MOMS ON MISSION TO PROVIDE WARMTH TO SUPER STORM SANDY SURVIVORS

28 November, 2012

In the spirit of Thanksgiving and the Holiday Season a group of mothers got together calling themselves MOMS ON MISSION under the auspices of Mrs. Nana Siranoush Nazarian, spouse of Ambassador of Armenia to the United Nations to provide warmth to the victims of Hurricane Sandy.

The main mission of this group is to help the local NJ/NY families impacted by the devastation of Superstom Sandy by hand making and personally giving each of them fleece blankets to provide warmth and put a smile on a person's face. As Mother Theresa has said, 'Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got but what they really need is that you care to warm their hearts...." Spearheaded by Vicki Shoghag Hovanessian, who was the catalyst of the project said, "The Armenian Community has always appreciated the benevolence of the United States of America. When the earthquake hit Armenia in 1988, all our American brethren reached out and helped in various ways to send aid to Armenia. Now, it is our turn to reach out and give back to the people locally who are terribly affected by the devastation of Super Storm Sandy".

On November 26th, through the kind arrangement of Father Diran Bohajian of St. Leon’s Armenian Church in Fair Lawn, NJ and Mrs. Takouhi Soultanian, a group of about 35 ladies headed by Mrs. Nana Nazarian gathered at the Abajian Hall of the St. Leon's and hand knotted about 110 handmade fleece blankets. The ladies did not need to be "Martha Stewart" or a "crafty" person per se. Any Mom who knew how to tie a knot was invited to assemble the blankets which were completed at the end of the day. Mrs. Nana Nazarian said," Armenian mothers are selflessly dedicated to join hands and give back to the community in which they live as responsible and caring citizens. It was simple, heartwarming and gratifying way to spend time with friends knowing that ultimately these blankets would warm another person's heart".

MOMS ON MISSION had the good luck of having a fine Samaritan in the person of Mr. Vahram Aynilian who was able to provide 500 yards of fleece material for GRATIS. Also, Marc Hovanessian had volunteered to donate the labels for the blankets. Moreover, special thanks are due to Ani Kasparian, Priya Katra, Anny and LennaTekian, Noune Kasparian, Roza Poghosyan for personally hand cutting each blanket and having it prepared for the designated day to be knotted by the volunteers.

MOMS ON MISSION were truly excited when they found out Governor Chris Christie of NJ wore his favorite fleece jacket to tour the devastated regions as well as to cast his vote during the presidential election. Once the destination is identified, MOMS ON MISSION will gather all the volunteers and their children to hand deliver the blankets to the people in need while teaching the kids that life is not only receiving but also sharing and giving back.

The MOMS are truly grateful to Mrs. Nana Nazarian of the Permanent Mission of Armenia to the United Nations, Mr. Vahram Aynilian, St. Leon's Fr. Diran Bohajian and all the volunteers that helped make this benevolent project a reality. A special thank you to the person who thought of the original idea and spearheaded the project - Vicki Shoghag Hovanessian.

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