On Sunday, September 10, Al and Diane Cabraloff hosted the ‘Armenian Educational Foundation’s Friends of the Foundation Donor Appreciation Dinner’ in their elegant Pasadena home with more than 120 guests in attendance.
The purpose of the gathering was twofold; for AEF to express its appreciation and gratitude to the invited guests for their continued support through sponsorships and donations for the various AEF programs, and to honor Neshan Peroomian for his immense contributions to AEF’s renovation projects.
Vahe Hacopian, AEF board president, was the MC, who thanked the guests for the $175,000 pledges in sponsorships leading up to the evening, and briefly described the ongoing programs that were to benefit from the funds raised. He specifically thanked Bobken and Hasmik Amerian, the night’s $25,000 Diamond sponsors, for their continued contributions year after year to support AEF programs. The Amerian’s have been longtime AEF members and Bobken has served on the Board of Directors.
Neshan Peroomian was honored with the AEF Life Time Achievement Award, for his more than 40 years of outstanding contributions to the Armenian Educational Foundation as a member, 36 years of which he has served as a board member, and past president. He was recognized for his tireless efforts over the past 20 years in leading the 200 renovations projects of schools in the border villages of Armenia, Artsakh and Javakhk.
Also, the guests viewed a touching short video from Armenia, prepared by a group of students from the 235 AEF scholarship recipients who attend various universities and colleges. These very articulate students expressed their deepest gratitude to their sponsors for giving them a college education and more importantly, for giving them hope.
For 67 years, AEF has provided financial support to Armenian students and educational institutions. Since 2000, AEF has disbursed $7.2M for various education related programs and projects in the United States, Armenia, Artsakh, Javakhk, Syria and Lebanon.
AEF congratulates Neshan Peroomian and extends its most sincere appreciation to the Cabraloffs, the Amerians, all those who attended, to its membership, to the generous donors and sponsors for making the evening a great success. Helping Armenian students reach their dreams and have brighter futures will continue to be a major goal and focus for the AEF membership.