Sirahn Toufayan

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In the fall of 2023, the AHA Armenian Club organized its second annual Shoebox Project. We collected over eighty-five Shoebox Gifts for underprivileged children in Armenia, which recently arrived at their destination on Armenian Christmas. The Shoebox Project is a drive that collects shoeboxes filled with necessities and gifts for underprivileged children in Armenia and delivers them to the children on Armenian Christmas. Many of these children have experienced war and instability in the areas where they live, especially during the recent conflict between Artsakh and Azerbaijan. Thousands of families and their children have been displaced from their homes in Artsakh, where they left behind many of their belongings to reach safety. The goal of the Shoebox Project is to help brighten the lives of these children, especially during the holiday season.

Students were able to sign up to create a personalized shoebox gift for any child from the list and wrap it up as a gift. Some of the items that were included in the shoebox gifts were notebooks, warm clothing, toys, and other necessities. The Shoeboxes were sent out in December and were received by the children on Armenian Christmas in January. With the solidarity of the school community, such a large project was possible. The Armenian Club is incredibly grateful for the care and effort that each student who participated in the project put into their shoeboxes. We are also happy to share photographs of the children receiving their gifts. We thank everyone who participated in the project this year and look forward to doing it again next year!

 

Quotes from a few participating members:

“My favorite part of the shoebox project is receiving pictures of when the children get the shoeboxes because we are able to see how happy it makes the kids when they have new clothing and toys in this difficult time.” - Emily Neumann

 

“It was rewarding to know we were able to provide some kids with new clothing and toys but it wasn't fully satisfying because I know that there are still more children who are deprived of things that they want or need. Hopefully, as this project goes on we will be able to expand and provide more children with what these shoeboxes.” - Rachel Stanbury

 

“I think instead of leaving everyone to their own devices while making a shoebox, we should create a workshop so that no one can back out unexpectedly. We could also build off of others ideas and it could be a time to hang out with friends.” -Sirahn Toufayan 

 

“Personally, I did 3 boxes but in all for this year, we shipped 74 boxes. Hopefully, next year we can partner with other schools to expand the number of boxes we can send to about 200.” - Sophia Karamanoukian