Why Another Non-Profit?

For those in the Armenian community, there is no shortage of organization, churches and individuals advocating for different needs in Armenia. Some people have been involved in organization for a long time and even served as board members. This has produced 2 main outcomes – either the individual has been turned off by the infighting, inefficiency and lack of transparency or the individual has fully supported the organization after seeing first hand the work being done to provide assistance, support to those in need.

ARC was founded by a group of individuals who have in various forms served in non-profits and have seen first hand the good that a non-profit organization can do and feel a personal responsibility to what is needed to help those in need. ARC was started in the end of 2019 with a mission to build housing to provide permanent shelter to families who for 30+ years have lived in shipping containers following the devastating earthquake in Spitak, Armenia. The goal of the organization is to help elevate a family to become self-sustainable, not just to rely on assistance, but to receive the aid needed to prosper.

Due to a global pandemic, much of the work for the housing project was put on hold for a portion of 2020. Then the devastating 2nd Artsakh war took place in fall of 2020, which caused new devastation, loss of life and created a great new need in Armenia and Artsakh. While the goal of ARC to provide aid to elevate families has remained the same, there are new, immediate needs which are facing Armenians and ARC is committed to help in anyway possible. The war brought an influx of refugee families, mostly women , children and the elderly to Armenia. Many were housed by friends, family and even strangers in Armenia proper while the men in the family were protecting/fighting in Artsakh region.

Since the war ended, many families have been able to return to their homes in Artsakh. But some have not. For some their homes were literally destroyed and rebuilding will take time. For others, the region of Artsakh they were from has been captured by Azerbaijan, so they are unable to return home. They are now displaced.

The war also resulted in many families becoming fatherless and sadly, many young men, severely injured from the war. The need all around is great. Families who have lost the primary bread-winner have to fund a new way to get by. Returning soldiers who served in the war are suffering PTSD, physical injuries or even both. The lack of handicap accessible housing and resources in Armenia has caused further hindrances for many of these heroes. ARC is evaluating the situation to see what can be done to elevate the lives of those impacted by the war and still impacted the effects of the Spitak earthquake in so many ways. The need is great. But the spirit of love, compassion and giving is greater.