White Lake Township, MI—A Barbie, a new shiny bike or perhaps even a puppy… these are the types of gifts one would expect a four year old to ask for on her fifth birthday. Not Mia! This Michigan based young lady can teach many of us about the spirit of giving. She decided that for her 5TH birthday, she wanted all of her friends and family to come to her party and bring a new pair of winter boots for needy children in Armenia.

“I saw a little girl on TV that decided to deliver boots to an orphanage. I thought maybe I could do that because we both have lots of stuff already,” said Mia.

Her mom, Debbie Dalbis, contacted the Detroit Chapter of share-a-pair, a project of The Paros Foundation to see if Mia’s wish could be fulfilled and the boots that she was aiming to collect actually get onto the feet of needy children in Armenia. On May 19th, family and friends gathered to celebrate Mia’s 5th birthday. The net result is this special five year-old’s wish came true. This winter, almost 200 children (that is 400 feet!) will have warm and dry feet thanks to Mia’s selflessness, her mom’s commitment to her community, and the generosity of Mia’s family and friends.

“Mia is an incredible little girl and with the support of her family, has done an incredible thing. “Said Peter Abajian, Executive Director of The Paros Foundation. “We will ship these new boots to Armenia and distribute them to vulnerable children this fall so they can wear the boots this winter.”

Share-a-pair has distributed more than 12,600 pairs of shoes to vulnerable children in Armenia. Distributions will continue through the month of July during a regional distribution campaign, during which an additional 12,200 pair will put on the feet of children in need. Share-a-pair was started in 2010 with a fixed goal of collecting and distributing 1,000 pairs for Armenia’s children. It has since met the initial goal and has grown into a substantial humanitarian effort.

Formally launched in 2006, The Paros Foundation’s goal is to develop high-quality, high-integrity non-governmental organizations in Armenia by providing guidance and needed resources. This includes providing inspiring office space; free of charge, to three of the six organizations The Foundation works with in Armenia. To honor the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, The Paros Foundation launched The Paros 100 for 100, Projects for Prosperity program to implement 100 special projects, to help grow Armenia stronger and improve the lives of her people. For more information on The Paros Foundation or the Paros 100 for 100 Projects for Prosperity visit www.paros-foundation.org/.

This week Manana Center hosted students of College Preperatory School, Oakland, California. On the
first day students visited Manana Center, watched several films, animations and photos by our students.

The next day after traveling to Saghmosavanq, all the students went to Nork orphanage and helped with cleaning the area for the future playgro
und, which is one of the projects of The Paros 100 Projects for Prosperity Program launched by Paros Foundation.
Later Manana’s students visited the house where CPS’s students stay in, made a pixelation and shooted a short film. For the next two days students visited Garni, Geghard, Sevan and Dilijan.

Beverly Hills, CA—Imelda Marcos, Philippine President Ferdinand Marco’s widow, refuted her reputation of excess by saying “I did not have 3,000 pairs of shoes, I had 1,060.”

While some dream of having that many pairs of shoes to choose from each day, many children in Armenia lack the basic necessity of a simple pair of sturdy shoes. The Share-a-Pair project of The Paros Foundation (www.parosfoundation.org) recently completed the distribution of 500 pairs of shoes to children in need in Armenia.

“This trip we focused our distributions on school shoes and winter boots for children at four of Armenia’s orphanages in and around Yerevan, Gavar and Vanadzor,” said Kristen Abajian. “It was really fulfilling to see the end result of our efforts. These children will now have a decent pair of shoes to wear to school. Early next year, we hope to have secured enough support to begin distributing shoes to needy children in the villages and other regions of Armenia.”

“The need for shoes for children is pretty much never ending, both because of the extreme change of seasons and the fact that these children are growing.” Said Bridget Abajian.

South Bay Chapter Founder Sofia Dilsizian commented, “The donors and supporters that met our request for funding and shoes made this effort possible and deserve a lot of thanks.”

“No one needs 1,060 pairs of shoes,” said Kristen Abajian, “but every kid needs a single pair of dependable shoes or boots. My goal is to make sure that no child goes to school without a decent pair of shoes on their feet.”

Share-a-Pair is able to purchase one quality pair of shoes for $10. Donations are welcomed in any amount. 100% of the proceeds will be spent buying new shoes. Donations of new practical shoes in all sizes are also appreciated and welcomed. Donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

For more information, please visit “http://www.paros-foundation.org/shareapair” or look for us and follow us on Facebook, search for “share a pair”.

Kristen and Bridget Abajian founded share-a-pair as a direct result of their experience living in Armenia and their subsequent visits seeing the difficult conditions of many of Armenia’s needy children and orphans. Sofia Dilsizian immediately joined the effort and founded the first
Share-a-Pair chapter in the South Bay area of Los Angeles. Kristen, Bridget and Sofia have been friends since they were each three years old. All are currently high school seniors.

Yerevan, Armenia – The Paros Foundation, based in Berkeley, California, has launched a bold initiative called the Paros 100 for 100 Projects for Prosperity. Paros 100 for 100 will lead the implementation of 100 charitable projects in Armenia funded primarily by the Diaspora community working with local non-governmental organization (NGO) partners.

