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PRESS RELEASE
December 20, 2012
Armenian Volunteer Corp
Contact: Tania Chichmanian
(374 10) 54 00 37
[email protected]
www.armenianvolunteer.org
www.armenianvolunteer.blogspot.com
AVC Professional Corps: "If you can dream it, you can do it!"
Yerevan Armenia-Thirty years in corporate publishing was enough. But what
wasn't enough for Suzanne Daghlian, 53, of New Jersey was the two weeks she
spent volunteering in Armenia each summer. She'd been travelling to Armenia
every summer since 2006 and building houses with the Fuller Center for
Housing. As a team leader, her time in Armenia was full attending to the
volunteers she'd recruited, organizing their days working on construction
sites, their evenings out on the town, and their touring days visiting the
great sights of Armenia. She felt the time always flew by and she was never
able to really enjoy the pace of Armenia, to learn the language, to really
relax into it. So when she lost her job along with many other veterans of
the old guard of New York publishing, she knew it was time to realize a
dream she'd always had to live somewhere outside of the US for a little
while and do something good for others.
Suzanne has lived in New Jersey her whole life, commuting to
Manhattan for work. Her parents were founding members of the Armenian
Church in Tenafly, New Jersey and Suzanne has always been active in her
church. Her travels have taken her from the Andes and the Amazon to Kenya
and Tanzania, from Scandinavia to Hawaii, as well as all over the
continental United States for her work. For the past seven years, however,
Suzanne's heart has been in Armenia.
"I always dreamed of taking off and moving to a different place with a
different point of view. And then I fell in love with Armenia. I found the
Armenian Volunteer Corps (AVC) website years ago and would leave it open on
my computer at work and fantasize about being a long-term volunteer in
Armenia. But I didn't think I would ever have the guts to leave my life
behind and go. When I lost my job, the stars aligned for me and I just knew
I had to do it."
Suzanne made all the arrangements-she produced a budget, arranged to pay her
bills online, found a house sitter to take care of things at home, and
applied to AVC. Once accepted, she began to tell people about her plan to
go to Armenia to volunteer for four months.
Her family and friends were ecstatic for her. Many of them knew of her
desire to live abroad for a time, all of them knew of her love for Armenia,
and some of them admitted that they dream of this kind of adventure
themselves. "It's amazing how many of my friends and cohorts say they want
to do something like this, but they feel they can't get away from their
responsibilities. But I haven't left my responsibilities-I am paying my
bills and keeping in touch with all I need to, and I'm living here in
Armenia for four months. In this day and age, with all the technology we
have access to, it's really easy to be in two places at once."
The Armenian Volunteer Corps has coordinated her volunteer placements while
she is here. Suzanne is volunteering at the American University of Armenia
in their Extension Program. She's helping them promote a new branch of the
program in Karabagh. She's also working at the Fuller Center for Housing
Armenia, where she knows the mission and the need and is able to help them
with editing, writing, and marketing.
"Not only has AVC provided me with job placements that are in alignment
with my experience, but they provide me with an amazing community of friends
made up of the other volunteers in-country. We have language classes
together, go on weekend excursions out of the city, and attend cultural
events. In addition, the AVC office is a home away from home-a place where
we are always welcome and will always find a friend."
"Armenia got inside me and called me back, over and over again. I love it
here-the pace, the people, the scenery, the very soul of it has me in its
sway and won't let go. Having the opportunity to come here and work for
Armenia is a gift I gave myself. I'm learning so much, but the most
important lesson is that if you can dream it, you can do it!"
--
Founded in 2000, the Armenian Volunteer Corps (AVC) is Armenia's premiere
volunteer placement organization. AVC invites individuals from all over the
world, 21 years and older, to volunteer in Armenia for service terms ranging
from one month to one year. AVC Professional Corps invites professionals 32
years of age and up with at least five years specialized experience to
volunteer in Armenia for a minimum of two weeks. To date, over 450
volunteers have served in more than 200 organizations throughout Armenia.
Individuals who are of Armenian heritage and between the ages of 20 and 32
may be eligible for sponsorship by AVC's sister organization, Birthright
Armenia. For more information, visit www.armenianvolunteer.org
Tania J. Chichmanian
Executive Director
Armenian Volunteer Corps
www.armenianvolunteer.org
www.avc.am
[email protected]
Tel: (+374) 10 54 00 37
Come Move Mountains
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December 20, 2012
Armenian Volunteer Corp
Contact: Tania Chichmanian
(374 10) 54 00 37
[email protected]
www.armenianvolunteer.org
www.armenianvolunteer.blogspot.com
AVC Professional Corps: "If you can dream it, you can do it!"
