Interview with Zaur Mamedov and Olessia Grinevitch, some of Mirvari’s forefront fundraisers and organizers of the immensely popular Baku Sunset series of exclusive Boston parties. (Reprint from Mirvari’s Newsletter)
How did you get involved in supporting Mirvari’s activities?
Our involvement in charity work in Azerbaijan started in 2003 via small donations to an orphanage but we had always wanted to help on a larger scale. In the winter of 2008 we found out about MIF and decided that we would like to donate to a Mirvari charity project “You Made Me Smileâ€. We could have made a personal donation but we felt that getting more people involved in this project would be more effective. Thus, we decided to host a Novruz Bayram charity event in Boston, which would attract not only local Azeris but also some of the locals and people from various local communities and organizations. In March, we hosted our first event, benefitting MIF, and it was a very successful Novruz celebration/charity fundraiser event.
What motivates you to actively support charitable activities in Azerbaijan?
Charity work and helping out those in need was always part of our main goals in life. We feel that it is just a natural part of life and we chose Azerbaijan simply because we know about that country more than any other and have very reliable friends there who are always ready to lend a helping hand. Another reason for choosing Azerbaijan was due to lack of involvement and lack of knowledge of that particular part of the world by Western societies. Not many Western charity organizations were present in Azerbaijan at that time and we felt like it was a land of forgotten people even though many of them were in desperate need of outside help.
Given that you are both very busy, how do you find time be involved in fundraising and charitable activities?
Both of us have full-time jobs. At times it gets tough juggling the event/fundraiser planning and our regular daytime jobs. But after coming home from work, there is always at least 5 hours, which can be dedicated to a good cause rather than just spending time watching TV. Plus, there are always free weekends.
What’s the secret of your success? You were among very few people who are not only contributing personally, but were able to motivate other people. In addition, the majority of people who attend your events are Americans. How do they react to the events related to Azerbaijan?
Passion and love for what you are doing is the key. