Thank You Kansas – Near East Relief
For your unwavering support and unprecedented generosity in donating to Near East Relief’s humanitarian efforts, Kansas, We Thank You!
As we travel across the country, LA2DC is honoring the accomplishments of individuals and organizations doing the difficult work of genocide and mass atrocity detection and prevention, and providing survivor relief. Among the first to mobilize Americans to rescue victims of the Armenian Genocide was the group Near East Relief, now known as Near East Foundation.
Kansas was a staunch supporter of Near East Relief.
Kansas participated in the Near East Relief’s Christmas Appeal in 1921 and raised an incredible sum of $23,725 in donations from generous supporters.
Kansas participated in the great Corn Campaign initiated in 1921 alongside Iowa, Nebraska and Illinois.
Kansas farmers collectively donated 413 car loads of corn and in addition contributed $60,000 for the purchase of additional corn to be purchased at market price. Additionally, it was noted that donors can be shown that every bushel of the corn reached the mouths of those for whom it was intended. These gifts saved the lives of thousands of hunger-stricken Armenian orphans.
October 29, 1922 was declared Near East Day for the churches of Lawrence, Kansas. Pastors of the city told of the condition of Smyrna and the need for money to keep millions of starving people from being wiped out by poverty.
The Near East Relief motion picture, “Alice in Hungerland” was screened at the Methodist Church in Lawrence, Kansas. “Alice in Hungerland” is a story about an Armenian orphan adopted by a New York family who returns to Armenia and visits the orphanages to deliver donated food and clothing. The movie was filmed in Armenia starring the Armenian orphan herself and helped raise awareness among local residents about the plight and suffering of the Armenians, particularly the rescued orphan children who were in dire need of clothing, food and shelter.
The Near East Relief movement literally saved the Armenian nation from total annihilation.
LA2DC is organized and supported by Americans of all backgrounds and faiths and Armenian-Americans who believe that it’s time to eliminate genocide as a war tactic. On the centennial of the first large-scale genocide of the 20th century, LA2DC demands recognition and prevention of such atrocities and calls on world leaders to stop future genocides.
