2018 marked the 25th anniversary of the FLEX program. Twenty-five years of recruiting, 25 different generations and 1030 young people from Armenia who’ve heard, “Congratulations, you’ve been selected as a FLEX finalist,” on the other end of the phone. Twenty-five years is an occasion that requires a lot of celebration, and so the FLEX alumni community in Armenia did just that.
The FLEX alumni community in Armenia chose to say “Happy Birthday FLEX” by giving back and showing what the program has taught them. After hours of brainstorming and days of planning they settled on implementing the 25 Days of Action. For 25 days in a row, FLEX alumni from different parts of Armenia were going to organize and implement projects, presentations and service activities.
On July 1, 2018 alumni began the campaign at the Pre-Departure Orientation of the 2018-2019 cohort of FLEX students. For the remainder of July, FLEX alumni in Armenia engaged in the following activities:
- Visited orphanages, a kindergarten, and a community home for orphans with mental and physical disabilities;
- Created videos about the FLEX program;
- Organized cleanups;
- Read for children and played with them;
- Gave countless FLEX presentations in different parts of the country;
- Conducted informative workshops;
- Raised money for a chess summer school;
- Volunteered in the Masis Soup Kitchen; and more.
The results speak for themselves: 25 days, 33 events, 231 alumni participants, 675 direct beneficiaries, and at least one event took place in all 10 regions of Armenia and Yerevan. For 25 years, FLEX has been transforming and impacting lives of many students from Armenia and 16 other countries. For 25 days, FLEX Alumni Armenia community tried to expand the scope of that impact.
After an intensive summer, FLEX alumni celebrated their success and the 25th anniversary of the program with their senior alumni at the residence of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, Richard Mills.
Happy 25 years, FLEX!
Written by Gayane Aghabalyan ‘15
