ENCINO–The restoration of the original campus of Ferrahian High School will soon begin thanks the efforts of the ARF Rosdom Gomideh and a $120,000 donation from Mr. and Mrs. Osgo and Yeran Giragossian.
The decision to restore the campus was made upon the initiative of the ARF Rosdom Gomideh close to a year ago. Sister organizations and the Board of Trustees of the Holy Martyrs Church helped with the year-long task of raising funds necessary to implement the project.
Close to 150 concerned community members and leaders gathered at the Malibu home of Mr. and Mrs. Osgo and Yeran Giragossian December 2–2000. After Pastor Razmig Khatchadourian’s blessing–the evening’s speaker–Gomideh member Roger Gedigian–thanked the host and hostess–and announced the Gomideh’s message.
Gedigian stressed the Gomideh’s responsibility in the region is the maintenance of both the Ferrahian School and the Holy Martyrs Church–and reaffirmed its unconditional willingness to sacrifice for the well-being of the institutions. "The fact that the Gomideh office does not have its own private property–and continues to operate on the school/church campus–is proof of the Gomideh’s prioritization of these establishmen’s," added Gedigian.
According to Gedigian–"Armenian schools play an important role in the preservation of the Armenian identity of our youth–since they expose them to the culture and teach the language and history. Therefore–their continued existence and strengthening will help prevent assimilation and indifference on the part of the new generation."
The next speaker was the host of the evening–Osgo Giragossian–who thanked the Rosdom Gomideh and others who helped organize the event. He also thanked his cousin–Aida Baghdayan–who contributed a lot in preparation of the evening.
Generous donations were made throughout the evening–with individual Gomideh members donating $1,000 each. The highlight of the evening was the offer made by the Giragossians to donate an additional $20,000 to the $100,000 already donated by the couple–in memory of Mrs. Giragosian’s father–upon the collection of the first $50,000. Because of the tremendous outpouring of support–the goal was met–and the final sum raised was $71,000 bringing the total amount of money raised throughout to $171,000. The newly-constructed building will be named after Osgo and Yeran Giragossian. A special gift bearing the ARF emblem was presented to the couple by ARF Rosdom Gomideh Chairperson Raffi Keshishian in appreciation of the generosity and hospitality displayed by the Giragossians.
The entertainment for the evening was provided by singer George Baghdoyan