With the collapse of the Soviet Union, factories in Armenia screeched to a halt – leaving thousands in the newly independent republic’s villages unemployed and
poverty-stricken.

Now thanks to the Children of Armenia Fund (COAF), an organization established in New York a decade ago, these villages are experiencing a long-awaited revival. Through a program of sustainable development, focusing on education, health care and economic growth—all for the country’s most vulnerable population of children—COAF has benefited over 20,000 individuals. Its efforts are now recognized by the US Agency for International Development, the World Bank, UNICEF and the United Nations Development Programme.

The organization held its seventh annual gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Thursday evening, December 16. More than 300 guests gathered in the imperial Temple of Dendur in the Sackler Wing to show support for COAF’s mission. Every penny raised directly benefits the non-profit’s projects in Armenia.

COAF founder Garo Armen, a leader in the biotech industry, hosted the evening. Among the luminaries attending this noteworthy event were Carnegie Foundation president Vartan Gregorian, artist and designer Michael Aram, Emmy and Tony award-winning actress Andrea Martin, former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans and his wife, Donna Evans, and the Met’s curator for Byzantine Art Helen Evans. Sotheby’s executive vice president C. Hugh Hildesley led the evening’s live auction.

COAF’s “Benefactor” and “Humanitarian” awards went to philanthropist Gerard L. Cafesjian and the late Paul L. Newman, whose foundation has supported technology programs in Armenia.

To learn more about COAF, visit www.coafkids.org.

--Karine Abalyan & Taleen Babayan