LOS ANGELES—The Tufenkian Foundation and the Armenian International Women’s Association (AIWA), Los Angeles affiliate, have joined together to host a cocktail reception and presentation to support shelters for abused women in Yerevan, Armenia. The event will be held on Thurs., Sept. 15, from 6-9 p.m. at the residence of Ara Tavitian, M.D., in Los Angeles.
USAID, the Tufenkian Foundation, and AIWA sponsored the Zangakatun (Belltower) Women’s Support Center in Yerevan and have worked closely together in developing support and raising awareness of the program. This project was created in 2001 by the Tufenkian Foundation in response to Armenia’s social and economic problems, which left more and more families dislocated, vulnerable, or facing looming poverty. During the past 10 years, the Zangakatun Social Services NGO has worked with over 900 Armenian families to help them overcome extreme poverty and return to functional and productive lives.
Presently, and with partnership support from USAID and AIWA, the Tufenkian Foundation has expanded the program to assist victims of domestic violence and is developing a program to create women’s shelters in Armenia—to house, support, and protect victims and their children from their attackers.
The purpose of the Sept. 15 event is to raise funds to launch the women’s shelter program in 2011-12. The Tufenkian Foundation recently received an offer of matching funds from USAID to further the project. Along with AIWA, the Foundation is working closely with other organizations in the Los Angeles area, including the Armenian Bar Association, Armenian Relief Society, and Armenian Youth Federation, among others, to generate awareness and increase support for the event. The evening’s program will include a summary of the project and its issues, as well as an opportunity for a Q&A.
For more information, visit www.TufenkianFoundation.org or www.facebook.com/WomensSupportCenter.
To get involved or RSVP to the event, email Zori Marc Eurdekian at zeurdekian@tufenkian.com.
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