This year Easter is on April 24th, coinciding with the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. Out of respect for the memory of our ancestors who perished during the Genocide, "Ararat" Chapter has decided to forego our annual Easter Festival. However, we are fully committed to continue this celebration in the future.

Thanks to our generous sponsors, the Easter Festival has historically been one of the most successful fundraising programs for our organization as well as within the Glendale community. This event has brought joy to many families and has instilled in our children some of our most sacred cultural traditions.

On behalf of our Board of Directors and the Easter Festival Committee, we are kindly requesting that as a loyal supporter of our Easter Festival, you make a tax-deductible donation though the event will not actually take place.  With a $250 contribution, we will prominently display your name or the name of your business in both Ararat campuses for a period of three months. You will also be listed as an official sponsor of our monthly e-news which is sent to all members, friends and community supporters.

During the past years, in spite of many challenges and tough economic times, we have not only continued our rigorous service to the community and our youth, we have also significantly expanded our programs and facilities. A major addition has been the North Campus facility with two modern gymnasiums and new activity halls for cultural programs, enabling us to serve over 350 new young members. We have also added the very successful youth basketball Development League program to serve children between the ages of 4 to 13. In the coming months, we are planning to develop a new Wellness Center, a health education program for parents and young adults with a well-equipped indoor play area for pre-school children. Your contribution can make this plan a reality.

Whether your donation is large or small, it will make a difference.

On Saturday March 5, over 100 children, parents, grandparents and supporters gathered at North Campus in a very special "Tile Painting" event. Guests were welcomed into a warm and joyous atmosphere. After a short program and remarks from the organizers, each attendee was invited to participate by personally painting individual 8'X8' tiles. The Wall of Donors at North Campus will be populated with these beautiful tiles

Through the generous donations of Ararat members and sponsors, and other community supporters, 40 such tiles were hand painted. The youngest "Ararat" members made colorful little hand paint imprints on their tiles.

In his comments, Garnig Abrahamian, Chairman of the Regional Committee, who donated two of the tiles himself, reminded those who have not yet had the opportunity to donate, to do so. He stressed that "there is much more space on these walls. There are ample opportunities for all of our friends and supporters to step up and paint and put up their own 'tiles' on the walls of this great facility. What an awesome statement it would make if all of North Campus walls were packed with such tiles."

Stroke is the 2nd leading cause of death in the San Fernando Valley and the leading cause of adult disability in America. With that in mind, every year Glendale Adventist teams up with the Downtown Glendale Merchants Association and brings Downtown Dash; a 5k run/walk through the heart of Glendale.

This year's Dash, held on March 13, 2011, brought in more than $100,000 in donations and sponsorships. Additionally, 1,500 supports made this the biggest Dash ever!

A big thank you to the 30 participants of Team Ararat who made this year's event possible.

Three selected Homenetmen Ararat Basketball teams along with soccer and women's volleyball teams as well as individual table tennis players, will represent the City of Glendale during the 5^th Pan Armenian Games this summer, in Yerevan, Armenia from August 13 through 21. Based on the Executive Board's recommendation, in addition to our all star men's basketball team, a youth team (under 23 years) will also participate in the games. A committee was formed to handle all details of this trip including selecting team coaches,facilitating the player selection schedules, making hotel and airline reservations, etc.. All basketball and soccer players were invited for tryouts. Coaches made their first level cuts in late March and in few weeks the final roster will be prepared.

The following coaches will be preparing our teams for Pan Armenian Games:

Men's Basketball: Fred Babadjanians, Menooa Abolian, Arbi Der-Krikorian

Women's Basketball: Menooa Abolian, Volga Gharibian

Men's Youth Basketball: Barsegh Karamanian

Women's Volleyball: Levik Abrahamian

Soccer: Hrach Danielian

Various fundraising events are being planned to support our athletes including comedy shows, internal tournaments, and sponsorships. For more information and to find out how to help, you can reach us at 323-256-2564.

Homenetmen Glendale "Ararat" Chapter takes pride in its mission to provide a healthy and safe environment, where each member will have the opportunity to achieve his or her highest goal in athletic, scouting and cultural arenas. In doing so, Homenetmen Glendale "Ararat" Chapter will prepare future generations to be productive members of our society by instilling in them an understanding of individual and collective responsibilities. This said, "Ararat" Chapter is collaborating with JesikaFit, LLC, a Los Angeles based Health Educator and Exercise Specialist, to expand community health.

JesikaFit's mission is to promote a balance between physical activity and a healthy lifestyle for deconditioned and conditioned community members: children, young adults, adults, and seniors.

