Human rights advocate Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte launches foundation to support community initiatives in Artsakh

WESTBROOK, ME—Author, lawyer, lecturer and human rights advocate Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte has launched the Anna Astvatsaturian Foundation, a nonprofit corporation that will focus its efforts on community initiatives in Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh and the Armenian Diaspora. The first project of the Foundation will work toward determining the impact of Azerbaijani aggression on the Artsakh population.

Over the past decade, with the support of her growing fanbase and her trusted community partners, Mrs. Astvatsaturian Turcotte spearheaded dozens of humanitarian, development, cultural, environmental and educational projects worldwide to support the community and benefit the vulnerable population in Armenia and the Artsakh Republic. These include but are not limited to the following:

Renovation of seven school bathrooms with Paros Foundation in Khndzoresk, Armenia
Planting a forest with Armenia Tree Project in Talin, Armenia
Supporting the Artsakh Ballet College with 300 ballet costumes, clothing and hundreds of dance shoes
Supporting women’s group initiatives across Armenia
Providing medical eye care, surgeries and eyewear to two villages in Syunik region of Armenia
Bath/kitchen portable unit for Artsakh border post with Armenian Wounded Heroes Fund (AWHF)
Hundreds of military grade medical kits for Artsakh border posts with AWHF
Solar power banks for Artsakh border posts with AWHF
Organizing, collecting and sending handknit items to children of the rural population of Artsakh
Financial assistance to Baku Armenian refugee families residing in Artsakh and in Armenia
Art supplies, play costumes to Artsakh children in Shushi Kindergarten
Armath Laboratory with 3D printers, computers, furniture and software for Stepanakert School #8
Building two bomb shelters for civilians in Tavush Province, Armenia with Pahapan Foundation
Medical and humanitarian supplies to Artsakh and Armenia through AWHF
Financial assistance to 200 Artsakh refugee families
Christmas gifts to 1,500 Artsakh refugee children

To maximize the impact of her work, Mrs. Astvatsaturian Turcotte took the first steps to formalize the Foundation in the spring of 2020. With the Tavush attacks in the summer of 2020 and the Artsakh War in the fall of 2020, the work of the Foundation will be more vital to Armenia’s future than first foreseen. The humanitarian disaster currently facing the people of Artsakh is unprecedented. As Artsakh and Armenia begin to rebuild in their post-war reality, the Foundation will continue Mrs. Astvatsaturian Turcotte’s work to strengthen the Armenian nation independently and in collaboration with her trusted partners.

This first project is a detailed and well-planned initiative to collect empirical data on the displaced and affected population of Artsakh. The project began in December 2020 in partnership with Armenia’s Association of Social Workers and in collaboration with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, the Ministry of Housing and Social Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh and the Offices of Armenia’s and Artsakh’s Human Rights Ombudsmen. Individuals interested in contributing to this project should contact the Foundation.

The Anna Astvatsaturian Foundation is organized as a public benefit corporation under the Maine Nonprofit Corporation Act, Title 13-B M.R.S., as amended, and will carry on business and operate anywhere within the State of Maine or in any state where it has a legal authority to carry on business and operate. The Foundation is intended exclusively for charitable purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Anna Astvatsaturian Foundation is based in Westbrook, Maine, United States of America.