[ALBSA-Info] [2001ajs] Report and Article on Fund-Raiser for Albanian Students

[ALBANIA 2001]

-------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~>
Find out Anything about Anyone! 
NET DETECTIVE 2000 
Use the internet to investigate anyone!
http://click.egroups.com/1/9016/17/_/_/_/969581942/
---------------------------------------------------------------------_->


I would like to personally thank those of you who came to the event for the Albanian Students on Saturday at Pier 4.  The event was attended by about 125 people, a good time was had by all (or at least most of us), and approximately $3,000 in contributions was raised at the event.  In addition, all of the food and drink was donated by Anthony Athanas, and Rich Lukaj has offered to double the amount raised with a matching contribution.   There will be an article in this Friday’s Illyria about the event (see draft article below), and, we hope, an Albanian version in next week’s Illyria.

For those of you who would like to still make donations, you can send a check made payable to the School for Kosovar Youth to Adnan Derti at the address below.  All money raised will be split 50-50 between the Albanian Students Association and the School for Kosovar Youth.

Adnan Derti 
5 Wellman Street
Brookline, MA 02446

Thanks,
Mark

Albanian Education Groups Hold Student Benefit in Boston
By Denise Lymperis

Boston—In a cooperative grass-roots effort to provide educational opportunities for young ethnic Albanians in the Boston area, the Albanian Students' Association and the School for Kosovar Youth held a joint fundraising luncheon September 16.  The event was hosted by honorary Albanian consul Anthony Athanas at his renowned Pier 4 restaurant.

Most of the 125 people attending the benefit were ethnic Albanians studying at Harvard and other major local universities and young professionals from the Boston and New York regions.  Approximately $6000 was raised, including a $3000 matching gift from Richard Lukaj, the newly elected Chairman of the National Albanian-American Council (NAAC), and two $500 contributions from the Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America and an anonymous donor.

Lukaj, who was the featured speaker at the benefit, is also Senior Managing Director of Bear Stearns Company in New York.  Focusing on new and emerging themes in Albanian-American leadership, he called on the intelligentsia to play a major role in preserving their ethnic culture and identity both here in the United States and abroad.

"It is very clear that education is the key to participating," he said, noting that this key attribute is consistent among the many ethnic Albanians who have made remarkable achievements since their arrival in the United States.  "I don't think there are limits to opportunity in this country and that's one of the great gifts that you get from being here."  At the same time, Lukaj added, those of us who are fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to attain some degree of personal achievement need to recognize our obligation to make a contribution to the Albanian community.

Lukaj urged everyone present to reach out to the community and inspire others to want to contribute.  "It's time, particularly as Albanian-Americans, to look at ourselves and say what are we all working towards," he said.  While NAAC is an apolitical organization, Lukaj also emphasized the importance of political involvement, which has helped the Albanian community organize itself and focus its greater strength before the U.S. leadership.

"It's been a long time coming, but I think for the first time in the last four or five years, though, the Congress is pretty well aware of the National Albanian-American voice," Lukaj noted.  The same is true of the Senate and the White House.  "We need to perpetuate this with a degree of consistency.  We cannot just be active in times of crisis."

Lukaj also noted that the 600,000 or so Albanians in this country represent a very sizeable community that, if incorporated into a representative organization, could support a lot of scholarships and other programs.  "I think a lot can be done by the next generation to build on what work has been done today," he said.  "I urge all of you today to begin to evaluate what's out there and figure out how to make your mark."

Also speaking at the benefit were Adnan Derti, a cofounder of the School for Kosovar Youth and a doctoral candidate at Boston University, and Eriola Kruja, who is a founder of the Albanian Students' Association and a junior at Harvard.

The Albanian Students' Association (ALBSA) was created in April 1999 at the height of the Kosova crisis and is based in Boston.  In addition to serving as a resource organization for Albanian students and a primary sponsor of the School for Kosovar Youth, ALBSA seeks to promote Albanian culture, history, and traditions.  Last March, ALBSA organized the visit and two subsequent lectures at Harvard and Boston University by Noel Malcolm, renowned British historian and Balkan affairs expert.

The School for Kosovar Youth (SKY) was established in June 1999 and is designed to ease the transition to American life for Kosovar refugee children and young adults in the Boston area.  About 20 students meet in a Cambridge classroom every Saturday, where they receive English language instruction and help with math and science homework.  The school's long-term goal is to motivate the students to do well in school and encourage them to attend college so they will be able to access the wide range of job opportunities available in the U.S.  In addition to its educational focus, SKY exposes students to the culture and history of Boston and has taken them on tours of the Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Science, and the New England Aquarium.

NAAC is a nonprofit, Washington-based policy organization dedicated to fostering a better understanding of Albanian issues in the United States, and to promoting peace, human rights, and economic development in the Balkans.  At the community level, it is dedicated to increasing the involvement of Albanian-Americans in the U.S. democratic process.  It also assists Albanians in the Balkans in their effort to build strong democratic institutions and provides humanitarian aid to war victims.

For more information, please visit the ALBSA and SKY websites at:
http://www.albstudent.org
http://people.bu.edu/kosovar

Contributions are much appreciated and are fully tax-deductible.  Checks should be made payable to:
School for Kosovar Youth
c/o Mr. Adnan Derti
5 Wellman Street
Brookline, MA  02446


--
ALBANIA 2001
Investment and Finance
Suite #417
160 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02116
Telephone:  781-843-1056
Telephone:  617-262-6665
Fax:  617-262-2340
E-Mail:  alb2001 at beld.net

ALBANIA 2001
Investment and Finance
Rruga Asim Vokshi
Pallati #141
Tirana, Albania
Telephone:  355-42-40842
Telephone:  355-42-39748
Fax:  355-42-39748
E-Mail:  alb2001 at icc.al.eu.org

--


To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
2001ajs-unsubscribe at egroups.com