The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Eastern Region will be honoring Baroness Caroline Cox with its highest honor, the prestigious Freedom Award, at the 6th Annual ANCA Eastern Region Banquet on Sat., Dec. 1, at the Sheraton Crossroads in Mahwah, N.J.
“We are proud to be honoring Baroness Caroline Cox for her decades-long support of the people of Nagorno-Karabagh and Armenia,” said ANCA Eastern Region Board chairperson George Aghjayan.
The Freedom Award is presented to an individual who has made outstanding contributions toward the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and who has pursued other issues of importance to the Armenian-American community.
Baroness Cox has visited Armenia and Karabagh 75 times—many of those times during the bitter war with Azerbaijan in the early 1990’s. Cox now works with the Stepanakert-based not-for-profit organization HART (Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust) to support a program that provides rehabilitation for people of all ages. HART is internationally recognized as a “Center of Excellence,” disseminating its wide-ranging therapeutic repertoire far beyond Karabagh to other countries throughout the South Caucasus.
“The spirit of Armenia, which not only survives but creates beauty from the ashes of destruction, is spreading hope and healing for people with special needs not only in Karabagh and Armenia but far beyond these lands,” stated Cox.
Baroness Cox of Queensbury was a deputy speaker of the House of Lords from 1985 to 2005. She was founder chancellor of Bournemouth University from 1991 to 2001, and is currently chancellor of Liverpool Hope University and vice-president of the Royal College of Nursing. She was also a founder trustee of MERLIN (Medical Emergency Relief International).
She has been honored with the Commander Cross of the Order of Merit
of the Republic of Poland; the Wilberforce Award; the International Mother
Teresa Award from the All India Christian Council; the Mkhitar Gosh Medal
conferred by the president of the Republic of Armenia; and the anniversary
medal presented by Lech Walesa, the former president of Poland. She has
also been awarded an honorary fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of
England and honorary doctorates by universities in the United Kingdom, the United States, the Russian Federation, and Armenia.
Baroness Cox’s humanitarian aid work has taken her on many missions to
conflict zones, including Karabagh, Sudan, Nigeria, Uganda, Burma, and Indonesia. She has also been instrumental in helping to change the former Soviet Union’s policies regarding orphaned and abandoned children, from institutional to foster family care.
Banquet co-chairs Karine Shnorhokian and Nicole Alashaian, both active members of the New Jersey Armenian-American community and members of the ANC of New Jersey, are working diligently to ensure the success of this annual fundraising event. “This is a fantastic event that truly showcases the activities and support throughout the Eastern Region. We are looking forward to a spectacular turnout to honor Baroness Cox for her many contributions to the people of Nagorno-Karabagh and Armenia,” Shnorhokian said.
Since 2007, the ANCA Freedom Award has been presented to former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John M. Evans, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Dr. Samantha Power, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, the late U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy, former U.S. Senator Robert Dole, and former U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole.
The ANCA Banquet will begin with an elegant cocktail reception and silent auction at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner and an awards ceremony at 8 p.m. For more information, visit www.anca.org/erbanquet or call Karine Shnorhokian at (201) 788-5425.
The ANCA Eastern Region Endowment Fund is a 501(c)(3) charitable and educational organization that supports the Armenian National Committee of America Eastern Region in outreach to Armenian-American communities.
In the coming weeks, additional information will be posted at www.erbanquet.org. For more information, please contact Karine Shnorhokian at (201) 788-5425. Hotel accommodations are available by calling (201) 529-1660 (mention ANCA for a rate of $99).
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