Generosity of Local Residents

I am writing to thank La Crescenta area residents for sharing the true meaning of Christmas with children in need this past holiday season.

Generosity throughout contributed to a successful shoebox gift collection season at drop-off locations for the Samaritan’s Purse project Operation Christmas Child. Across the U.S., the project collected over 9.3 million shoebox gifts in 2022. Combined with those collected from partnering countries in 2022, the ministry is now sending nearly 10.6 million shoebox gifts to children worldwide.

Through shoeboxes – packed with fun toys, school supplies and hygiene items – La Crescenta area volunteers brought joy to children in need around the world. Each gift-filled shoebox is a tangible expression of God’s love, and it is often the first gift these children have ever received. Through the continued generosity of donors since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 209 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 170 countries and territories. This year, Samaritan’s Purse delivered its milestone 200 millionth shoebox, which was packed on a country-wide tour and then hand-delivered to a young girl in Ukraine.

Across California, shoebox packers often shop for deals on shoebox items throughout the year and many serve at a deeper level by becoming a year-round volunteer. Information about ways area participants can get involved year-round can also be found at samaritanspurse.org/occ or by calling (714) 432-7030.

Although local dropoff locations for gifts are closed until Nov. 13-20, 2023, anyone can still be a part of this life-changing project by conveniently packing a shoebox gift online in just a few simple clicks at samaritanspurse.org/buildonline.

These simple gifts, packed with love, send a message to children worldwide that they are loved and not forgotten.

Lizette Miller
Samaritan’s Purse

Burbank Armenian Association on Hateful Anti-Armenian Flyers in Beverly Hills

On Saturday, Jan. 28, community members of Los Angeles participated in a peaceful protest against Azerbaijan’s vicious blockade of the Lachin Corridor. Upon this peaceful protest, residents were appalled to discover [the distribution of hateful Anti-Armenian] flyers.

On behalf of the Burbank Armenian Association and the Armenian American community, we strongly condemn this disturbing hate crime and shameless act of Armenophobia. During these dire times of crisis where ethnic hatred has threatened people’s right to exist, our community cannot stand aside and permit such acts like these to be left unnoticed. Los Angeles County is home to a population of over 200,000 Armenian Americans who have largely contributed to the development of our neighborhoods and served a monumental role in improving our society. Behavior like this sets a dangerous precedent for our community members who fear incited violence, struggle with severe trauma or loss from the 2020 Artsakh War, and are deeply concerned about preserving their cultural identity in the public. 

As Armenian families of the Republic of Artsakh are still deprived of food, short-supplied of medical essentials and cut off from global trade with Armenia, so are Armenians subject to hostile forms of aggression around the world. Currently, Armenian prisoners of war are still detained and brutally tortured under the oppressive rule of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who have yet to reunite with their families since the 2020 Artsakh War. Just within the last few days in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem, an Armenian-owned wine bar was attacked and vandalized by an extremist mob, along with flags that were torn off the nearby Armenian Patriarchate. Clearly, these Armenophobic acts of physical violence and racist rhetoric remain an ongoing phenomenon against all Armenians in the global community. 

When anti-Armenian flyers are posted around Los Angeles County, and especially in the City of Beverly Hills, silence is no solution. The Burbank Armenian Association calls on all local and state officials to condemn this vile act of ethnic hatred against Armenian Americans. We encourage our public leaders to work closely with the Armenian community to prevent these prejudicial events from occurring in our neighborhoods. 

Together, we must stand in solidarity and work as allies to prevent future hate crimes for all community ethnic groups.

Tony Ordoukhanian
Burbank Armenian Association