‘Packs on Backs’ Brings Backpacks, School Supplies to Children in Armenia

The Paros Foundation and the Heros Humanitarian Foundation joined forces recently in Armenia, where 480 children in need from both Gyumri and Vanadzor received new backpacks and age-appropriate school supplies through the “Packs on Backs Armenia” project.

Children and volunteers at the Debi Arach Children’s Center in Gyumri during the ‘Packs on Backs’ distribution.

“We share a common belief that no child should be deprived of the essential necessities needed for their education regardless of their socioeconomic status,” said Sara Sousani, president of the Heros Humanitarian Foundation. “By working together we were able to help address that need for almost 500 children.”

Both organizations worked together to fundraise, purchase, pack, and ship backpacks and school supplies from Los Angeles to Yerevan. Several supporters, including the SERVICE Armenia 2015 group and friends from the St. James Armenian Church in Watertown, Mass., also volunteered their time to help fill backpacks with supplies and distribute them to the children.

“Distributing these backpacks prior to the start of school helped solve a big problem for this community of children,” said Aida Khachatryan, Debi Arach Children’s Center coordinator.

Packs on Backs Armenia first launched in Gyumri, whose devastating history has left more than 100,000 residents homeless, and plagued with unemployment and rampant poverty. These families often struggle to provide their children with life’s basic necessities. Distributions were made to the children attending the Debi Arach Children’s Center and other children living in domik neighborhoods in Gyumri. Additional distributions were then made to children attending the Orran Center in Vanadzor.

The Heros Humanitarian Foundation has worked with children in need and their families in Los Angeles and Armenia for the last seven years. Their mission is to provide backpacks and school supplies to children living in poverty and from low socioeconomic households around the world. Through their Packs on Backs initiative, Heros hopes to motivate children, help them stay and excel in school, and have successful futures.

Formally launched in 2006, the Paros Foundation supports 6 exemplary local NGOs in Armenia and launched the Paros “100 for 100 Projects for Prosperity” in October 2011 to commemorate the upcoming Centennial of the Armenian Genocide. With an aggressive goal of identifying, vetting, fundraising for, and ultimately implementing 100 special projects, the Paros Foundation and its staff in Armenia and the United States are quickly earning a reputation as the “go to” organization to oversee small- and medium-sized project implementation in Armenia.

The Paros Foundation underwrote all administrative expenses associated with this project, allowing all contributions to be allocated 100 percent to this project. Donations to the Paros Foundation, a 501(c) 3 organization, are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

Due to the great success of the project, this partnership will continue to provide more children with this basic necessity. To find out how to help sponsor the Packs on Backs Armenia project, visit www.parosfoundation.org or contact Narine Panosian by calling (818) 497-8338 or e-mailing narine@parosfoundation.org.