News
ARMENIA FUND USA’S FUNDRAISING
PHONATHON 2005, RINGING SUCCESS FOR THE REBIRTH OF ARTSAKH
November 17 - 20, 2005
NEW YORK, New York, October 1, 2005
- Armenia Fund USA, East Coast Affiliate of Hayastan
Himnadram, is delighted to announce the date of its annual
fundraising Phonathon 2005. On November 17-20, Armenia Fund
USA will be hosting over 35 volunteers - Armenian and
non-Armenian, to participate in this exciting event and assist
in making the phonathon a success. Phonathon 2005 is one of
many major fundraising initiatives launched by the organization
and serves the purpose of raising funds for the support of
Rebirth of Artsakh - a three-year, three-phase
Regional Development Program aimed at providing large-scale
infrastructure and economic development for Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Program will entail the building of educational and healthcare
institutions, housing, drinking water schemes, access roads
and an agricultural initiative for three major regions in
Nagorno-Karabakh starting with the Mardakert region.
The Fund will also be sponsoring various regional and special
events that will give donors and other supporters an opportunity
to learn more about the new focus of the organization’s
mission.
Armenia Fund USA volunteers, an enthusiastic group of young
people, will contact Armenia Fund USA’s donors and friends
and ask for pledges and donations. They will answer their
questions and spread the word about the new initiative undertaken
by Armenia Fund USA. Volunteers participating in the Phonathon,
especially some of whom have had experiences visiting Armenia
and Nagorno-Karabakh, are very passionate to be able to donate
some of their time during those 4 days and support the Phonathon
team.
All funds donated through the Phonathon this year will go
directly towards the Agricultural Initiative, the economics
underpinning of the Rebirth of Artsakh Regional
Development Program. The Agricultural Initiative is a three-region
project to develop the agricultural economy of Karabakh. Armenia
Fund USA will share the agricultural component of the Regional
Development Program - a strategic initiative that is
expected to bring long-term sustainable development for the
region. Funds raised during the Phonathon 2005 will go towards
establishing Agricultural Development Associations (ADAs)
throughout the Mardakert region. These ADAs will set up facilities
to own, maintain and operate various types of appropriate
farm equipment and provide mechanized services to farmers,
to work the land at affordable rates. The ADAs will provide
a technology package including access to farm
equipment (tractors, harvesters, haying) along with other
support elements such as fertilizer, plus training in farm
management and animal husbandry. The Agricultural Initiative
for the Mardakert region alone requires $2.5 million funding
to serve the region’s 20,000 population.
Armenia Fund USA welcomes the opportunity the annual Telethon
provides as a great way of communicating to our donors -
past and present- about differences they have made as we share
the success stories made possible by their generosity.
After secession from the USSR and its liberation, Nagorno-Karabakh
has become an internationally unrecognized territory having
no rights to official statehood. This considerably impacts
the recovery efforts of an already war-torn region, as Karabakh
cannot receive international aid from intergovernmental and
regional organizations as the United Nations and the European
Union, and receives no assistance from such specialized development
programs as the United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
and the World Bank. Because of this, Nagorno-Karabakh has
been left to fight for its survival alone in order to sustain
the land that was liberated at great human cost. This is why
the necessity of supporting the region has fallen on the shoulders
of the newly independent Republic and the Armenian Diaspora.
The development support to Nagorno-Karabakh is critical and
urgent. Thus, let us hope that such major fundraising initiatives
as Phonathon 2005 will give us an opportunity to bring hope
to people who await it. Pick up your phones when you hear
a ring of hope for Artsakh and its people by one of our volunteers!
ABOUT ARMENIA FUND USA: ARMENIA FUND USA, founded
in 1992, was the first of Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s
18 international affiliates and serves constituents in all
states east of the Mississippi. As a non-profit, non-governmental,
nonsectarian organization, the Fund represents all Armenian
constituents.
Armenia Fund USA is the largest contributor among the 18 international
affiliates - supporting strategic infrastructure projects
in Armenia and Karabakh, and having helped build 138 miles
of roads, 100 miles of waterways, 36 schools, 3 electric transmission
networks, 210 residential buildings and 15 healthcare institutions.
Armenia Fund USA’s Mission is the development
of strategic socio-economic infrastructure in Armenia and
Karabakh, focusing on major projects such as major highways,
schools, drinking water to communities and humanitarian programs
in education, training and medical facilities. The Fund has
adopted a policy to go “Beyond Bricks and Mortar”
to provide sustainability for projects it sponsors.
To learn more about Armenia Fund USA, please
go to our website at www.ArmeniaFundUSA.org
or call us at 212-689-5307.
Armenia Fund USA, 152 Madison Ave., Suite 803,
New York, NY 10016
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