Armen Oumedian Receives Philanthropy Award

On Friday, October 23, 2015 Grand Rapids Community Foundation will have its annual donor celebration and present the Jack Chaille Community Philanthropy Award to Armen Oumedian, retired senior Vice President of Rapistan.

Oumedian and his late wife Patricia established a Donor Advised Fund at the Community Foundation in 2000 and he has continued to make gifts to the fund each year—increasing its grantmaking capacity. He was an early supporter of the Foundation’s Challenge Scholars program.

“Armen is a delightful and engaged philanthropist—he’s eager to support innovation, STEM and other education efforts and enjoys seeing his donations at work. It’s not unusual to see him at one of our Challenge Scholars schools or at GRCC,” said Diana Sieger, president of Grand Rapids Community Foundation.

Oumedian is an active and hands-on philanthropist with a keen interest in Science, Technology, Education and Math (STEM) education. He’s been a long-time supporter of his alma mater—Kettering University, and of Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC). He’s created and funded a number of programs that encourage innovation and learning, including GRCC’s Armen Awards—which give cash awards to faculty innovation projects. He created a Community Foundation scholarship for students at GRCC and Kettering University. Armen has been a member of the Kettering University Alumni Board and the Porter Hills Communities and Services Board. Oumedian was named the GRCC Alumni of the Year and was also awarded Kettering’s Alumni Service Award.  He’s an avid supporter of the Community Foundation’s Challenge Scholars program and holds the distinction of having attended Harrison Park School, one of the Challenge Scholars schools.

Previous Chaille Award for Community Philanthropy winners include award include Paul Doyle, Kate Wolters, John and Nancy Kennedy, Greg and Meg Willit, John Canepa,  Allan and Claudia Carlson, Tom and Mickie Fox, Fred and Lena Meijer, David Frey, Chuck and  Stella Royce, Shirley Daniels, Richard M. Gillet,  Sr., Patricia Edison, Sam Kravitz, Dirk Hoffius,  James Carpenter and Jack Chaille, for whom the award was named.