GLENDALE—The Armenian Educational Foundation announced the establishment of the Jorjorian Armenia Scholarship Endowment Fund through the generous donation of $150,000 by George Jorjorian of Chatsworth, California.
The Endowment Fund will be used to provide full 4-year university scholarships for 12 students graduating from high schools in the cities of Alaverdi and Spitak of the Lori region of Armenia, and Stepanakert in Artsakh. Jorjorian established the Endowment Fund in the name of his two daughters, Camille and Christine, both of whom are very supportive of their father’s philanthropic projects.
In 1994, Jorjorian established his first Endowment Fund at AEF to provide university scholarships to 3 students graduating from the Haratch K. Goulbenkian secondary school in Anjar, Lebanon.
Jorjorian, a lifelong educator, retired from the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and was also an adjunct professor at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, California. Prior to his retirement from the LAUSD, Mr. Jorjorian went to Lebanon for a year on sabbatical and volunteered at the Haratch K. Goulbenkian secondary school in Anjar. While there, he realized how much assistance the community and the school needed.
Having heard about the work of AEF, he approached AEF and donated $85,000 to establish an Endowment Fund to provide university scholarships to three students graduating from the Goulbenkian school. AEF has been administering Mr. Jorjorian’s endowment for the past 18 years by providing three $2,000 scholarships each year, now totaling $98,000, to the Goulbenkian school students. The Endowment Fund is expected to continue in perpetuity. At the same time, to help the school directly, Jorjorian committed and has been donating $2,000 each year to AEF to be forwarded to the Goulbenkian school.
Following his retirement from the LAUSD, Jorjorian travelled to Armenia and Artsakh each year, lived in the villages, and became acquainted with the families and the educational needs of the high school graduating students in the area. Then, at the end of his stay, he would provide tuition money to those village students going to college who could not afford the tuition. He continued this philanthropic work until last summer when he could no longer physically continue, at the age of 87.
The Armenian Educational Foundation expresses its gratitude and appreciation to Jorjorian for his generous donations and commits to continue his mission and his wish to provide university scholarships to twelve graduating students from Stepanakert, Alaverdi and Spitak high schools through his new Endowment Fund.
The Armenian Educational Foundation was established in 1950 to provide support to Armenian students and Armenian educational institutions. Over the past twenty years, AEF has renovated over 180 schools in Armenia, Artsakh and Javakhk and has provided aid to thousands of students. In the past five years, AEF has been providing full tuition 4-year scholarships to students attending public universities in Armenia and Artsakh. With the inclusion of Mr. Jorjorian’s scholarships, AEF will have 50 scholarships each year and intends to significantly grow this worthy endeavor in the coming years.
For more information, please visit AEF’s website at www.aefweb.org or contact the AEF’s office at (818) 242-4154.
