Working Overtime for Something You Love

BY SANAN SHIRINIAN

Saturday June 26, 7:30am.

Most people are asleep. Where am I? Loading a 30 pound table, a pile of old Asbarez newspapers, and a neatly folded Armenian flag into my Kia.

By 8:30 I arrive at the Albertsons parking lot between Central and Chevy Chase, ready to spend the day washing people’s cars for ANY amount they are willing to donate.

As cheesy at it may sound, there is nowhere else I would have rather been Saturday. I’m proud to say the other Youth Corps participants and I worked very hard that day to raise a modest sum of money to fund the day camp in Gyumri, which we are about to travel half-way around the world to operate for over a month.

With 8 girls and 1 guy, we washed, soaped, dried, and  windexed our hearts out until our arms gave out. Bottom line is, we work hard, so that we can work even harder this summer. But when you love what you’re working for, you’re willing to do overtime.

I’ll be leaving in three days–a full week before the rest of the group. Although it’ll be my 5th time going to Armenia, I have to admit I’m extremely nervous; when I think about it long enough, I start to get nauseous. I’ll be gone for 67 days, by far the longest I’ve ever been away from home.

Don’t get me wrong, Armenia is without question my favorite place on earth and I’m counting down the hours until I leave, but being away from my family for over two months makes the whole thing a bittersweet experience. Of course I know eventually I will return to L.A., but it gets me thinking about the future. What if one day I want to move to Hayasdan permanently, how will I deal with leaving everything and everyone behind? Okay okay, I’m getting a little ahead of myself, but I can’t help but think.

Back to what this blog was originally about. The rest of the volunteers and I have to continue working around the clock to raise enough to funds for this amazing program. We shamelessly raise our voices and ask our community to dig deep into their hearts and wallets and become an active part of this endeavor.

We will be washing cars again this weekend, this time in Orange County. Please come out, support, and get your car cleaned! The car wash will be held from 9am to 1pm at the local Armenian Center at 5305 W. McFadden Santa Ana, CA.

Click HERE to donate to Youth Corps