Seven Recipients of H. Hovnanian Family Foundation’s Support to Implement Projects in Armenia

YEREVAN, Armenia – The H. Hovnanian Family Foundation announced its latest round of grant winning proposals, selected from 15 submissions as part of its 4th quarter 2021 cycle. The awarded non-profit entities, seven in total, have received financial assistance of $107,500. They will be implementing projects in sectors where the Foundation’s main interests are focused, namely in youth and community development, arts and cultural preservation, education, volunteerism, and addressing a number of social and educational needs of vulnerable populations. A part of the Foundation’s mission is to fund such projects in Armenia and reviews grants requests quarterly.

Aralez NGO, founded as a result of the 2020 Artsakh war, is carrying out a humanitarian project encouraging the physical and intellectual development of young people through scouting activities. By instilling the values of volunteerism, scouts will learn to take a constructive place in society as responsible citizens and leaders. Likewise this spring, just as soon the weather permits, the 4 Peaks Alpine Mountaineering NGO, will run its educational program in ten different middle schools in Yerevan to implement a mountaineering introduction and safety course for children aged 14-16. Each course would include in-classroom lesson on hiking basics, followed by a field trip to Mt. Hatis for practical training.

Similar to the two aforementioned projects, Family and Community NGO asked the Foundation to match a portion of the funding they had leveraged from partnering with private and public organizations in order to service over 400 child beneficiaries in Armavir, Metsamor, Ijevan, Noyemberyan, and Artik. These are vulnerable families affected by the 2020 Artsakh war, who will now receive a comprehensive package of psycho-social services, educational workshops, and cultural programs. The NGO will also train 40 caseworkers to continue proper case management and counseling for project sustainability.

Another grant recipient, International Center for Research and Education (ICARE) NGO, which offers undergraduate and graduate level programs in agribusiness and marketing in partnership with Texas A&M University, will implement a new student winery as their newest educational initiative. The winery will provide practical learning and training for aspiring winemakers, allowing student to learn about harvesting grapes to the bottling process using state of the art winemaking processes, while supporting small, local grape farmers in Armenia and Artsakh.

Believing that there are many initiatives like these, and to ensure the continuity of such initiatives, the Foundation is supporting the continued development of ReArmenia Charitable Foundation’s online platform for effective collaboration of worthwhile projects and potentially interested donors to solve the current challenges Armenia encounters due to a disconnect. Especially since the needs have only increased since the war, a platform of this kind helps bridge the gaps between needs, available resources, and donor interests.

Preservation and promotion of art in Armenia is one of these challenges, and NVAK Inc.’s “Artist Care Program” to support Armenian artists received a grant to provide free, innovative, and contemporary world-class music education and business resources for Armenian youth, especially women. The project will help artists to create, produce and distribute their music locally and globally. Another initiative funded is one that brings the ancient cultural manuscript artistry into the lives of teenagers through painting and graphic design instruction. This cultural preservation project, launched by the Mashdots Armenian Culture Preservation and Development Foundation of the Matenadaran, is called “Miniature Painting and Design Classes” and will focus on developing the teens’ creative skills through the study of Toros Roslin’s works as this year marks 800 years since his birth.

The unique backgrounds of each grant recipient, their up-to-date understanding of the modern-day issues in Armenia, as well as their proven record of successful projects and partnerships with other local organizations makes us believe that the grants made by the Foundation will serve their purpose and charitable mission. We are excited to see how these grants will allow these organizations to fuel the future we all aspire toward by serving their constituents’ needs for the betterment of Armenia.

The launch of our updated website that will simplify and add clarity to the grant application process will be announced soon.

Since the Foundation’s establishment in 1986, H. Hovnanian Family Foundation has earmarked over $75 million to hundreds of initiatives and projects for charitable, educational, scientific, cultural, and other related purposes with a primary focus on assisting Armenian communities worldwide as well as organizations in Monmouth and Ocean Counties in the state of New Jersey.