BOSTON — A new organization seeks to provide an online fundraising platform that according to its co-founder, Adam Kablanian, hopes to bridge the gap between the diaspora and soldiers and their families in Armenia through regular donations.
The Friends of the Armenian Soldier and Family (FASF) kicked off a 44-day fundraising campaign on September 27, the one-year anniversary of the start of the second Karabakh war. The goal of the campaign is to raise $100,000 as part of its first grant to IFS (The Insurance Foundation for Serviceman or 1000plus), ultimately to be used in support of the veterans and their families.
Kablanian, the CEO of CYNORA, said in a recent interview, “Since May, we’re proud to have launched our website, created a partnership with various organizations in Armenia (including IFS), and have begun raising funds to support fallen and disabled Armenian soldiers and their families. We have big plans for the organization’s impact as we look towards the rest of 2021 and beyond, including the issuing of our first official grants to IFS and creating further partnerships with other on-the-ground organizations in Armenia who support our fallen and disabled soldiers (and their families).”
FASF does not seek to create a new organization there, but simply use the existing channels to help families particularly affected after the recent war. The organization seeks to connect links between the diaspora and soldiers’ families to continuously support the needs of Armenian veterans through monthly monetary contributions. FASF will partner with organizations on the ground in Armenia to deliver career training programs, rehabilitation services, and support for the everyday lives of these surviving veterans and the families of those who have fallen.
“In just the short time we’ve launched, we’ve already raised over $100,000. While this is significant traction so far, it’s just the beginning of far more ambitious plans,” Kablanian said.
“Our core mission is to enable support for fallen or disabled Armenian soldiers and their families. We are extremely grateful to be working with great organizations based in Armenia, such as IFS, which will be our first grant recipient. IFS is an amazing organization that was created for the purpose of insuring and providing compensation to soldiers and families of soldiers who have been injured or deceased when defending the borders of our two motherlands. We’re proud to lend our support to IFS and to other organizations who are supporting our fallen or disabled Armenian soldiers and their families,” Kablanian said.
