INSIDE:

• Upcoming Dates to Remember
• Chapter Spotlight: St. Gregory Armenian Church (White Plains, NY)
• Calling All College Students! ASP Info
• ACYOA Holds Second Annual "Chapter Workshop" in Boca Raton, FL

Dates to Remember!
Be sure to follow event updates from the ACYOA on Facebook and Twitter!

February 6 - St. Mary’s Armenian Church hosts a Mardi Gras Poon Paregentan Dance Featuring John Vartan and his Ensemble. Proceeds will benefit St. Mary’s CASP2010 St. Mary’s Armenian Church, Livingston, NJ

February 13 - ACYOA Alumni Dance hosted by Central Council along with the St. Leon’s ACYOA Seniors. For tickets please visit ACYOA.org or call Christine Royland @ 201-315-3212. St. Leon’s Armenian Church, Fairlawn, NJ.

February 13 - The Midwest Armenian churches will host the 6th annual Poonparegentan Dance. The Aravod Ensemble will be performing, along with Califnornia's own Khatchig Jingirian. For questions please call Shant Paklaian @ 847-322-5996 Crystal Palace, Mount Prospect, IL

February 13 - Central Council Meeting St. Gregory Armenian Church, White Plains, NY

March 5-7 - 11th annual ACYOA Leadership Conference hosted by Central Council. Doubletree Hilton Hotel, Tarrytown, NY

March 28 - Palm Sunday (ACYOA Day). Throughout our diocese, many chapters will be hosting a reception or dinner after Badarak concludes, to honor the ACYOA.

Chapter Spotlight: St. Gregory Armenian Church, White Plains, NY

Chapter Spotlight is a new and exciting tool we will start using to showcase one chapter a month. It is not a contest and there is no prize if your chapter is selected, just the gratification of being in the ACYOA
E-blast!

The St. Gregory ACYOA of White Plains, NY put their faith into action on January 6 with service and fellowship during their annual "Midnight Run." After weeks of preparation, ACYOA members met in their church hall after celebrating Badarak to organize bagged meals, toiletries, and clothing to distribute to the homeless poor. After a meal together and a prayer led by their pastor, Fr. Karekin Kasparian, the ACYOA was off to New York City for the evening.

Making several stops around Manhattan, ACYOA members doled out hot soup and cookies while socializing with the homeless people who were waiting for them at designated "Midnight Run" stops. During the stops, those living on the street had an opportunity to choose from the clothing donated by the St. Gregory parish. Before they left for the next stop, ACYOA members made sure that everyone got a bagged meal of sandwiches, fruit, juice, and granola bars. But perhaps the most important gift exchanged that evening was the gift of sharing, understanding, laughter, and Christian love.

The St Gregory ACYOA plans on continuing their work with Midnight Run throughout the coming months. Midnight Run volunteers from churches, synagogues, schools and other civic groups organize over 900 relief missions per year. 

Calling all college students!

Are you looking for exciting and educational summer plans?
Have you envisioned yourself traveling to Armenia? 

~Well here is YOUR chance to make this dream a reality~

This upcoming summer, the ACYOA will once again sponsor our most successful program, the Armenia Service Program (ASP). This program allows the youth in our diocese to travel to Armenia, to not only tour the beautiful sites but also give back to the Armenian community. For the first time, the ACYOA will team up with Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR). We will travel to Gyrumni where we will put forth our efforts at the Ounjian School and the FAR soup kitchen.

You will get an opportunity to worship in Holy Etchmiadzin, see the shores of Lake Sevan, and experience the culture in the capital city of Yerevan. To download a form, please visit our website, ACYOA.org. For further information, please contact the ACYOA Executive Secretary Nancy Basmajian @ nancyb@armeniandiocese.org.

ACYOA Holds Second Annual “Chapter Workshop” in Boca Raton, FL

Amid palm trees, sunshine, and crisp ocean air, the Eastern Diocese’s Armenian Church Youth Organization of America held its second annual Chapter Workshop, in Boca Raton, Fla., January 15-17.
The ACYOA Central Council co-sponsored the workshop with the Diocese’s Department of Youth and Education. It was hosted by the local St. David Armenian Church. Its aim was to support local-parish ACYOA chapters in their efforts, and 39 young adults, representing 18 Diocesan parishes, participated in the weekend.

“It was great to see such intelligent people come together to exchange ideas,” said participant Alyne Corrigan, who chairs the ACYOA group of St. Stepanos Church in Elberon, N.J. “It strengthens the ACYOA to bring people together.”

To kick off the workshop, participants were able to learn a little about each other, and about their home communities, during a Friday evening “ice breaker.”

On Saturday, the group received some basic-training in “ACYOA 101”: an overview of the way the Diocese-wide youth organization operates, through its annual General Assembly, Central Council, and local chapters. Central Council members Danny Mantis and Lydia Kurkjian made the presentation.
A presentation on the “best practices” of an award-winning ACYOA Seniors chapter—the youth group from St. John Armenian Church of Southfield, Mich.—gave the workshop participants useful insights into running successful events and fundraisers. In his presentation, St. John’s Harry Kezelian credited the organizational skills of the chapter co-chair, Karen Dardarian, as a key to the chapter’s recent success.
An investigation into each chapter’s “strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats” was led by ACYOA Central Council member Gevork Vartanian (who also organized much of the leadership workshop). He used the “S.W.O.T. analysis”—a marketing tool—to help each chapter measure its success and failure throughout the year. The 39 participants broke up into small groups to identify successful as well as unsuccessful programs, and determine why certain ones worked and others had not.

Another marketing-management tool figured in the presentation by Central Council members Alex Derderian and Danielle Der Assadourian. They suggested using “S.M.A.R.T. goals”—the acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely—as a way of evaluating objectives for a given ACYOA project. This exercise seemed to be a favorite among the participants, who felt the discussions would be helpful in strengthening local chapters.

For Lisa Zaroogian, of the Sts. Sahag and Mesrob Church ACYOA in Providence, R.I., the workshop “was a great opportunity for each ACYOA chapter to share their experiences and give ideas and suggestions to others.”

To conclude Saturday’s sessions, Central Council members gave a rundown of national ACYOA events—such as the Armenia Service Program, the General Assembly and Sports Weekend, and the ACYOA Alumni Ball. The evening closed at a local restaurant, where Harry Kezelian gave a performance on clarinet.

Sunday morning found the participants attending the Divine Liturgy at Boca Raton’s St. David Church. The parish and its pastor, the Very Rev. Fr. Nareg Berberian, graciously hosted a luncheon for the ACYOA members after services.

Afterwards, Mariam Mirzoyan, from the mission parish of Atlanta, Ga., applauded the leadership workshop for delineating “tons of ideas and helpful hints to continue this wonderful work of God.” It was, she added, “a very inspirational event.”

You are receiving this email because you have previously subscribed to receive communication from the ACYOA or have otherwise communicated with us in the past. Please understand that we may have an older email address for you, and ask that you click this link if you wish to change the address associated with our list, or otherwise change your email preferences. If you no longer wish to receive emails from the ACYOA, please click here to be instantly unsubscribed. Thank you.

ACYOA Central Council :: 630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016 :: 212.686.0710 :: www.acyoa.org :: info@acyoa.org