‘As the international community mobilizes to solemnly commemorate the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, the staff and volunteers of The Paros Foundation, along with our NGO partners, stand ready to implement 100 projects over the next three and a half years to help strengthen the Armenian Republic and improve the lives of our brothers and sisters in Armenia.’ Said Peter Abajian, Executive Director of The Paros Foundation. ‘Our people annually remember what we lost, this effort aims to memorialize those losses by empowering those who live.’

The Paros 100 for 100 is focused in four broad categories:

• Development — projects providing people the opportunity to work and care for their families and to the development of civil society, transparency and a stronger democracy in Armenia.
• Education — Ensure the intellectual development of future generations with new technology assistance to students and their schools.
• Cultural — Preserve and promote Armenia’s rich heritage and culture.
• Humanitarian — Improve the lives of the elderly, children and people with disabilities.

Individuals, families, groups and organizations are invited to participate by sponsoring a project, submitting a proposal for a project, and volunteering. To facilitate the sponsorship of the Paros 100 for 100, a new section on The Paros Foundation website was launched today detailing projects that are available for sponsorship, and inviting the community and NGOs in Armenia to submit their own projects or ideas. The website address is www.paros-foundation.org/paros100. The site will be continuously updated with newly accepted and completed projects.

‘Directly supporting a project that contributes to the development of Armenia, and helps improve the lives of its citizens has never been easier. People can quickly identify a project area, obtain additional information and determine the benefits of the specific project all within a matter of a few clicks on the website. I encourage the community to visit the website frequently to view newly listed projects and progress on existing projects.’ Said Abajian. ‘All project sponsors will be invited to participate on Paros Foundation led trip to Armenia in April, 2015 to commemorate the centennial of the Armenia Genocide and to visit several of the Paros 100 for 100 projects.’

Donations to The Paros Foundation are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. The Paros Foundation is a 501(c)3 Private Foundation.

To learn more about the Paros 100 for 100 please visit www.paros-foundation.org/ or contact The Paros Foundation at (310) 400-9061 US or (091) 426 120 Armenia, or via email at peter@paros-foundation.org.

During Golden Apricot International Film Festival the Armenian premiere screening of Neighbors, a documentary film made by Manana Films studio took place. 

The international premiere screening of the film took place in Istanbul International Film Festival in April.

Neighbors is a feature-length documentary tell about two villages situated on both sides of Armenian-Turkish border. The film is made with the support of Royal Norwegian Embassy and Armenia Turkey Cinema Platform.

The European premiere screening of the film will take place in Fall.

Naregatsi Art Institute, Yerevan, Armenia

Today the Paros Chamber Choir was featured at a concert organized by the Naregatsi Art Institute to commemorate the Armenian Genocide and Easter.  Paros closed the concert with five a capella songs: Tebe Poyom by D.Bortnyansky, Quando Corpus from Stabat Mater by G.Rossini, Norahrash by Komitas, Echmiadzin by K.Meykhanajyan, and Hayr Mer (The Lord’s Prayer) by Komitas.

The Paros Chamber Choir performs Non ti scordar di me with the world-renowned tenor Placido Domingo and a Grammy award winning operatic soprano from Puerto Rico Ana Maria Martinez during Domingo’s Yerevan, Armenia concert at the Karen Demirchyan Sport & Concert Complex.  Domingo invited the Choir to perform alongside him the day before when they welcomed him to the National Assembly.

On December 2, Chairman of the RA National Assembly Hovik Abrahamyan received world-renowned singer Placido Domingo.

In honor of the famous tenor’s visit, before the meeting, the “Paros” chamber choir of the disabled performed songs by Komitas at the patio of the National Assembly. The Spanish tenor thanked the choir members and mentioned that he was impressed by the reception.
“This was a surprise for me,” said Mr. Domingo. Hovik Abrahamyan surprised the choir members by inviting them to take part in the tenor’s concert tomorrow, while Placido Domingo offered the choir to perform with him on stage.
After the performance, NA Chairman Hovik Abrahamyan and Placido Domingo held private talks.
Greeting the talented artist, Hovik Abrahamyan said the maestro’s visit is an exclusive event in Armenia’s culture. The NA Chairman mentioned that the great singer has many fans in Armenia and this is the best opportunity for them to hear high-quality classical music. Hovik Abrahamyan offered Placido Domingo to visit Armenia again and give a joint concert with his colleagues, including Charles Aznavour.
Placido Domingo expressed gratitude for the reception and mentioned that it was a great honor for him to be in a country with a centuries-old history and traditions and perform in front of an Armenian audience. He accepted the NA Chairman’s invitation to visit Armenia again and perform with Charles Aznavour with pleasure. The world-famous tenor also mentioned that he heads the “Our Europe” Association, which is involved in restoring and preserving world cultural heritage and expressed willingness to include the best historical-cultural values in the list of the association.

Source: A1plus.am