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The Armenian Reporter | November 8, 2008 5Communityayf Montebello gears up for 50th anniversary and alumni reunionEvent will alsocelebrate 75thanniversary of ayf’sfoundingby Avo John KambourianMONTEBELLO, Calif. – Thisyear marks the 75th anniversaryof the founding of the ArmenianYouth Federation (ayf) and the50th anniversary of the establishmentof the West Coast’s first ayfchapter, Vahan Cardashian, whichserves the Armenian communityof Montebello, California. To markthe twin anniversaries, the VahanCardashian Chapter is organizing aspecial event this month, the 50thAnniversary and Alumni Reunion.The celebration will take place onNovember 15 at the newly-renovatedBagramian Hall of Montebello’sHoly Cross Church.The Vahan Cardashian Chapterholds ayf Alumni Reunions onceevery five years. The last eventdrew over 800 past and presentayf members. According to ZavenAltounian, the chapter’s chairman,to date a large number of ticketsto the forthcoming reunion havebeen sold to alumni from the 1960sthrough the 1990s, current members,as well as members from theEast Coast and Canada.True to tradition, this year’s reunionwill feature delectable foods,live music, and dance. The bandfor the night, which will be flyingin from the East Coast, includesJohnny Berberian, Onnik Dinkjian,Hachig Kazarian, Gurgen Khanzadian,and Ara Dinkjian.The Altounians, like many othersin Montebello, could be calledan ayf family. Stepan Altounian,Zaven’s father, says he joined theorganization when he was 14 toswim in the ayf Olympics. Altounianfound himself more involvedin the organization as he got older.He has served as a member of theThe first meeting of the Armenian Youth Federation, Boston, 1934. Photos: www.ayf.org1950: Crowds cheer on the marathon runners at the first ayf Olympics.Montebello Chapter Executive andlater the Western Region CentralExecutive. Currently he is a memberof the arf Montebello Chapterayf: 75 years of youth serviceThe Armenian Youth Federation(ayf) was founded in Boston,Massachusetts, on July 16, 1933.Through the efforts of GeneralKarekin Njdeh, the “godfather”of the ayf, soon several chapterswere formed across the EastCoast.The first ayf convention tookplace in Boston’s Hairenik Hall,where the key goals and objectivesof the organization wereformulated. They included instillinga sense of national andcultural pride in the Armenianyouth, preserving and fosteringthe Armenian heritage and identitythrough education and communityactivism, and enlistingthe youth in the ongoing strugglefor the establishment of a free, independent,and united Armenia.During its formative years, theayf focused primarily on organizingcultural events and youthseminars and lectures on a widerange of topics, in effect servingas one of the Armenian - Americancommunity’s first educational institutions.The organization alsoprovided song books and literatureto its young members. Thefirst executive secretary of theayf, James Mandalian, wrotehighlights of Armenian historyand biographies of historical figures.These materials were madeavailable to youths in the form ofpamphlets.In 1935, the ayf became the firstArmenian-American organizationto provide scholarships. A yearlater, the first ayf Olympics tookplace in Brockton, Massachusetts.The event has since become an annualtradition celebrated acrossthe U.S.An estimated 1,000 ayf membersserved in the U.S. armedforces during World War II. Inaddition, the organization raisedclose to $750,000 in war bonds tohelp the Allied Forces. Throughoutthe war, ayf chapters sentissues of Hairenik Weekly to membersserving in the armed forcesoverseas.In 1948, the ayf Juniors Organization(Badanegan) was founded,aiming to prepare youngsters ofages seven through 15 for servicein the ranks of the ayf. In 1951,Camp Haiastan was founded onthe East Coast.The 1960s saw the creation oflarger ayf chapters, meant toserve burgeoning Armenian communitiesin major metropolitanareas. Beginning in 1965, theyear that marked the 50th anniversaryof the Genocide, theayf has placed greater emphasisExecutive. Furthermore, Altounianmet his wife in the ayf, and todaytheir children, Zaven and Talin, areactive in the organization, withon fostering political activismamong the Armenian youth. Inthis sense, efforts to help secureGenocide recognition have overthe years expanded into variousprojects for supporting Artsakh’swar of liberation, aiding the developmentof the Republic ofArmenia, and providing diasporayouths, through programs suchas Youth Corps, the opportunityto spend time and intern in thehomeland.In 1973, the ayf split into itspresent tri-regional form, consistingof the Western U.S., EasternU.S., and Canada regions.The split was in response to theunprecedented growth of NorthAmerica’s Armenian communitiesand the need for more efficientmanagement of chapters.Today the ayf has evolved into amajor, nationally significant organizationand a point of convergencefor thousands of Armenian youths,who engage in community activismthrough a plethora of educational,cultural, social, and sportive eventsincluding the annual Olympics andsummer camps.connect:ayf.orgayfwest.orgayfmontebello.orgKarekin Njdeh.1950: The ayf Olympics continue to be a tradition.Talin serving in the Central Executive.Annik Minasaganian joinedthe ayf in the 1970s. She saysthe organization has kept growingin political activism since themid-1960s, rallying the Armenianyouth for a variety of nationalcauses including Genocide recognition.Minasaganian’s aunt wasone of the first members of theVahan Cardashian Chapter. “Mostof the chapter’s founders wereoriginally ayf members from Detroit,”Annik Minasaganian says.The fledgling chapter initially heldits meetings in a member’s garage,until it could acquire a proper communityspace. Today that space,the Montebello Armenian Center,is one of the largest of its kind onthe West Coast.You share the samecommunity.Discover what happenswhen you sharethe same experience.The upcoming 50th Anniversaryand Alumni Reunion has been inthe works for nearly a year, withcurrent members joining forceswith seasoned alumni to organizethe event. Minasaganian says thatsuch collaboration results in notonly practical benefits in terms ofguidance and experience-sharing,but helps create strong bonds betweengenerations of members.As the reunion promises to be anexceptionally joyful event, the CardashianChapter is also planninga next-day breakfast party. Experience,after all, shows that ayfmembers attending such eventshave difficulty parting.For tickets and other information,including lodging, visit thechapter’s site at ayfmontebello.org.Let’s come together, and if onlyfor one day, unite in the fightagainst cancer. For moreinformation about Relay For Lifeor to join an event near you, visitwww.cancer.org/RelayNYNJor call 1.800.ACS.2345.Paint the Town Purple incelebration of Relay For Life onMay 1, May Day For Relay.1.800.ACS.2345www.cancer.org/relayNYNJ