COAF in the News

2007

Cure cancer? Save a generation of Armenians? For Dr. Garo Armen, these are projects, not dreams. (Armenian Reporter, 9/15/07)
Founder and chairman of the Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) Dr. Garo Armen was recently awarded the prestigious “Medal of Honor” by the Prime Minister of Armenia for his unique and extraordinary contributions to the revitalization of rural communities in Armenia. Presented to Dr. Armen during the opening of a newly built COAF school in Lernagog village …(more)

2006

COAF Gala coverage in French (12/13/06)
A european site, Yevrobatsi, mentions the success of the 2006 “Save a Generation” awards dinner. (written in the French language)

$2.35 Million Raised to Aid Children of Armenia at COAF Gala (Armenian Reporter, 10/28/06)
The Children of Armenia Fund raised $2.35 million during its annual “Save a Generation” awards dinner – an elegant affair held at Manhattan’s Cipriani Restaurant on Friday, October 20, 2006. (more)

Building hope in Armenia (New York Daily News, 9/18/06)
On a visit to his homeland of Armenia in 1991, Garo Armen witnessed a scene of abject poverty caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union. What he saw haunted him, and he later founded the Children of Armenia Fund, whose work has begun to significantly rebuild and revitalize impoverished rural Armenian towns like Karakert. (more)

Antigenics CEO Receives Humanitarian Award From the Sabin Vaccine Institute (Antigenics Inc., 6/29/06)
Antigenics announced that the Sabin Vaccine Institute has awarded the 2006 Sabin Humanitarian Award to the company’s chairman and CEO, Garo H. Armen, PhD, who is also COAF’s founder and chairman. The Albert B. Sabin Annual Awards recognize extraordinary figures in biotechnology, medical research and medical reporting. (more)

Karakert Celebrates Community Day With ATP (Armenia Tree Project, 4/7/06)
On April 7, Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) and Armenia Tree Project (ATP), together with the local residents, celebrated Community Day in Karakert. The event marked the conclusion of the site development and landscaping of the school and kindergartens through the planting of trees and bushes. (more)

2005

Garo Armen, turnaround whiz, finds next target: Armenia’s poor (Mosaicx magazine, 10/24/05)
It was the villages of Armenia however that grabbed Armen’s attention the most because the disparity between village life and Yerevan was so enormous. “While the capital was prospering, the villages were a deteriorating.” (more)

“Le COAF pour sauver une génération d’Arméniens” (Yevrobatsi, 10/22/05, text in French)
Ce qui est tout à fait unique avec COAF, c'est l'approche démocratique et holistique entreprise par la fondation: les Nations Unies et La Banque Mondiale ont apporté une aide financière aussi bien que technologique au projet. De plus, au gala newyorkais, la contribution la plus conséquente appartient à un donateur non-arménien, la famille Feinberg. (more)

Bringing hope and prosperity to rural Armenia (The Armenian Reporter International, 10/24/05)
“We are unique in our approach,” explains Armen. “COAF rebuilds everything, from the plumbing and sanitation facilities to the hospitals and schools.” Armen was visibly shaken several years ago after visiting Karakert, a small village half-way between Gyumri and Etchmiadzin. (more)

Margrit and Nishan Atinizian Provide Humanitarian Aid to Rural Armenia: COAF’s “Model Village” Receives Assistance (The Armenian Reporter International, 4/2/05)
“We are so grateful to the Antinizians,” says Manushak Harutyunyan, mother of four.  “You see the conditions we are living in—we do not even have sturdy walls to protect us from the cold, or a real heater. My children didn’t have any decent clothing before this. I can’t even imagine how we would have survived….” (more)

Connecting the Dots: Project hopes to make Karakert village a model of success (ArmeniaNow.com, 3/18/05)
COAF’s “model village” program gained the attention and support of international aid agencies that include United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United State Agency for International Development (USAID). (more)

2004

United Nations Director Kalman Mizsei Visits Armenia (The Armenian Reporter International, October 2004)
Mr. Kalman Mizsei, Assistant Administrator and Regional Director for Europe and the CIS, visited Armenia this week to participate in COAF’s Rural Armenia Initiative Plan and the United Nations Day Celebrations in the village of Karakert, which constitutes UNDP's largest public-private partnership project. (more)

Interview with COAF founder Garo Armen (The Armenian Reporter International, October 2004)
In addition to his leadership responsibilities with Antigenics and Elan, Armen initiated a nonprofit organization, the Children of Armenia Fund, in 2000. This charity, known by its acronym of COAF, turned into his pet project. (more)

COAF raises $1.5 million to help Armenian children (MP3 audio clip) (VEM Radio, Armenia, 7/26/04)

COAF Opens Office in Yerevan (Namag.com, 5/07/04)
The ceremony of opening the office of Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) took place in Yerevan. According to the COAF Chairman Garo Armen, the organization aims at working out programs concerning the areas of development of children in Armenia and alleviating their economic conditions. (more)

Cancer Vaccine May Cure Armenia’s Economy (MP3 audio clip) (VEM Radio, Armenia, 2/15/04)

2003

State Department lauds new partnerships to combat land mines (CNN.com, 6/19/03)
The State Department Wednesday welcomed the donations of The Children of Armenia Fund and Skylink Aviation for the U.S. Humanitarian Mine Action Program. The department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs works with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civic associations, philanthropic foundations, educational institutions and corporations to protect civilians from the threat of land mines. (more)

Landmine threat haunts Karabakh (Stepanakert, 5/23/03)
Apart from death and injury, landmines also carry a high economic cost. An agriculture ministry official has stated that around 30 per cent of Karabakh’s arable land lies within the danger zone. To make matters worse these include the most fertile areas in the lowlands and foothills. (more)