LOS ANGELES — An anonymous benefactor recently donated nearly $1.8 million to three nonprofit organizations that operate in Armenia: Armenia Tree Project (ATP), Armenian American Wellness Center (AAWC) and Armenian EyeCare Project (AECP). Each organization received one-third of the generous gift.
“Too few help Armenia,” the anonymous donor said when explaining the rationale for his donation.
He spoke at length about his deceased family members, whose memory he said he wanted to honor with his generous donation, especially during the centennial year of the Armenian Genocide.
“This is not from me, but from my father, my mother, and my sister,” he explained.
His last surviving family member was his older sister, Siona, who died last year, in September, in their unassuming California home. His mother, Elmas, passed away in 1982, and his father, Harry, in 1984.
Harry immigrated to the United States from Kharpert, Armenia around 1912, prior to the Armenian Genocide, and settled in Worcester, Mass. “He always sent money to his father back in Kharpert,” the donor said of his father. “Then, one day, the money came back and he never heard from his family again.”