Yerevan Armenia-Thirty years in corporate publishing was enough. But what
wasn't enough for Suzanne Daghlian, 53, of New Jersey was the two weeks she
spent volunteering in Armenia each summer. She'd been travelling to Armenia
every summer since 2006 and building houses with the Fuller Center for
Housing. As a team leader, her time in Armenia was full attending to the
volunteers she'd recruited, organizing their days working on construction
sites, their evenings out on the town, and their touring days visiting the
great sights of Armenia. She felt the time always flew by and she was never
able to really enjoy the pace of Armenia, to learn the language, to really
relax into it. So when she lost her job along with many other veterans of
the old guard of New York publishing, she knew it was time to realize a
dream she'd always had to live somewhere outside of the US for a little
while and do something good for others.
Suzanne has lived in New Jersey her whole life, commuting to
Manhattan for work. Her parents were founding members of the Armenian
Church in Tenafly, New Jersey and Suzanne has always been active in her
church. Her travels have taken her from the Andes and the Amazon to Kenya
and Tanzania, from Scandinavia to Hawaii, as well as all over the
continental United States for her work. For the past seven years, however,
Suzanne's heart has been in Armenia.
"I always dreamed of taking off and moving to a different place with a
different point of view. And then I fell in love with Armenia. I found the
Armenian Volunteer Corps (AVC) website years ago and would leave it open on
my computer at work and fantasize about being a long-term volunteer in
Armenia. But I didn't think I would ever have the guts to leave my life
behind and go. When I lost my job, the stars aligned for me and I just knew
I had to do it."
Suzanne made all the arrangements-she produced a budget, arranged to pay her
bills online, found a house sitter to take care of things at home, and
applied to AVC. Once accepted, she began to tell people about her plan to
go to Armenia to volunteer for four months.
Her family and friends were ecstatic for her. Many of them knew of her
desire to live abroad for a time, all of them knew of her love for Armenia,
and some of them admitted that they dream of this kind of adventure
themselves. "It's amazing how many of my friends and cohorts say they want
to do something like this, but they feel they can't get away from their
responsibilities. But I haven't left my responsibilities-I am paying my
bills and keeping in touch with all I need to, and I'm living here in
Armenia for four months. In this day and age, with all the technology we
have access to, it's really easy to be in two places at once."
The Armenian Volunteer Corps has coordinated her volunteer placements while
she is here. Suzanne is volunteering at the American University of Armenia
in their Extension Program. She's helping them promote a new branch of the
program in Karabagh. She's also working at the Fuller Center for Housing
Armenia, where she knows the mission and the need and is able to help them
with editing, writing, and marketing.
"Not only has AVC provided me with job placements that are in alignment
with my experience, but they provide me with an amazing community of friends
made up of the other volunteers in-country. We have language classes
together, go on weekend excursions out of the city, and attend cultural
events. In addition, the AVC office is a home away from home-a place where
we are always welcome and will always find a friend."
"Armenia got inside me and called me back, over and over again. I love it
here-the pace, the people, the scenery, the very soul of it has me in its
sway and won't let go. Having the opportunity to come here and work for
Armenia is a gift I gave myself. I'm learning so much, but the most
important lesson is that if you can dream it, you can do it!"
--
Founded in 2000, the Armenian Volunteer Corps (AVC) is Armenia's premiere
volunteer placement organization. AVC invites individuals from all over the
world, 21 years and older, to volunteer in Armenia for service terms ranging
from one month to one year. AVC Professional Corps invites professionals 32
years of age and up with at least five years specialized experience to
volunteer in Armenia for a minimum of two weeks. To date, over 450
volunteers have served in more than 200 organizations throughout Armenia.
Individuals who are of Armenian heritage and between the ages of 20 and 32
may be eligible for sponsorship by AVC's sister organization, Birthright
Armenia. For more information, visit www.armenianvolunteer.org
Tania J. Chichmanian
Executive Director
Armenian Volunteer Corps
www.armenianvolunteer.org
www.avc.am
[email protected]
Tel: (+374) 10 54 00 37
Come Move Mountains
facebook blogger
Youtube square