YEREVAN (Combined Sources)–The Hayastan All-Armenia Fund announced on Monday that about 120 donors from Armenia and Russia pledged close to $30 million to the fund, ahead of this year’s telethon on November 27.
The pledges were made on Sunday during a dinner in Yerevan hosted by President Serzh Sarkisian, who also serves as the chairperson of Armenia Fund’s Board of Trustees.
Most of the $30 million will go toward the Fund’s rural development projects in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, according to Armenia Fund.
Sunday’s pledges come four weeks before this year’s annual telethon and exceed the total received in pledges during last year’s annual telethon, which was able to raise $15 million worldwide in pledges.
During last year’s telethon, Armenia Fund received pledges of $1 million from Armenia and $800,000 from the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.
According to Armenia Fund the donations on Sunday came largely by Armenian businessmen in Armenia and Russia. Pledges were made Gagik Tzarukian, Genadi Stepanian, Ashot Khachaturian, Mikhail Baghdasarov, Samvel Karapetian, Samvel Aleksanian, Sergei Hambatzumian, Barsegh Beglarian, Tigran Arzakantsian, as well as ArmRusGazProm, the Zangezur copper-molybdenum plant, the Eduardo Eurnekian Group, the Mikayel Vardanian Foundation and Karabakh Telecom.
