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CHICAGO ARS HOLDS MEMORIAL BLOOD DRIVE
Armenian Weekly
May 14, 2012
GLENVIEW, Ill.-On April 22, the Armenian Relief Society (ARS) held
its 20th Annual Genocide Memorial Blood Drive at the All Saints
Apostolic Armenian church in Glenview. The community came together
with overwhelming support to make the blood drive successful, with
21 units of blood donated, which has the potential to impact 63 lives.
A scene from the blood drive "The blood drive is my favorite event of
the year because we have the chance to give back to the community
that opened its arms to our ancestors, who were forced out of
their ancestral homelands many years ago," said Silva Panossian,
the president of the Chicago "Zabelle" ARS Chapter. "We are all
descendants of survivors of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. So this
is an excellent opportunity to commemorate our ancestors who lost
their lives and to serve the country that became our new home. We
happen to love our new home and the diverse community that we are
a part of now. Our members have community service in their blood,
no pun intended," Panossian said.
"All of my grandparents were genocide survivors," said donor Sonia
Akellian, who gave an astonishing two pints of blood that day. "They
are no longer with us, but this event makes me feel close to them. The
needles are nothing compared to what they endured. Also, a little pin
prick is nothing in comparison to what patients need to go through
to get well," she said.
ARS members Taleen Aivazian and Silva Bedian worked with Sharon
Fulgenzi from LifeSource to coordinate this year's blood drive.
Aivazian has been coordinating the blood drive with Bedian since she
became an ARS member in 2002.
"We wanted to thank Sharon for helping to make this blood drive a
success. She picked an excellent staff that day. Keila Maxwell was the
drive manager. She was really professional and easy to work with. This
year, we did the electronic registration and all of the equipment was
new. This was hands down the best blood drive experience. We can't
wait to do it again next year," Aivazian said.
Armenian Weekly
May 14, 2012
GLENVIEW, Ill.-On April 22, the Armenian Relief Society (ARS) held
its 20th Annual Genocide Memorial Blood Drive at the All Saints
Apostolic Armenian church in Glenview. The community came together
with overwhelming support to make the blood drive successful, with
21 units of blood donated, which has the potential to impact 63 lives.
A scene from the blood drive "The blood drive is my favorite event of
the year because we have the chance to give back to the community
that opened its arms to our ancestors, who were forced out of
their ancestral homelands many years ago," said Silva Panossian,
the president of the Chicago "Zabelle" ARS Chapter. "We are all
descendants of survivors of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. So this
is an excellent opportunity to commemorate our ancestors who lost
their lives and to serve the country that became our new home. We
happen to love our new home and the diverse community that we are
a part of now. Our members have community service in their blood,
no pun intended," Panossian said.
"All of my grandparents were genocide survivors," said donor Sonia
Akellian, who gave an astonishing two pints of blood that day. "They
are no longer with us, but this event makes me feel close to them. The
needles are nothing compared to what they endured. Also, a little pin
prick is nothing in comparison to what patients need to go through
to get well," she said.
ARS members Taleen Aivazian and Silva Bedian worked with Sharon
Fulgenzi from LifeSource to coordinate this year's blood drive.
Aivazian has been coordinating the blood drive with Bedian since she
became an ARS member in 2002.
"We wanted to thank Sharon for helping to make this blood drive a
success. She picked an excellent staff that day. Keila Maxwell was the
drive manager. She was really professional and easy to work with. This
year, we did the electronic registration and all of the equipment was
new. This was hands down the best blood drive experience. We can't
wait to do it again next year," Aivazian said.