Little Armenia Beautification Project Expands Reach

200 Volunteers Comb the Streets Picking Up Trash, Removing Graffiti

By Gaianeh Avanessian

On Saturday October 8th, the Armenian Youth Federation held its 9th annual Little Armenia Beautification Project. With strong support from city officials and local service organizations, this year’s project attracted over 200 volunteers, expanding its reach deeper into the community.

Armed with rakes, shovels, brooms, bags, and painting materials,  volunteers proceeded to pick up trash, and remove graffiti throughout Hollywood’s Little Armenia neighborhood district. The mission is to give back to the community and show appreciation for having a part of Los Angeles designated as Little Armenia.

Opening ceremony speeches were offered by Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti, Baidsar Thomassian representing California State Senator Kevin De Leon’s office, Reverend Father Vicken Vassilian from St. Garabed Armenian Church, Edgar Makhsikian of the Little Armenia Chamber of Commerce, AYF Hollywood “Musa Dagh” member Carina Khanjian, representatives of the Hollywood Beautification Team, and  Sam Kbushyan of the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council. Each speaker sincerely expressed their gratitude to the volunteers, motivating them and thanking them for devoting their time for the betterment of the community.

The clean-up effort, like in past years, was managed by a committee of volunteers from the AYF Hollywood “Musa Dagh” chapter with strong support from the ANC Hollywood chapter, who took on every aspect of planning, organizing and executing the cleanup. The committee worked closely with the offices of Eric Garcetti and Kevin De Leon both of whom cosponsored the beautification. The Little Armenia Chamber of Commerce also provided financial assistance for the project.

AYF Hollywood member and project organizer Carina Khanjian notes, “Working with governmental organizations allowed us to connect with various groups in the community to attract a wide variety of people, and get more work done”. The organizing committee expressed special gratitude to Council President Garcetti for sacrificing part of his day on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur to participate in the clean-up.

This year, the annual Beautification Project had more diverse volunteers than ever before. The Hollywood AYF made a concerted effort to reach out to both local Armenian and non-Armenian organizations. In addition to AYF members and Badanees, contingents of volunteers turned out from Pilibos Armenian School, the Homenetmen Los Angeles Chapter, UCI AEO (Armenian fraternity), Cal State LA ASA, GCC ASA, CSUN ASA and the Fairfax High School Environmental Club. Aside from cleaning up Little Armenia, the beautification project seeks to unify Armenian and non-Armenian youth.

With Little Armenia being home to one of the largest Armenian communities outside the Republic of Armenia, the Little Armenia Beautification Project is an effective way for the youth to give back to their community in what many Armenians call their “home away from home.”

“We constantly need to reaffirm our appreciation and ensure the cleanliness of our home away from home,” says Khanjian. “This project not only keeps the streets of Hollywood clean and beautiful, but it unifies the diverse community of Hollywood with the Armenian-Americans of Los Angeles, proving that one cannot succeed without the other”.

Founded in 1933, the Armenian Youth Federation is the largest and most influential Armenian-American youth organization in the United States working to advance the social, political, educational, and cultural awareness of Armenian-American youth.

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AYF Lends Support to Occupy Wall Street Movement

On the heels of last Thursday’s national day of student solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement, members of the AYF-WR paid a visit to the Los Angeles branch of the campaign to show their support.

The campaign, which began in New York’s financial district on September 17, has grown dramatically over the last month, challenging the role of Wall Street behind the economic collapse and the corrosive influence of money in politics.

“We don’t see this as something partisan,” said AYF member Caspar Jivalagian. “It is a growing popular movement against corporate unaccountability and economic injustice. We stand principally in support of democratic-based efforts to put people over profit.”

Members delivered a letter of solidarity on behalf of the AYF on Friday, as well as a package of water and food to the protestors camped out in front of Los Angeles City Hall. Below is the full text of the AYF-WR letter to the Occupy LA demonstrators.

“The Occupy Wall Street movement has gone viral and spread throughout the world,” added Jivalagian. “We would hope our people would be inspired by such movements and become vocal about the even sharper social inequalities and economic injustice in Armenia.”

Meanwhile, Babken DerGrigorian, an AYF member currently studying in London, was quoted widely in the media on Saturday for his part in organizing a demonstration in London in support of the movement. “Occupy Wall Street, media-wise, started out with really bad coverage,” DerGrigorian was quoted as saying to ABC. “We don’t want anyone to miss the point of what this is about. Our governments have been hijacked by corporate interests, and the solutions won’t come from our politicians.”

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Dear Occupy LA Protestors,

On behalf of the Armenian Youth Federation we would like to express our solidarity with your peaceful, lively and democratic movement to awaken social change.

Like many, we share your dismay over the rising inequality and financial hardship being brought to bear on ordinary people throughout the country.

Particularly concerning for us, as students, are the skyrocketing costs of education and mounting student debts. Last year, student loan obligations reached the $1 trillion mark, surpassing even the amount owed on credit card debt. Rather than education leading to a brighter future, young people are finding themselves in a financial abyss, with few promising job prospects after graduation.

The major financial institutions behind this debt machine and the economic meltdown continue to reap exorbitant benefits while most people are seeing their wages stagnate and their taxes spent on bailouts for Wall Street. While the top 1% enjoys record profits, the rest of the public faces foreclosures, budget cuts, layoffs, and financial insecurity.

It is our responsibility as youth to speak out and demand what is fair. We stand in support of a truly bottom-up, decentralized, and democratic movement to challenge institutions perpetuating social, economic, and political injustice.

We view the Occupy Los Angeles protest as a positive, grassroots effort to address such critical issues. We salute your determination and stand in support of your initiative.

In Solidarity,

Armenian Youth Federation

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AYF Donates Computers to Artsakh Youth

Each year the Armenian Youth Federation administers its Youth Corps program in Armenia and Artsakh, a 6-week initiative consisting of Diasporan volunteers running free summer day-camps for children. The impact of this year’s program was recently extended beyond its summer months, with the delivery of two brand new computers and a laptop for the local AYF Youth Center in Stepanakert.

“The AYF is committed to educating and empowering Armenian youth in both the Homeland and the Diaspora,” stated AYF-Western Region Chairman David Arakelyan. “Our programs in Armenia and Artsakh are geared toward helping young men and women acquire the skills and resources necessary to succeed in the 21st century.”

This past summer, while working in Artsakh, Youth Corps volunteers had the opportunity to visit and interact with fellow AYF members in Stepanakert.  They were quickly inspired by the level of commitment and motivation they saw in the youth there, who were working on important educational, cultural, and political programs. However, despite having renovated offices provided by assistance from AYF France, the Youth Center lacked any functioning computers—a luxury we tend to take for granted here in the US.

The volunteers relayed this information back to the Central Executive and requested support for their ungers in Stepanakert. Upon arriving back home and participating in the AYF Alumni Camp Weekend in August, it was decided that the proceeds from the event would be used to purchase new computers for the Stepanakert Youth Center.

The three new computers were hand delivered to their new home two weeks ago.

“We are hoping,” says Arakelyan, “that this small donation will assist the kids in Stepanakert in achieving their goals.”

Through both its Youth Corps program in the summer and other proactive initiatives throughout the year, the AYF strives to continue playing a direct role in the nation-building process in Armenia.

Founded in 1933, the Armenian Youth Federation is the largest and most influential Armenian-American youth organization in the United States working to advance the social, political, educational, and cultural awareness of Armenian-American youth.

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