Birthright Armenia’s commitment to its volunteers does not end when their internships end. Their volunteer experience is just the first step in developing future leaders, giving them an immersive and life-changing experience with their Homeland. But as alumni, each volunteer has an array of programs and support services that encourage them to stay connected. One of those programs is Birthright Armenia’s Annual Alumni Leadership Awards.
The staff at Birthright Armenia and AVC along with its combined 3,000+ alumni base collected the top nominations for their annual leadership awards that fall into six different categories: Spirit of Birthright Armenia, Professional Achievement, Young Philanthropist/Give Back Service, Valor, Artistic/Cultural Achievement, and Civic Participation.
The selected finalists then get an opportunity to earmark a $1,000 donation to an Armenian non-profit organization of their choice in their name. This year, the program had nine winners in three categories.
Valor Award recipients included: Nikolay Stepanyan (2019), Mher Almasian (2012), Sevan Ozkul (2017), and Shant Abraamyan (2015). This is the first year in which Birthright Armenia added this category, highlighting the selfless dedication of their alums participating in operations during the 44-day Artsakh war. The alumni group decided to support the Lorik Humanitarian Fund with their $2,000 award, helping the Fund with their charitable initiatives for residents in Artsakh.
The recipients of the Civic Participation/Public Service Award were Araz Kekejian-Sahakian(Lebanon, 2016) and Matthieu Sahakian (France, 2017), who were nominated for their dedicated fundraising and support initiatives to develop rural regions of Armenia, especially in the Syunik region. The couple co-founded All for Armenia, an organization that was initially founded to assist displaced residents of Artsakh, but later expanded to broader training, support, and education initiatives. They have chosen to have their $1,000 award go to All for Armenia.
Araz Chiloyan (USA, 2016) was awarded the Civic Participation/Public Service Award for her dedicated work at the Ministry of Health in Armenia supporting COVID-19 public awareness efforts and acting as an important liaison for vaccine import coordination for the government during her tenure with iGorts and later. Araz allocated her $1,000 award to the Women’s Center – Shushi.
Natalie Kamajian (USA, 2012) and Armen Adamian (USA, 2012) received the Artistic/Cultural Achievement Award. Natalie and Armen dedicated their studies to preserving Armenian culture and educating the public about important Armenian cultural practices. Natalie’s focus is on traditional vernacular dance, and Armen is digitizing Armenian folk music. They have co-founded the Lernazang ensemble. Natalie and Armen chose to donate their $1,000 award to VOMA, a civilian preparedness training center in Armenia.
“As an organization, we highly value that our alumni continue to engage in Armenia. In these critical times, their actions and contributions are significant,” said Next Step Program Coordinator Lida Balasanyan. “As an organization, we truly appreciate all of their efforts and hard work and encourage others to find ways to make their own contributions. This award gives us one more opportunity to use the power of giving to contribute to Armenia’s development in these areas,” she added.
Explore other alumni initiatives on Birthright Armenia’s social media pages and don’t delay further. Apply to join Birthright Armenia today!
