GLENDALE, JULY 21, NOYAN TAPAN. On July 19 at 6-12 pm, the fund-raising telethon, held for the purpose of raising the quality of Armenian lessons at American state schools, was broadcast live on three Armenian local channels, Horizon, AABC and Hayvision. It was already the second marathon held by Davtian and Mariamian educational institution and the whole money raised during it will be given to the solution of problems of preservation of Armenian identity and especially to the working out and publication of textbooks, with the help of which more than 1000 Armenian pupils of 29 American state schools of Glendale and its nearby towns will study their mother tongue and culture. According to the hayernaysor.am electronic newspaper, RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobian greeted the participants of the marathon in the live broadcast through a TV-bridge from Yerevan attaching importance to the role of Davtian and Mariamian educational institution in children's education in the Armenian spirit and in the difficult problem of preservation of Armenian identity. "The Davtian and Mariamian Fund teaches Armenian to pupils at 29 American schools, tries to make them faithful to their roots, community, church. Thanks to their parents and teachers for sparing no efforts in giving children education in the Armenian spirit," the Minister noted in her speech. According to H. Hakobian, "it is the Armenian school that ties with the language of the ancestors, with history, with Armenian age-long history, it is in Armenian school where an Armenian child likes and values them and realizes that he/she has a homeland which is the land of Armenia." The Minister also answered the questions addressed to her. The questions referred to the Come Home program which is now working at the RA Ministry of Diaspora, and within the framework of which Armenian lads and girls visited Armenia. The hall of the marathon with special warmth received the news about $5000 donated by the RA Ministry of Diaspora. The active participants of the telethon were not only the Armenians of Los Angeles and Glendale, but also individuals from Yerevan with not very big sums, who watched the telethon on July 20 at 6-12 am on www.horizonarmeniantv.com website of Horizon TV station, as well as on the mindiaspora.am and hayernaysor.am electronic newspaper of the RA Ministry of Diaspora. In total, more than $100 thousand was raised during the telethon.

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