Dear friends,

I am writing to update you on the situation in Armenia and Artsakh.

As of today, 86 people have lost their lives as a result of Azerbaijan’s aggressive and calculated military attack along the Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan line of contact, April 2nd to the 5th. The current situation is tense, but stable. A cease-fire is in place, but the Azeris are still shooting with various caliber weapons every evening.  On April 3rd, in response to numerous inquiries from donors and friends, The Paros Foundation launched a Hero Support Fund to raise funds and provide them to families of our deceased Heroes.

Our goal remains to provide a minimum of $1,000 to each family of our Heroes. Armenians from 18 countries around the world (including Armenia, Australia, Austria  Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Egypt, Rep. of Georgia, Germany, Italy, Qatar, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and the US)  have come together to support the families of our Heroes. Currently, we have raised almost $50,000 which will support 50 families. Funds will be distributed to the grieving families of our Heroes beginning in the next two weeks.  I am departing for Armenia soon to personally begin the process of delivering funds to our Heroes’ families.

I would like to offer a very special thank you to Mr. Serj Tankian who has assisted with raising awareness regarding our efforts to bring a bit of relief to the families of our Heroes, along with the many other people who are also working towards this important goal.  We are humbled to be serving as a conduit to support the families of our Heroes. As with any of our projects, 100% of your donation will be used to support this project without any administrative costs.

Help us keep this effort strong until we have raised enough funds to provide each family with $1,000. We thank all of you who have already contributed.

We must mobilize and do what we can to stand in solidarity with the families of our Heroes, who have died defending their Nation. While these funds will not completely address this tragic loss of life, nor ease the grief of our Hero families, it will provide them a bit of relief during these difficult times and show them that the world cares about them.

Thank you and please contact me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Peter J. Abajian
Executive Director

As a result of the aggressive military attack by Azerbaijan along the front line of contact with the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, according to up to date reports, at least 20 Armenian soldiers from the Artsakh Defense Forces and local civilians including a 12-year-old boy have lost their lives and more than 70 people are wounded including two additional children. Our community must mobilize and do what we can to support an immediate cease-fire and support for these heroes, who have died defending our Nation.

For our part, The Paros Foundation has launched a Hero Support Fund to raise funds and provide them to the families of our deceased heroes. Our goal is to provide a minimum of $1,000 to every hero’s family. While these funds will no where near address this tragic loss of life, nor ease the grief of our hero’s families, it will provide them a bit of relief during these difficult times. As with any of our projects, 100% of your donation will be used to support this project without any administrative costs. Funds will be distributed as quickly as possible to the grieving families of these heroes.

Donations can also be mailed to our office address as follows:

The Paros Foundation
2217 5th Street
Berkeley, California 94710

ABOUT THE PAROS FOUNDATION

Formally launched in 2006, The Paros Foundation and its staff in Armenia and the United States have earned a reputation as the “go to” organization to oversee small and medium-sized project implementation in Armenia.  Beginning with our support for seven exemplary local non-government organizations working with children, people with disabilities and the arts, the foundation works towards helping build a sustainable and vibrant homeland while improving living conditions for its most vulnerable populations.

With an aggressive goal of identifying, vetting, fundraising for and ultimately implementing 100 special projects, The Paros Foundation launched the Paros 100 for 100 Projects for Prosperity in October of 2011 to commemorate the centennial of the Armenian Genocide.  Following the successful completion of this initiative, the Foundation’s leadership agreed to continue operating via this project-based model of philanthropy, and launched the “Paros Projects for Prosperity.”

To facilitate volunteerism, The Paros Foundation launched its SERVICE Armenia program in 2013. This Armenia-based service program  provides participants an opportunity to travel to, and experience all that Armenia has to offer while helping make a difference.

Donations to The Paros Foundation, a 501(c) 3 organization, are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.  The Foundation underwrites100% of administrative costs allowing all donor contributions to be allocated directly to the projects.

To learn more about the Paros Foundation or its projects or to sponsor a project of the Paros Foundation’s Projects for Prosperity initiative, please visit www.parosfoundation.org or call (310) 400-9061.