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Newly-Wed Couples Donate Thousands To Zoryan Institute On TheirWeddi

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  • Newly-Wed Couples Donate Thousands To Zoryan Institute On TheirWeddi

    ZORYAN INSTITUTE OF CANADA, INC.
    255 Duncan Mill Rd., Suite 310
    Toronto, ON, Canada M3B 3H9
    Tel: 416-250-9807 Fax: 416-512-1736 E-mail: [email protected]
    www.zoryaninstitute.org


    PRESS RELEASE

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    CONTACT: George Shirinian

    DATE: September 16, 2004
    Tel: 416-250-9807


    Newly-wed Couples Donate Thousands to Zoryan Institute on Their Wedding Day


    Boston, MA - In early June, at the wedding reception of Nellie
    Yeretsian and Shahan Yacoubian in Chicago, the place-card put out
    for the guests informed them that:

    To honor our grandparents, we have made a financial contribution to
    the following institutions:

    ~The Zoryan Institute, devoted to research, documentation, publication
    and education on contemporary issues in the history, politics,
    society and culture of Armenians and Armenia.

    ~Armenian General Benevolent Union's Hye Geen, devoted to empower
    Armenian women in their changing roles. Hye Geen sponsors a day care
    center for pregnant women in Gyumri, Armenia.

    Similarly, in early September, at the wedding reception of Lisa
    Siraganian and Brian Hewitt in Maryland, seating cards for each guest
    announced the following message:

    In your honor, a donation has been given to Church World Service
    Emergency Response for aid to Sudan and Afghanistan, and to the Zoryan
    Institute, an international center devoted to researching the history
    and culture of Armenians.

    "Who said our youth is not involved in Armenian affairs," asked Arsinée
    Khanjian, a member of the Corporate Board of the Zoryan Institute. "I
    understand exactly how these young people feel. They support the Zoryan
    Institute because they find answers to the fundamental questions of
    history, memory, and identity, burning inside of them. They feel
    empowered with the tools of history, facts, references, analysis,
    and perspective that the institute provides through its seminars,
    conferences and publications." She continued by relating that this
    was her own experience some eighteen years ago, when she joined the
    ranks of Zoryan supporters, because "Through the institute's work,
    I learned how to situate my history in the history of other nations,
    other cultures of the world, thus reconciling my identity as a
    Diasporan Armenian and as a Canadian."

    "There seems to be an interesting new trend developing among
    young professionals in North America, of making donations on their
    wedding day to organizations that they identify with emotionally and
    intellectually, such as Zoryan," noted George Shirinian, Executive
    Director of the institute. "This phenomenon is all the more interesting
    as it occurs at a time in their lives when the young couples, instead
    of focusing on themselves and their immediate families and friends,
    are thinking about the welfare of humanity and organizations which
    devote their efforts to serving that cause."

    Shahan Yacoubian is finishing residency in Orthopedics at Albert
    Einstein in the Bronx, and Nellie Yacoubian is a graduate student at
    New York University. Describing the motivation for their selfless
    gesture, Nellie explained, "Our grandparents were afraid that
    the death and suffering of their loved ones would be relegated to
    the dustbin of history. They were deeply unsettled by the power of
    historical revisionism at the service of political convenience. The
    Zoryan Institute is the fulfillment of their hopes for a scholarly,
    unshakable rendition of the facts."

    Lisa Siraganian, who is currently doing a post-doctoral fellowship
    in English Literature at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH, and Brian
    Hewitt, who is Senior Software Engineer at Tele-Atlas in Hanover,
    had this to say. "A marriage not only connects two people to one
    another, but also connects us as a couple to a larger community.
    For this reason, we felt, along with Lisa's parents, that it was
    important to recognize and support those communities, both locally
    and globally. Zoryan's mission of Armenian historical research and
    community outreach make this donation a natural choice."

    K.M. (Greg) Sarkissian, President of the Zoryan Institute, remarked,
    "We are moved that such young people are confident about their
    identity, and that because of their love for humanity they feel
    a natural connection with the Institute. It is overwhelming for
    us at Zoryan to see that four generations away from the Genocide,
    our youth, born and raised in America, the famous 'melting pot,'
    not only appreciate the work of this institute but also affirm the
    universality of its mission through their magnificent support."

    The Zoryan Institute is an international center devoted to the
    research and documentation of contemporary issues related to the
    history, politics, society, and culture of Armenia and Armenians
    around the world.
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