From the Desk of Edele Hovnanian

Periodically I used to write to Birthright Armenia supporters to give them updates before we made a pitch for funding.  Since we are no longer fundraising, I thought twice about whether you all cared about the happenings of Birthright Armenia. Nevertheless, I decided I wanted to share with you some highlights for the year, as 2014 marked our 10th anniversary.  I hope you do care and are proud of what our amazing staff and alumni have done this year. 

 

A few highlights include:

1.      Our numbers are way up. In 2014 we saw a 51% increase in volunteers and we already have 101 applications for 2015 in the hopper, so we should hit 250 volunteers for 2015. Add to this that 2014 was the first year we made a major push to promote our sister organization,  Armenian Volunteer Corp (AVC), which offers the same experience as Birthright to non-Armenians and Armenians who do not qualify for Birthright. This year we had 31 volunteers who participated in AVC, coming from as far as India, Egypt, Denmark, Australia, Mexico as well as 13 other countries around the globe.

 

2.      Our goal all along has been to not only offer the Birthright Armenia experience to those already involved within the Diaspora, but also to those not involved, whether because they live in places where there are no Armenians or being Armenian was never a huge part of their identity. I am happy to report that we have seen a growing trend that gives us hope we are succeeding. In 2014, 39% of our volunteers were only partially Armenian versus 17% in 2012.  If we went back to our beginning 10 years ago, we were below 10%. 

 

3.       43% of our 960 alumni to date have done a return trip to Armenia.  They continue to assist those organizations they helped while a volunteer, some come to get married, or just to rekindle that feeling of being in a place that made them feel special. We track the impact of each of these return trips and estimate our volunteers on their own have contributed over $3 million to Armenia's GDP.

 

4.       And speaking of marriages, we have had 18 Birthright volunteers marry someone they've met during their trip and have 10 "godchildren" already!

 

As you can see I am big on stats. Maybe I read too much into some of the numbers, but they always help me decide if we are moving in the right direction.  And you will be hearing soon about some of the amazing ideas our alumni have suggested to honor the 100th anniversary of the Genocide. These young volunteers really blow me away. Whenever they are called to action, they never disappoint us. Bravo to every parent and grandparent out there-you are all doing an amazing job!

 

Wishing each and every one of you a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year!

 

 

Edele Hovnanian

Founder