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Armenian National Committee of America - Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918
[email protected]
www.ancawr.org
PRESS RELEASE March 7, 2014
Contact: Elen Asatryan
Tel: 818.500.1918
Cell: 818.523.8389
Email: [email protected]
ANCA-WR Launches Campaign to Honor Near East Relief Efforts
Campaign's goal is to thank America for its efforts in rescuing hundreds
of thousands of Genocide refugees, orphans and survivors.
GLENDALE, CA--The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region has
launched a campaign, timed for the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, to
honor Near East Relief, an organization that mobilized Americans and
rescued hundreds of thousands of orphans and survivors of the Genocide.
The campaign, called "America We Thank You: An Armenian Tribute to Near
East Relief," is a movement to recognize the outpouring of generosity by
the American people in the immediate aftermath of the Armenian Genocide
(1915-1923) and to highlight the efforts of Near East Relief in rescuing
and providing assistance to hundreds of thousands of men, women and
children who were victims of the Genocide.
ANCA-WR officials said that the campaign is committed to promoting the role
Near East Relief played in providing assistance to those less fortunate and
for its groundbreaking ability to bring the American people together under
one cause--the aid to refugees of the Armenian Genocide.
Through various events and programs "America We Thank You: An Armenian
Tribute to Near East Relief," will mark the centennial of the Near East
Relief efforts and express its gratitude to the American people for
establishing and continuing the tradition of being the most generous
nation. Countless Armenian-Americans are descendants of those rescued by
Near East Relief.
As news of the horrors of the Armenian Genocide poured into the this
country, President Woodrow Wilson urged Congress in September of 1915 to
act swiftly to provide assistance to the victims of Ottoman Turkish
massacres of Armenians. This congressionally-mandated operation, which
would later be dubbed Near East Relief, galvanized every segment of
American society to rise up and provide assistance to the refugees of the
Genocide.
Near East Relief established and operated several orphanages in Lebanon,
Syria, Iraq and elsewhere, including Armenia, to shelter and care for
hundreds of thousands of orphans who escaped the horrors of the Genocide.
The campaign was entirely funded by the American people.
"As we, a community and a nation, look toward the centennial of the
Armenian Genocide in 2015, we would be remiss to discount the crucial role
Near East Relief played in salvaging the victims of the horrible tragedy,
and by the same token, play a critical role in safeguarding the survival of
the Armenian Nation," said Vanna Kitsinian, Esq. co-chairwoman of "We Thank
You America: An Armenian Tribute to Near East Relief" effort.
"Through this campaign we want to say a collective 'thank you' to the
American people for recognizing the plight of Armenians and mobilizing the
entire nation. We thank you America," added Hermineh Pakhanians,
co-chairwoman of the committee.
"As the largest and leading Armenian-American advocacy organization, the
ANCA-WR is taking the lead to ensure that the current generation of
Americans is well aware of its past humanitarian efforts and the role that
the US Congress and the White House played at the time of the Genocide,"
emphasized Nora Hovsepian, Esq. chairwoman of the ANCA-WR.
In a paper published in 2010, Keith David Watenpaugh, an associate
professor and a historian at University of California at Davis argued in an
article published in the American Historical Review that the Armenian
Genocide sparked the modern humanitarian movement and the original concept
of "citizen philanthropy."
"America We Thank You: An Armenian Tribute to Near East Relief" is planning
to host its inaugural launch event next month.
The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the largest
and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in
the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of
offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and
affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the
concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.
###
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918
[email protected]
www.ancawr.org
PRESS RELEASE March 7, 2014
Contact: Elen Asatryan
Tel: 818.500.1918
Cell: 818.523.8389
Email: [email protected]
ANCA-WR Launches Campaign to Honor Near East Relief Efforts
Campaign's goal is to thank America for its efforts in rescuing hundreds
of thousands of Genocide refugees, orphans and survivors.
GLENDALE, CA--The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region has
launched a campaign, timed for the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, to
honor Near East Relief, an organization that mobilized Americans and
rescued hundreds of thousands of orphans and survivors of the Genocide.
The campaign, called "America We Thank You: An Armenian Tribute to Near
East Relief," is a movement to recognize the outpouring of generosity by
the American people in the immediate aftermath of the Armenian Genocide
(1915-1923) and to highlight the efforts of Near East Relief in rescuing
and providing assistance to hundreds of thousands of men, women and
children who were victims of the Genocide.
ANCA-WR officials said that the campaign is committed to promoting the role
Near East Relief played in providing assistance to those less fortunate and
for its groundbreaking ability to bring the American people together under
one cause--the aid to refugees of the Armenian Genocide.
Through various events and programs "America We Thank You: An Armenian
Tribute to Near East Relief," will mark the centennial of the Near East
Relief efforts and express its gratitude to the American people for
establishing and continuing the tradition of being the most generous
nation. Countless Armenian-Americans are descendants of those rescued by
Near East Relief.
As news of the horrors of the Armenian Genocide poured into the this
country, President Woodrow Wilson urged Congress in September of 1915 to
act swiftly to provide assistance to the victims of Ottoman Turkish
massacres of Armenians. This congressionally-mandated operation, which
would later be dubbed Near East Relief, galvanized every segment of
American society to rise up and provide assistance to the refugees of the
Genocide.
Near East Relief established and operated several orphanages in Lebanon,
Syria, Iraq and elsewhere, including Armenia, to shelter and care for
hundreds of thousands of orphans who escaped the horrors of the Genocide.
The campaign was entirely funded by the American people.
"As we, a community and a nation, look toward the centennial of the
Armenian Genocide in 2015, we would be remiss to discount the crucial role
Near East Relief played in salvaging the victims of the horrible tragedy,
and by the same token, play a critical role in safeguarding the survival of
the Armenian Nation," said Vanna Kitsinian, Esq. co-chairwoman of "We Thank
You America: An Armenian Tribute to Near East Relief" effort.
"Through this campaign we want to say a collective 'thank you' to the
American people for recognizing the plight of Armenians and mobilizing the
entire nation. We thank you America," added Hermineh Pakhanians,
co-chairwoman of the committee.
"As the largest and leading Armenian-American advocacy organization, the
ANCA-WR is taking the lead to ensure that the current generation of
Americans is well aware of its past humanitarian efforts and the role that
the US Congress and the White House played at the time of the Genocide,"
emphasized Nora Hovsepian, Esq. chairwoman of the ANCA-WR.
In a paper published in 2010, Keith David Watenpaugh, an associate
professor and a historian at University of California at Davis argued in an
article published in the American Historical Review that the Armenian
Genocide sparked the modern humanitarian movement and the original concept
of "citizen philanthropy."
"America We Thank You: An Armenian Tribute to Near East Relief" is planning
to host its inaugural launch event next month.
The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the largest
and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in
the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of
offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and
affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the
concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.
###