YEREVAN—The Armenian Relief Society, Inc. (ARS) embarked on a fundraising kickoff campaign to erect a new building for the ARS “Sosseh” Kindergarten in the Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic during the ARS 71st International Convention being held on October 7, 2015, at the DoubleTree By Hilton in Yerevan, Armenia.

The kindergarten needed extensive repairs and the ARS Central Executive Board (CEB) had deemed completely replacing the building as the better option. Hence, the original kindergarten, which opened in April 1998 to serve the children of the Nagorno-Karabakh liberation struggle martyrs, was demolished to make room for the new building.

The new building, with a footprint of almost 6 thousand square feet, was designed to be on three levels, and accommodate up to 130 students ages 3 to 6. The upper level will include space for after-school programs for older children. The facility will be equipped with modern technology.

During the Convention, a presentation was made by the fundraising committee to share the progress of the building construction. “This kindergarten building will be a showcase facility to accommodate our new generation, living freely in Artsakh and receiving the best pre-school education possible,” said Angel Manoogian, the chairperson of the fundraising committee.

The fundraising committee has raised more than $500,000 of the needed $850,000 to build and furnish the facility through donations made by ARS chapters and members, as well as benefactors. The benefactors include Mr. and Mrs. Jacky & Seta Guevrekian ($100,000 back in 2009), an anonymous donor from Western USA ($100,000) and Mr. & Mrs. Aurelian and Anahit Mardiros ($50,000).

During the presentation, the committee members provided information about the progress of the fundraising efforts, which will continue until the building is put to use in Spring of 2017.

Houri Najarian, co-chairperson of the Convention, praised the efforts of the CEB and the committee members, and added, “I encourage all ARS regions, chapters and members throughout the 27 countries to reach out and support the committee’s fundraising efforts.”

The groundbreaking ceremony will take place on October 11, 2015, with the participation of CEB, fundraising committee and ARS members.

To support this important project, please mail your donations to ARS Inc., 80 Bigelow Ave., #300, Watertown, MA 02472, USA. On line donations can be submitted at ars1910.org. For further information, please contact the ARS Inc.’s office at (617) 926-5892 or ceb@ars1910.org.