Over the past quarter century, the AGBU Young Professionals network has evolved and progressed with each generation. Then 2020 came along to become a watershed moment in understanding the role and responsibilities of leadership. Accustomed to crowdsource-based fundraising, YP groups across the world quickly realized that the urgencies of the Artsakh War and the looming humanitarian crisis that would come with winter, demanded a more immediate, aggressive, and ambitious approach. The familiar saying, “to make money you have to spend money” finally hit home. The result was the AGBU YP Matching Gift Fund, an opportunity internally generated from personal and group donations made by YP leaders and members, spearheaded by YP Madrid, Yerevan, and Northern California.
Among those who contributed to the match is Lorena Azizian, an active member of the YP Northern California community, who said: “It was an honor to be able to provide a double match donation to the AGBU YP Cares initiative with tremendous support from my company. By helping displaced families in Artsakh, it fills my heart with hope knowing that we’re heading in the right direction in building a brighter Armenia.”
Once the matching fund was established, 20 YP groups collaborated to launch the grass-roots component of the effort with YP Cares: Warm Homes-Warm Hearts. The gifts made by local communities would be matched one to one and redirected to the global AGBU Humanitarian Relief Fund to pay for new space heaters, warm winter clothing, fresh bedding and other emergency aid to ease the burdens of families adversely impacted by war.
Initially, YP groups pledged over $38,000 but went above and beyond their expected goals, thanks to the leadership and persistence of YP chairs and members.
In record time, the network raised over $80,000 between December 24th and February 17th, paving the way for a new era in personal philanthropy, not only for those professionals entering the prime of their careers and earning power, but also those just starting out and exercising their charitable-giving muscles according to their means.
“The entire experience with the YP Cares program has been so inspiring, especially seeing the chapters around the world rally together,” is how David Ojakian, Chair of YP Northern California who spearheaded the YP Cares campaign, explained it.
To make the match work as hard as possible, the first step was overcoming obstacles of remote fundraising, relying only on social media and virtual networking. This took lots of creative thinking as YP Toronto Co-Chairs Naz Gabriel and Aren Sroujian proved with the launch of the “Twelve Days of Virtual Christmas Auction.” They raised $10,000 on Facebook and Instagram Live by auctioning off merchandise and experiences from local Armenian businesses. “The support we received from our global community, including our non-Armenian friends and family worldwide, truly moved us and motivated us to continue to host online events to help raise funds for the YP Cares initiative,” said Gabriel.
YP Madrid, on the cusp of celebrating its first anniversary, was also able to spark the giving spirit among European YP’s of both Armenian and non-Armenian heritage. Alternatively, YP Northern California (YPNC) leveraged its 21st anniversary with a virtual gala, featuring comedy and wine-tasting to fundraise for the YP Cares campaign.
YP Yerevan played a special role in the campaign as the ambassador of the global network in Artsakh. They worked tirelessly to ensure the timely delivery of humanitarian aid to displaced Armenians evacuated from Shushi and now staying in Stepanakert.
Haykaz Nahapetyan, co-chair of the YP Cares campaign and YP Yerevan Chair, recalled the gratitude he felt for his YP community around the world. “This was a special experience, as all packages were acquired through the funds raised by our fellow YPs in faraway locations and delivered by us locals,” he remarked. “We were very proud that so many groups responded to our call and such a short period of time. It allowed us to rush much needed essentials to more than 2,500 families from Shushi. That really says something about the power of our network and our passion for a cause.”