Our united vision is to promote an environment that integrates a healthy lifestyle that is comfortable, non-intimidating, and culturally sensitive.  Our goal is to make Ararat Chapter the "go-to" place for your health and wellness needs.

The program objective is to implement health and wellness values promoted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The first phase of our program will be to bring Ararat Chapter members and non-members classes such as: Muscle Sculpting for Everyone, Cardio Muscle Sculpting, Muscle Sculpting for the Young at Heart, Teen Fitness, Competition Training for Athletes, Family Fitness, and Personal Training.

 In closing, JesikaFit's motto is, "We are all going to age...it's inevitable, however 50% of HOW we age is within our control.  So let's age gracefully, have fun safely, and GET FIT!!!"

For more information please visit:

http://www.ararat.org/pdf/wellness-center.pdf  

On the weekend of March 4 through 6, our Arenoush 2 troop went camping at Trask Scouting Reservation.  The goal of the camp was to work on their film and theatre projects.  As part of the many activities, the girls had to put together short films in their patrols.  The camp was another amazing opportunity for the troop to bond and the new leaders to gain experience in planning their first camp.

On March 12, about 70 scouts and 10 leaders came to Ararat Center to take and administer the scouting tests.  There are five different levels of tests that scouts are expected to pass as they move up the ranks and learn more as a Homenetmen Scout, the first three of those tests (Norentsa, 2^nd kark, and 1^st kark) are administered by our Scouting Division, and the last two (Vkayal and Araratian) by the Regional Scouting Committee.  It is nice to see the scouts coming together the weeks leading up to the tests, voluntarily organizing study sessions together and on the morning of the test, nervous but ready.  For this test in particular, Arenoush Miavor put together a big study session for the scouts who wanted to attend.  What's better than the studying process, is to the scouts' reactions when they pass the tests, high-fiving their fellow scoutsand their leader, and calling their parents with the good news.  The tests are an ongoing process and take place about three times a year.

On March 13, our Ari 5 troop went hiking to the Hollywood sign.  The troop's scouts enjoy hiking and decided that they should take advantage of the famous hiking trail in their own city, especially because most of them had never been there.  The group hiked to the sign, had lunch, and returned.

On the weekend of March 18 through 20, the Scouting Division went to a Dastiarakchakan Banakaoom (Educational/Training Camp).  The camp took place at Will J. Reid Scout Park and was organized by the Scouting Division's Executive Committee for all of the division's leaders.  The camp had two simultaneous running schedules, one for the patrol leaders and one for the troop leaders.

Preparation for the camp began at the start of the year by the committee and the leaders began meeting a month before the camp.  The patrol and troop leaders were divided into mixed patrols and had to plan their own meals, make a group flag and neckerchiefs, arrange their tents for the weekend, and a few other responsibilities.

At the camp, the patrols were in charge of their own schedule and meals and there was a competition for the best performing patrol.  The weekend was packed with guest lecturers who were past scouts.  The old scouts were happy to be back at camp and the new scouts were happy that they were back.  Saturday's dinner was provided by the camp's planning committee as a reward to the patrols and a nice break from the lectures.  The night was topped off with s'mores  and a campfire where the scouts continued to bond with their patrols and build new bonds with leaders they usually don't get to work with.

As the logo illustrated, the camp's purpose was to put together more pieces in the puzzle of becoming a leader and the camp ended with that well accomplished.  The weekend's rain did not wear the scouts down, and, in the end, the winning patrol was the Blue Dragon patrol.

On March 27, Arenoush 2 went to Diamond Bar Stables for horseback riding.  The day's weather was a little rainy but the group did not let that stop them and their persistence proved to be well worth-it.

On March 27, our Arenoush 5 troop went to LA's Skirball Cultural Center.  The group's monthly theme for March was to learn about world cultures, and so they visited the Jewish exhibit at the Center.  The activities at the Center were very interactive, from a dress-up station to look like Jewish immigrants, and a Noah's Ark replica built entirely from recycled materials.  Here, the group learned a lot about a different culture and added to their knowledge about other cultures learned in weeks prior.

City of Glendale

Commemorative events of the city of Glendale for the Armenian Genocide

*  Man's inhumanity to man: April 18 through May 9, 2011

*  Armenian Genocide Event: April 25, 2011

*  Blood Drive: April 17, 2011

* Tigran Mansorian presents the music of Komitas: April 16 and 17, 2011

Glendale Kiwanis Club

Date: 5/27/2011

http://www.glendalekiwanis.info/public/pub_page.aspx?PageID=49337&event_id=26422#Events 

Glendale Salvation Army

Postal Food Drive: Donate food to the Salvation Army Food Pantry by putting out Non-Perishable items by your mailbox on MAY 14^th, 2011.