ACYO Annual Christmas Party

This past Friday, December 18, ACYO held our annual Christmas Party. Although we did it a little differently this year: instead of traveling from one house to another for appetizers, dinner, and desserts, we gathered at the Barin’s household and did all the celebrating there. We also changed another part of our holiday party, and instead of having a gift exchange, we collected cans of food to give back to families in our community that may not be as privileged as ourselves. This was a successful party to kick off the new year of ACYO and we look forward to many more gatherings of enjoying our friends company, as well as giving back to our community.
 

The Armenian Church Youth Organization of the Western Diocese of North America ACYO-WD) actively integrates its members into the life of the church by providing opportunities for Worship, Service, Education, and Fellowship in Christ according to the doctrines and traditions of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Upcoming events: The next event is Convention
When: Friday, November 27th at 5:00pm- Sunday, November 29th at 1:00pm
Where: St. Gregory Armenian Church
2215 E. Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91107

Past events: Our last major event was hosting Senior Sports Weekend 2009 on Sept. 11-13. The games took place at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, on Friday and Saturday. On Saturday night there was an awards banquet at the church hall. Overall it was a great success.

 ACYO Picture album.


Application: There is no application...If anyone wants to join they can come to a meeting or give Nora a call (714)292-7149. They can also check out the acyo website www.acyo-wd.org

Summary of ACYO activities in 2009 by Elizabeth Olgun

We started the year off with a very traditional event, otherwise known as the Holiday-Hop-Around. This Holiday-Hop-Around originated over 10 years ago and is an event that still holds strong amongst the Armenian youth. During this evening of fun, three families open their home and accommodate a group of 20 to 30 kids for either Appetizers, Dinner or Dessert.

During the month of love, all of the Southern Regional Church Chapters collectively contributed ideas to make a successful Cupid’s Dance at the Diocese. What's more is that members from all across California and Arizona were even kind enough to come and support our venue.

Throughout the year we participated in Sunday choir along with hosting a monthly Sunday Fellowship for all our members at St. Mary-Costa Mesa. In addition to Sunday Fellowships, we participated in Holiday events. For Easter, we put on a fundraiser by dying and selling Easter Eggs.

The Senior Chapter even assisted and supported our Junior ACYO group by cheering and coaching them on at the Armenian Summer Games, otherwise known as Junior Sports Weekend. During the summer many of our members attended and volunteered at the Armenian Church Summer Camp in Dunlap, CA. To bring summer to a close our church hosted an annual end of the year Beach Party in which many members of the diocese attended.

Furthermore, we were given the privilege of hosting a rather new event to the Western Diocese. We were fortunate enough to host the Senior Sports Weekend. This, by far, was the most challenging yet most rewarding experience we could have embarked on. This event took off during the weekend of September 11th-13th. With an attendance of 200 people, it was tough to say anyone was ever alone!! Our Gymnasium at Marina High School was never left with a court wide open with: eight Boy’s Basketball Teams, two Girls Volleyball Teams, and for the first time ever in ACYO Senior history we had two Co-Ed Dodge ball Teams. The Marriot Hotel in Costa Mesa provided our attendees a comfortable and luxurious stay with a good nights sleep for our athletic contenders. We finalized the weekend with an Awards Banquet were we gave acknowledgment to all our Athlete’s, all the Volunteers, Donors and our Church for their love and support!!