BLOOD DRIVE HONORS GENOCIDE VICTIMS
Zain Shauk

Glendale News Press
10/04/18/news/gnp-blood041910.txt
April 19 2010
CA

Armenian National Committee’s fifth annual event stresses importance
of giving back to the community.

SOUTH GLENDALE — The city’s week of Armenian Genocide-related
commemorative events kicked off Sunday with a blood drive in honor
of those who died during past atrocities, organizers said.

The Armenian National Committee’s fifth annual blood drive was expected
to draw more than 80 donors for collections facilitated by the American
Red Cross, said Elen Asatryan, executive director of the committee’s
Glendale chapter.

Blood collected through the event, held the Krikor & Mariam
Karamanoukian Glendale Youth Center, was expected to be used for
medical procedures at local hospitals, Asatryan said.

"We wanted to establish an event that would not only remember the
victims of the genocide but also to do something to give back to the
community," Asatryan said.

The event was the first of a series to be held in Glendale to reflect
on man’s acts of mass killings and atrocities throughout history.

The Glendale Public Library hosted a panel discussion and presentation
Sunday afternoon commemorating the 95th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide.

The library will also host an opening reception at 6:30 p.m. Monday
for the annual "Man’s Inhumanity to Man" event and will also host a
discussion as part of the event series at 7 p.m. Thursday.

The Glendale Unified School District will host "Nine Decades of Denial"
at 7 p.m. Thursday at Glendale High School.

The city’s commemorative events will culminate at 6:30 p.m. Friday
with an evening of reflection at the Alex Theatre, to be attended by
area politicians and community leaders.

The blood drive Sunday was an important part of the commemorative
week because it focused on taking action, Asatryan said.

"We figured 1.5 million lives were lost in 1915, and this is our way
of saving lives for this generation and trying to incorporate a civic
responsibility for future generations to give back," she said.

Visitors at the drive agreed that the blood drive offered a simple
way to promote life.

"If I’m healthy, why not?" Glendale resident Armine Abrahamian said.

There is always a need for blood during medical procedures, so the
drive offered an opportunity to provide it, donors said.

"There may be a day that I need it too, or it could be a friend or
family that needs my blood," said Raffi Romanossian, of Sunland.