As part of our Anniversary celebration, on October 1st, Homenetmen Glendale Ararat Chapter organized an extraordinary Recycled Art Exhibit by its members and community artists. The motto "15,000 people in 33 years" was emphasized in all pieces. The goal of the exhibit was to be outstanding, involve as many people as possible in art, and promote recycling for the future of our kids and humanity, as a whole.

More than 200 kids and adults worked on these pieces and over 400 people visited the exhibit to witness how shoes, T-shirts, plastic bottles and paper, worn and used by our members were recycled and transformed into beautiful and exciting pieces of art. The extra ordinary combinations intended to illustrate strength, unity and growth.

Statement by the artists:

Walk in My Shoe

By:Adrineh Baghadassarian

A shoe symbolizes a durable covering for the human foot. It presents protection, comfort and a shelter, a travel to and from a faraway place. "Walk in My Shoe" is an installation that symbolizes a journey to and from a faraway place, to a shelter called Ararat. This collective and interactive piece came about through the generous donation of shoes. A collective voice and a human presence is what I tried to achieve through this work. The donated materials shaped the appearance and process of the work.

The threads in this piece symbolize the thread of life.

Armenia

By: Alenoush Kazakos

Loss: This project consists of three parts: Loss, Hope and Unity. Loss is portrayed by the ten provinces outlined in dark paint. They float around contemporary Armenia (outlined in red) like lost children. They reside under foreign authority and were taken by force. Subjugator of this loss is the cage that has covered them and keeps them at a loss.

Hope: Color has become the symbol of hope. Ten different colors represent our ten lost provinces. Containers designated to each lost province hold all the varied color strips which are waiting and hoping for an active viewer to participate in the completion of the freedom weave.

Unity: Unity is us; the collective whole. Unity is achieved when we, unanimously become the weavers of hope and strive to free our lost land by weaving one strip at a time.

The writing is on the wall...

By: Nelly Ashkhen

This structure is the reconstruction of the future piece by piece with recycled thoughts of our children. Echoing the concerns of our new generation, this wall could speak as loud as any environmental and socio-political campaign and with its colorful spectrum of each drawing, it creates a dynamic demonstration of energy, strong will and power. As solid as it seems, this wall is susceptible to FALLING in order to break, conceptually as all walls and barriers within our community. As children instinctively draw on walls, their fragility is represented by the wall's suspension on the baseline with recycled wheels. As this particular design of the wall also represents all the passed-on culture from our ancestors, "the wheels of fate" that only with trust and determination will enforce the structure of our society. Yet fine and delicate, will it only survive if built on strong fundamental base and ideology. The collaboration on this structure is proof for a promising future. This wall creates a vision of the future and with will and persistence it leads us on the path to a brighter tomorrow.

"The writing is on the wall..."

Circles of Life

By: Sevag Tazian

The piece is made from recycled textile tubes, recycled shipping tubes and concrete form tubes. The larger cones represent the different facades of the organization with the smaller ones representing different years surrounding them. The colors represent the participants within those vintages and the different heights represent the organizations accomplishments.

Tree of life

By: Armineh Havan, Anita Reganian, Arin Dolatian, Artin Zaghian and Harmik Baghdassarian

This Art piece is composed of recycled materials. The massive PVC Pipe tree is a direct representation of growth. Five large segments of the tree stand for "unity, hope, wellness, love, and courage" that has helped Ararat grow. The leaves on the tree have the member's signatures on them in representation of who really makes up Ararat. Overall, this project is a symbol of great progression and growth in its future. The pomegranate denotes multiple member family and togetherness.

The tree of life is mentioned in Genesis in the Bible, but its use in Ancestral Armenian iconography goes back to the Metsamorian period, 5000 BC. It was universally used in the Near East as a symbol of eternity and resurrection. In Urartu, the tree of life was depicted with two side long sets of eight branches The branches of the tree were equally divided on the right and left sides of the stem, with each branch having one leaf, and one leaf on the apex of the tree. A god-like king stood on one side of the tree, reaching for the eternal fruit.

"Ararat 33 - A Celebration of Our Journey" Gala Banquet will host several prominent members of Congress, statewide officials and State legislators, as our past anniversary celebrations. Of the 800 guests expected to attend this landmark gathering, many will be Glendale "Ararat" Chapter's most illustrious past and present members, leaders, and supporters.

