Zera Construction & Armenian Relief Mission Work Together

PR.com (press release)
June 28 2009

Zera Construction & Armenian Relief Mission Work Together to Recycle a
Playground for Orphaned Armenian Children

Commercial concrete restoration contractor Zera Construction and the
non-profit Armenian Relief Mission have once again joined together,
this time with the Chicago suburb of Wilmette, to disassemble the
village’s used playground set so that it can be sent to Armenia and
rebuilt to benefit orphaned children.

Niles, IL, June 28, 2009 –(PR.com)– Following a process they
initially created a few years ago in suburban Northbrook, volunteers
from Zera Construction and the Armenian Relief Mission disassembled
the town playground in Wilmette to make way for a new one. The
playground parts were then transported by Zera and loaded into a
shipping container along with other donations collected by the
Armenian Relief Mission. The container was then shipped to Armenia,
where a team of volunteers from the U.S. will re-assemble the
playground as part of a visit in October of this year.

The idea to re-use the playground began when the husband and wife team
of Dr. Stephen & Rozik Kashian of Winnetka, who founded the Armenian
Relief Mission in 1998, learned through a friend that a playground in
the suburb of Northbrook was being replaced and slated for
demolition. Uncomfortable with the idea of these playground parts
being thrown into a landfill, and ever-mindful of the plight of
children from their ancestral Armenia, the Kashians called upon Alex
Zera, their friend and chairman of Zera Construction, to see if the
playground could instead be quickly disassembled and shipped to
Armenia. After a brief examination of the equipment, Alex realized
that the skills of his workforceâ??being a leading structural
concrete restoration contractor in Chicagoâ??would lend
themselves nicely for the project, especially as the work had to be
completed within 48 hours of hearing about it. The playground was then
disassembled in a single day, and the parts
were subsequently used to rebuild three new playgrounds in Armenia,
now located at both a clinic and an orphanage in Vanadzor, and at
another orphanage in the capital city, Yerevan.

A former Soviet republic, Armenia borders Turkey to the west and
Georgia to the north. An earthquake in 1988 left up to 75,000 people
dead and 500,000 homeless, and much of the aftermath still plagues the
country today. Armenia’s economy was further devastated when the
Soviet Union pulled out along with much of the country’s industry in
1991. These rebuilt playgrounds give Armenian children a chance to
have fun despite very challenging circumstances.

If you know of a playground in your area that will be replaced soon,
please contact the Armenian Relief Mission so that it too may be used
to benefit Armenian children instead of being thrown into a landfill.

About Armenian Relief Mission

Steve Kashian, a North Shore physician, and his wife, Rozik, created
the Armenian Relief Mission as a registered charity in 1998 to aid
Armenia. Since then, the Mission has secured donations from hundreds
of people around the country and international organizations like
Rotary, and have recruited more than 50 area residents who have
traveled half way around the world to lend a hand in Armenia, some as
many as five times. The charity has twice won national awards from the
Republic of Armenia for its efforts. Their effort is also remarkable
for its long-term commitment to the country.

About Zera Construction

For over 50 years, Zera Construction is a family-owned business that
provides structural concrete restoration and waterproofing services
for parking garages, plazas, stadiums, rooftops, and historical
landmarks. Structural engineers and property managers rely on Zera
Construction to repair damage and implement measures to prevent
corrosion due to water, salt and normal wear & tear, in accordance
with the U.S. Green Building Councilâ??s Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design (LEED).

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Contact Information
Zera Construction
Sean Parnell
773-218-7377
[email protected]

-release/161868

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