipated 15th anniversary.

Posted on Youtube, the short video produced by Youth Corps Alumni
Anahid Yahjian, chronicles the program’s activities in 2008, when the
it began operating a summer day camp for underprivileged children in
Gyumri. In the coming weeks the program is set to release a 15th
anniversary documentary, chronicling the birth and development of the
program.

`I wanted to show people at home how great the energy at the camp was
last year, so I volunteered to put it all together to function as not
just a memory for the participants, but an up-to-date presentation of
the current evolution of Youth Corps,’ says Yahjian. `I hope that once
it gets distributed online, young Armenians all over the country will
see the beauty of this priceless experience and want to be a part of
it.’

`When I watched it, I felt like I wanted to pack my suitcase and go to
the airport,’ said Nora Kayserian,who plans to go next year. `I can’t
believe I have to wait until July to actually get to participate.’

Youth Corps began in 1994, following the signing of the cease-fire
between Armenia and Azerbaijan, ending the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
In its first 13 years, the program sent AYF members to the
Nagorno-Karabakh republic in the summers to help rebuild many of the
newly independent republic’s war-torn villages. Throughout the years
the Youth Corps program has grown and developed into the most
memorable, productive and exciting means for Armenian youth to
establish and strengthen their ties with the homeland.

In 2008, Youth Corps switched gears to focus on building connections
between Armenian youth in the diaspora with their counterparts in the
homeland. Camp Gyumri, as it has come to be known, gives young
Armenians from the United States a chance to make a direct impact on
the lives of some of Gyumri’s most impoverished families.

`This is a very exciting year for us,’ exclaims Sose Thomassian, the
director of the program. `It’s truly an achievement to be able to look
back at 15 years of young Armenians taking the initiative to do much
needed work in the Homeland.’

This 4 week long program, which begins in July 2010, accepts 150
children every summer and provides them with a fun and safe
environment to make new friends,and learn new things, explains
Thomassian, noting the many activities available for the campers. `he
campers’ daily itinerary consists of English classes, music classes,
arts and crafts, karatee and organized games and educational
competitions.

Through this summer experience, campers also learn about respect,
trust, tolerance, diversity, responsibility, and cooperation-all of
which are critical in helping them grow to become members of a healthy
civil society. The camp is just as special for it’s counselors, who
spend six months ahead of their trip doing grassroots fundraising in
their local communities to raise the money needed to run the program.

The AYF is now looking for ways to expand Youth Corps beyond Gyumri,
to establish day camps in other cities and villages throughout Armenia
where the need is great but the attention is still lacking.

`We have already begun scouting new camp sites throughout Armenia,
focusing on the most deprived regions, where opportunities for youth
are limited,’ says Thomassian. `Our goal is to extend and expand the
program as much as possible, to be in as many places as we can, and to
impact the lives of young Armenians all across the country.’

Such an ambitious goal, however, requires serious fundraising and
community, adds Thomassian, detailing her committees plans to reach
out to the program’s alumni and supporters. `We’re going to have a 15
year anniversary fundraiser early next year, where we can not only
reflect on the monumental impact of our efforts in the past, but also
begin imagining our long-term role in Armenia’s future.’

As in year’s past, the program will spend much of the months leading
up to the summer, planning and preparing for the camp; raising the
funds to run its daily operation and building the much needed momentum
to ensure Youth Corps is able to expand its operations.

`Last year we accepted 75 kids for each of the two sessions of camp;
this year, I want to see us accept 150 kids per session,’ says AYF
Chairman Arek Santikian. `To do that, we need more participants so we
hope to build enough momentum in the weeks and months leading up to
Youth Corps 2010 to recruit more participants than ever.’

Applications for Youth Corps 2010 are set to be released early next
year. For information, please contact: (818) 507-1933 or email
youthcorps@ayfwest.com

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress