Pan-European Phoneathon to benefit war-ravaged Karabakh communities

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s 17th annual Pan-European Phoneathon, led by the fund’s French affiliate and with the participation of those in Germany and Switzerland, will take place on November 16-20, mobilizing Armenian communities throughout the three countries.

Proceeds from the large-scale fundraising campaign will be used to rebuild Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) communities that have sustained heavy damage as a result of the four-day war this year, to provide assistance to the Syrian-Armenian community, and to support the continued growth of agricultural development projects in Armenia’s Tavush province.

The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s affiliate in Greece will have its own phoneathon, to be held on November 19-20 in Athens. Proceeds from this campaign will be contributed to the construction of the kindergarten of Karin Tak, a village in Artsakh’s Shushi region. The project, now underway, is slated to be completed in summer 2017.

Valérie Toranian, editor-in-chief of the French magazine Revue des Deux Mondes, and journalist and entertainer Nikos Aliagas will serve as the godmother and the godfather of the Pan-European Phoneathon, respectively, making appeals for unity and support throughout the five days of the event.

In the course of the Phoneathon, more than 600 volunteers stationed in Paris, Marseille, Toulouse, and Lyon will make calls to Armenian households, businesses, and organizations, to request their support of far-reaching projects that will benefit Armenia and Artsakh, as well as our compatriots in Syria.

Last year, the Pan-European Phoneathon raised a total of over 1.3 million euros, which was used for various agricultural projects in Tavush, the construction of multifunctional community centers in Artsakh, and assistance to war-affected Syrian-Armenians and Iraqi-Armenians.

Armenian communities in Europe have held phoneathons for the past 16 years, consistently expanding their donor bases and fundraising totals. Hayastan All-Armenian Fund phoneathons are also held annually in South America, through the fund’s Argentinean and Brazilian affiliates. The Brazilian-Armenian community’s phoneathon, the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s last major fundraising event for 2016, will be held on November 26-27.