Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

ABMDR New England Walk Of Life Breaks Participation Record

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • ABMDR New England Walk Of Life Breaks Participation Record

    ABMDR NEW ENGLAND WALK OF LIFE BREAKS PARTICIPATION RECORD

    http://asbarez.com/115075/abmdr-new-england-walk-of-life-breaks-participation-record/
    Wednesday, October 16th, 2013

    Alec Zareh Zarifian won the award for individually raising the most
    funds independently

    WATERTOWN-The New England Support Group of the Armenian Bone Marrow
    Donor Registry (ABMDR) hosted its second annual Walk of Life on
    Saturday, September 28 in Watertown, Massachusetts.

    The event kicked off at the Armenian Cultural and Educational Center
    at 11 a.m., taking participants on a 2.2- mile route culminating
    at Watertown's annual "Faire on the Square." Distinguished Reverend
    Avedis Boynerian (of the Armenian Memorial Church) and Reverend Gregory
    V. Haroutunian (of the First Armenian Church) offered a blessing at
    the onset of the walk, and Jack Antounian, president of the Armenian
    Business Network (ABN), officiated the event.

    The walk attracted over 200 participants from a variety of age groups,
    twice the number of walkers from the previous year. "We are so thankful
    for the tremendous enthusiasm our community leaders demonstrated:
    they stepped forward, set up teams, encouraged their constituents'
    participation in the walk, and the results were fantastic," said
    ABMDR Board member Alvart Badalian.

    Eighteen walking teams were formed by supportive individuals and
    community organizations, including the Armenian Business Network,
    ACYOA, AGBU Young Professionals Boston, Armenian Library and Museum
    of America, Amaras Art Alliance, AYF Boston Nejdeh Chapter, Belmont
    High School Armenian Club, Erebuni Armenian School, Hamazkayin Boston,
    Homenetmen Boston, Team Hope, Lexington High School Armenian Club,
    Team Namaste, Team Poreeg, Sayat Nova Dance Company of Boston, St.

    James Armenian Church, St. Stephen's Armenian Elementary School,
    and Watertown High School Armenian Club.

    "It was my honor to participate in this year's Walk of Life Walkathon
    - an event that brought out the best in our community," Antounian
    said. "My gratitude and special thanks to our local ABN members who
    volunteered and marshaled the walkathon, and made sure it was a safe
    and fun event for all who took part in this noble walk."

    "For the second year, the Boston-based Dana Farber Cancer Institute has
    been our major sponsor and we thank this important establishment for
    their help," said Tamar Melkonian of the Walkathon Committee at the
    closing ceremony. "We also thank our local supporters, the Doctors
    Express for their donation, Arax Market for providing our walkers
    with refreshing fruits, and, of course, a world of gratitude to the
    Armenian Cultural and Educational Center for giving us a home base
    to start our walk."

    The St. Stephen's Armenian Elementary School team was awarded the
    prize for most funds raised, while the Erebuni Armenian School won
    the distinction of largest team. Alec Zareh Zarifian won the award
    for individually raising the most funds independently. These winners
    were each rewarded with a cluster of trees to be planted in Armenia
    in their honor. This symbolic gift was a generous donation by the
    Armenia Tree Project (armeniatree.org).

    "We were humbled by the enthusiasm that the youngest in our community
    showed towards this event and their desire to help those in need;
    their participation was truly an inspiration," said Badalian.

    More than $14,000 was raised through the walkathon in support of
    ABMDR's life-saving work.

    "Every step taken during the walkathon brings hope for a long-awaited
    bone marrow match for a fellow Armenian struck with a life-threatening
    disease like leukemia or other blood-related illness," said Dr. Frieda
    Jordan, president of ABMDR. "Since the unique genetic makeup of
    Armenians makes it extremely difficult to find suitable bone marrow
    matches among the existing international bone marrow donor registries,
    ABMDR's database serves as a vital resource when crisis strikes."

    Established in 1999, ABMDR, a nonprofit organization, helps Armenians
    worldwide survive life-threatening blood-related illnesses by
    recruiting and matching donors to those requiring bone marrow stem cell
    transplants. To date, the registry has recruited over 24,000 donors
    in 18 countries across four continents, identified 2,135 patients,
    and facilitated 17 bone marrow transplants.

Working...