On September 25, 6 PM, "Ararat" held its 3^rd educational forum "The Armenian Youth Identity" organized by the Programs Division. This seminar focused on "Separation Anxiety" and "Choosing the Right Career Path" and featured presentations by Dr. Sheyda Mia Melkonian, Psy.D. Clinical Psychologist, and Dr. Vahe Peroomian, Ph.D. Research Scientist at UCLA and member of GCC board of trustees.

Dr. Sheyda Melkonian kicked off the presentation by an overview of the separation anxiety in different phases of childhood and adolescent life and focused on the identification of causes, symptoms, and strategies to turn the separation into a positive experience.

Next, Dr. Vahe Peroomian, discussed the career planning process and steps involved, including self assessment and methods to explore career opportunities. In his remarks Dr. Peroomian discussed the vital role of parents in helping their children plan for their future.

Our comprehensive and progressive group fitness classes run six weeks long. The purpose of the progression is to welcome participants of all levels as they build a foundation and grow in strength, endurance, and confidence. Our belief is to first educate the client and the SAFE fun will follow. We limit our group fitness classes to 15 participants so you feel like you have your own personal trainer. The camaraderie will keep you coming back and before you know it, you are addicted to fitness!

We are also proud to announce our first JESIKAfitness challenge winner. Ara Tarverdians is a pioneer of our program. He has lost over 20 pounds, has not missed a class in 5 months, and his energy is infectious. We are happy to reward him a free session, compliments of OH-Fitness.

We hope you have the opportunity to attend our last 6-week session of this year, which begins November 7^th, 2011.   Please visit our website (OH-Wellness.org) for our upcoming classes, rates, and our menu of offerings. If there is an opening on the schedule and you, your friends, or your team would like us to create a class, please let us know. We are here to help you achieve your health and fitness goals. Group Fitness class size is limited so please register online or pop in to meet Jesika for more information...you can't miss her, her name is always on her shirt!

Our program will continue to develop in the New Year, as we bring you OH-Nutrition, OH-Disease Prevention, OH-Finance, and OH-Athlete. We are committed to helping you achieve your health and fitness goals.  

Jesika Bourgeois,MSHS,CPT

On the weekend of September 30^th - 84 members of Ararat Basketball Division participated in the annual Basketball Camp, which takes place at the AYF Campground. This camp is specifically designed for E & D Division players. The goal of the camp is to introduce the young members of the chapter to some of the younger leaders who work and coach within the Chapter. Throughout the camp, the kids get a chance to use various activities to help build their teamwork, their friendships, and most importantly their love for Ararat!

Camp activities are quiet diverse. To begin, the campers collectively and as a team create an identity for their cabin, which they use for the rest of the weekend. During Camp Introductions all campers and staff members introduce their own Ararat history to the rest of the group. The Educational Sessions include Ararat "A Division" Basketball players who discuss the importance of Ararat and the effects of Ararat membership on their lives. Campers participate in team activities such as the now famous, Ararat Fear Factor Game as well as games such as Minute-to-Win it! They also get a chance to show-off their talents in a Slam Dunk Contest - with the winners taking home a championship trophy.

Thanks to the countless hours of work that the staff and counselors invested in this program, this year's camp was a huge success amongst everyone involved! The Camp brought much joy and happiness to the young participants as well as leadership experience to our young counselors who will become our future leaders. Programs such as this show-case the Basketball Division's dedication in providing educational opportunities for its members, on and off the basketball courts.

Participants can join the Walk in Glendale as either individuals or teams. They can sign up online (at www.abmdr.am) or in person on the morning of the Walkathon, between 7:30 and 8:30 AM.

We encourage the community to take part in the "Walk of Life" event in support of all the Armenians worldwide who are battling with life-threatening blood related illnesses and help us in helping them.

Homenetmen Ararat chapter is organizing it first golf tournament on Saturday November 5, 2011. The goal of the tournament is to raise awareness and funds for the various after school programs Ararat offers to families and children in the Glendale community. There has been a lot of buzz surrounding this event which will take place at DeBell Golf Course in Burbank. The competition for the event is already building steam. For more information about participating as a player or sponsoring this event contact info@ararat.org or call our golf hotline at 323-257-golf.