WATERTOWN, Mass.—The St. Stephen’s Armenian Elementary School recently announced that the Khatchig Babikian Fund has generously pledged a gift of $50,000 to the school’s scholarship fund.
Following a meeting on Jan. 28 between Nicole Babikian Hajjar, her husband Jean-Jacques Hajjar, the school principal, and a board representative, the Hajjars offered to support the school’s mission in educating the young generation of Armenian Americans by subsidizing the tuition of disadvantaged students. The donation will be made over a four-year period.
“We are extremely grateful to the Babikian Fund for their continued support,” said principal Houry Boyamian. “As parents at St. Stephen’s Armenian Elementary School, Nicole and Jean-Jacques Hajjar have been very active on the Parent Teacher Organization and the School Board, respectively, serving as great role models in the school community and the community at large.”
In 2007, the Khatchig Babikian Fund donated $50,000 to the school, allocating $25,000 to the scholarship fund and $25,000 to teachers’ incentives and professional development.
“We are very strong supporters of the school and its mission” said Nicole Babikian Hajjar. “The St. Stephen’s School provides a quality bilingual education and is an important community builder, imparting core Armenian values and a deep appreciation of our unique heritage to the younger generation.”
“Our goal is to continue providing an excellent bilingual bicultural education, making the school accessible to all Armenian students, and creating the best possible school campus,” said Boyamian. “We are currently implementing a multi-year strategic plan and we hope that the Khatchig Babikian Fund’s donations will inspire others to invest in our unique programs”.
Established in 2007 by his daughter Nicole, the fund honors the memory of the late Khatchig Babikian (1924-99), an attorney at law; a former member of the Lebanese parliament (1957-99); cabinet minister successively of administrative reform, health, tourism, information, foreign affairs, and justice in the government of Lebanon; and former chairman of the Executive Council of the Armenian Catholicossate of Cilicia in Antelias, Lebanon. The fund’s purpose is charitable with the objective of contributing to the wellbeing and advancement of the Armenian community. It was Khatchig Babikian’s will to establish such a fund to be used for the benefit of the Armenians in humanitarian, educational, and cultural projects.
The St. Stephen’s Armenian Elementary School is a private pre-kindergarten through grade five school dedicated to educational excellence in an environment rich in Armenian culture. It is the only Armenian educational institution in New England accredited by the Association of Independent Schools in New England. Since its establishment in 1984, more than 400 students have been educated at St. Stephen’s Armenian Elementary School.
For more information, visit http://www.ssaes.org.
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