Last year, the 1,600 kids enrolled in Sunday school classes throughout the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America planted hundreds of trees in Armenia. And they didn't even get dirt under their fingernails.
The students raised $5,000 during the Diocesan Sunday Schools' 2003 Lenten fund drive. The money went to the Armenia Tree Project, which is working to reforest Armenia. This year, during Lent, starting on February 23, they will raise money for the soup kitchens in Armenia.
In 2003, the students raised enough to plant 355 trees, to be placed near the Mother See of the Holy Etchmiadzin to commemorate last year's celebration of the anniversary of the cathedral's consecration.
The Sunday school students raised the money in a variety of ways. Some held suppers for their parishioners, others sponsored competitions. Kids also raised money by working as babysitters, cleaning homes, and organizing car washes.
"We have a 'penny collection' outside the door of the church," said Alberta Godoshian, superintendent of the St. John Sunday school in Southfield, MI. "As the congregation leaves, Sunday school children are posted with baskets and a sign for the purpose of the collection. It's hard for friends, relatives, and parishioners to pass them by."
Each year, the Armenia Tree Project plants about 40,000 trees at dozens of sites in Armenia.
"Having Armenian children in the United States donate trees to help secure the future of Armenian children in Hyastan is what really counts," said Jeff Masarjian, executive director of the Armenia Tree Project. "Thank you so much for the support of our efforts."
Funding soup kitchens in 2004
This year, when Lent begins, Sunday school kids throughout the Eastern Diocese will raise money for soup kitchens in Armenia run by the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR), the Diocesan-affiliated humanitarian aid organization.
Every day, the five soup kitchens in and around Yerevan serve 1,000 people, including the elderly and orphaned children. Many of the soup kitchens also provide warm clothes to their visitors.
To learn more about FAR's soup kitchens and other projects, click to its website: www.farusa.org.
The Sunday schools throughout the Eastern Diocese have been raising money as part of their Lenten observances for more than 40 years. The past collections have gone to aid Armenian orphans, senior citizens in Armenia, Armenians in Jerusalem and Turkey, victims of earthquakes, street children in Yerevan, and hungry people around the globe.
To learn more about or to donate to the Sunday School Lenten fund drive, check with your local parish Sunday school teachers. You can also contact Elisea Antreassian, coordinator of Christian education at the Eastern Diocese, by e-mailing elisea@armeniandiocese.org or calling (212) 686-0710 ext. 57.
