Providence High School team from Glendale. (Photos by Aleko Boghoskhanian/ABMDR)

ABMDR Walkathons on East and West Coasts Mark 25 Years of Saving Lives

115
0

LOS ANGELES — On September 21 and October 5, respectively, the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR) held walkathons in Watertown and Glendale. The pan-Armenian events, carrying the motto “unity and hope,” marked the 25th anniversary of the founding of ABMDR and benefited its life-saving mission.

Taking place in festive community atmospheres, both walkathons drew enthusiastic youth participation, with hundreds of students from schools and colleges in attendance. The events were also supported by organizations, businesses, and community leaders.

Major sponsors of the 13th annual Walk of Life New England included PROMETRIKA, LLC; the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; and the Armenian Women’s Welfare Association.

The opening ceremony of the walkathon took place on the grounds of the Charles Mosesian Center. The invocation was performed by Archpriest Antranig Baljian. Manneh Ghazarians of the Organizing Committee said, “We’re touched once again to see so many community organizations and individuals coming together today to participate and collaborate for this walkathon. We couldn’t do this without you!”

For their individual efforts in raising funds for the Walk of Life New England, Telo and Rubina Ghazarians, Sossy Yogurtian, and Miganush Stepanians were awarded the Gold, Silver, and Bronze fundraiser awards, respectively. It was also announced that for the 12th consecutive year, the Armenia Tree Project was to plant commemorative trees in Armenia in honor of the walkathon winners, as part of the #LivingCentury initiative.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute representative Kidest Mequanen (seated, second from left) and ABDMR New England volunteers at the ABMDR booth, in Saltonstall Park. (Photos by Aleko Boghoskhanian/ABMDR)

In her closing remarks, Narini Badalian of the Organizing Committee said, “Funds raised through the walkathon go a long way in ensuring that ABMDR is able to continue to fulfill its mission, by educating the public, recruiting donors, and facilitating bone marrow stem cell transplants for patients throughout the world.”

Get the Mirror in your inbox:

The walk concluded at Saltonstall Park, in Watertown Square, where volunteers at the ABMDR booth, along with Kidest Mequanen, a Dana-Farber Cancer Institute representative, answered questions and provided informative pamphlets.

On October 5, over 350 supporters gathered at the plaza of the Glendale City building to participate in the 19th annual Walk of Life in Los Angeles. In addition to individual teams of walkers, there were several teams representing local schools, among them AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School, Ferrahian High School, Providence High School, and Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School.

During the opening ceremony, remarks were delivered by Walkathon Committee co-chairs Dr. Christina Garabedian and Hratch Postik. Garabedian welcomed the attendees and acknowledged the presence of community leaders and other dignitaries, including Arda Tchakian, a representative of California State Senator Anthony Portantino, a longtime ABMDR supporter.

Walkers and volunteers in Watertown (Photos by Aleko Boghoskhanian/ABMDR)

Garabedian went on to thank the walkathon’s sponsors, including major sponsor Feral Cosmetics.

“It’s thanks to fundraising events such as this that we’re able to move the mission of ABMDR forward,” Garabedian said. “Currently our organization, which is run entirely by volunteers, has over 33,500 potential bone marrow donors in 32 countries, and has facilitated 43 bone marrow transplants.”

The invocation was performed by Fathers Yeghia Isayan of the Western Diocese and Ardak Demirjian of the Western Prelacy.

Next to deliver remarks was ABMDR’s co-founder and president, Dr. Frieda Jordan, who said, “I want you to be very proud of yourselves for being here today, because every one of you, by participating in this gathering, are giving hope to all our cancer patients and their families. We want to let them know that they are not alone in their fight, and we’re here to support them. You are all anti-cancer heroes.”

Following Dr. Jordan’s remarks, Rosie Diremsizian, an ABMDR supporter and the mother of young cancer survivor Alex Darbinyan, addressed the participants. “For so many patients, a bone marrow transplant is their only hope for survival,” Diremsizian said. “The more people who register, the greater the chances we have to save lives. Registering as a donor is simple, but the impact is beyond measure.”

Glendale: joining ABMDR as a potential bone marrow stem cell donor begins with a simple swab. (Photos by Aleko Boghoskhanian/ABMDR)

Also delivering remarks was Lori Mehdikhani, vice chair of ABMDR NextGen. “We are the youth initiative of ABMDR,” Mehdikhani said. “Our members come from several college campuses, including Stanford, UCLA, UCSD, CSUN, USC, Berkeley, UCI, and Glendale Community College. Together, we organize registration drives, recruit young donors, and raise awareness of ABMDR’s life-saving mission.”

Prior to the start of the walkathon, awards were presented to Team Arpine Zohrabyan as the team that had raised the most funds; and the Providence High School team as the one that had the most participants.

Following the ribbon-cutting, the 5-K walk-run looped through central Glendale. The walkathon concluded at the plaza of the Glendale City building, where the festivities continued into the day. The event also gave participants the opportunity to join ABMDR as potential bone marrow stem cell donors, while volunteers were on hand to answer questions and welcome new recruits.

For more information, visit abmdr.am.

 

Get the Mirror-Spectator Weekly in your inbox: