Volunteering is the glue that binds our communities

Published: Saturday December 22, 2007

At the closing ceremony of Homenetmen Western Region’s Navasartian Games, July 7, 2007, Cristapor Kassamanian, a cub scout from the Las Vegas Artsakh chapter, salutes the flag.  . Helena Gregorian

One of the most striking and beautiful things about Armenian-American life is the amount of volunteer work done by thousands upon thousands of people in communities large and small. The volunteers are the community.

They bake and they roll grape leaves. They coach soccer and they stand in front of hot coals keeping an eye on skewers of succulent lamb or chicken kebob. They bring their wisdom, experience, and good judgment to interminable meetings. They drive kids to camp and they pass the plate at church. They prepare lectures and they design flyers. They mix drinks and they sell tickets. They sing and they dance. They scrub floors and they negotiate with concert halls.

People often say we need to be more professional. And, yes, in many instances we need people with special skills to devote full-time efforts to our community institutions. But the community is not a for-profit business. It is the volunteers who lead it, and who make it tick.

The occasion for these reflections is a sad and disturbing story that has been roiling a segment of the community in the Eastern United States and is now becoming public. A grand jury has entered an indictment against a former member of the Board of Directors of the Homenetmen Eastern Region, accusing him of stealing $120,000 from the organization.

Athletes who had paid to go to Athens for Homenetmen's World Games in July 2005 found that they had no tickets. There was disbelief, outrage, misery, heartbreak - and a referral to the Massachusetts Attorney General's Public Charities Division.

The indictment raises many questions that have yet to be answered. It claims that the accused man was confronted about missing funds in early 2005, returned $20,000 in February 2005, and took money again between May and August. Why did he have continued access to those funds? Where was the collective oversight?

These are questions for the court and for the organization to sort out.

Meanwhile, should we change the way we operate as a community?

Across the United States there are hundreds if not thousands of bank accounts holding community funds. They are controlled by presidents and treasurers, whose work is supervised by boards, audited by volunteer audit committees - and in the case of larger organizations, by reputable auditing firms - and reviewed by members in periodic membership meetings.

Though the boards and auditors and members are generally diligent, the wonderful thing about the community is that we can trust the friends to whom we entrust responsibility.

Yes, we must be vigilant in our roles: in so doing not only do we protect our organizations' assets (and chief among them, the trust of supporters), but we also protect each other from suspicion and unwarranted accusations.

But, no, we should not panic and do away with the mutual trust and fraternalism that is the binding glue of our community life.

Let's remember the scores of dedicated men and women who came before us and instilled in us the spirit of volunteerism. Their devotion - and that of every one of us who volunteers - has paved and continues to pave the way for the development of our communities and helps us and our children retain and redefine our heritage.

At this joyous time of year, as we reflect on family and friends and everything that is important to us, let us remember our affection for our community and our love of Armenia.

In the Christmas spirit and going into the New Year, let's resolve to give generously of ourselves in 2008.