The Consulate General of Armenia in Los Angeles has posted the following on its Facebook page:

“To provide assistance to the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, 100,000 face masks have been provided to Los Angeles on behalf of the Republic of Armenia. This support program will help the authorities of Los Angeles mitigate the consequences of the epidemic and resist the virus.

The author of this major initiative is well-known Los Angeles-Armenian benefactor Jack Youredjian, who is the founding CEO of Western Drug. He and his wife are also implementing a major project in Gyumri, Armenia’s second biggest city, providing families devastated by the earthquake with apartments and helping children achieve academic excellence, plan their future and participate in professional courses.

Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles, Ambassador Nina Hachigian and Consul General of Armenia, Ambassador Armen Bayburdyan coordinated the supply of face masks to clinics and hospitals and vulnerable groups in Los Angeles. This initiative highlights the strong and growing partnership between Armenia and Los Angeles that was raised to a new and higher level when Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan paid a visit to Los Angeles in September 2019 and was cordially hosted by Mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti.

The Armenian community of Los Angeles is one of the largest and most active communities in the world. As an integral part of the city, the Armenian American community also proudly bears the honorary title of a citizen of Los Angeles and doesn’t spare efforts to make contributions to the advancement of the city. In April 2020, on the occasion of the 105th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian community of Los Angeles organized a humanitarian fundraiser under the title “Thank You, America”. The proceeds will be geared towards the Feeding America organization in honor of the activities of the Near East Foundation and will help provide food to Americans in need. The Near East Foundation was the first US Congress-backed non-governmental foundation, which donated funds to save the lives of 132,000 Armenian orphans and established over 400 shelters, schools and hospitals. Currently, the needy have been provided with 5,000,000 portions of food as a result of the fundraiser held by the Armenian American community across the country.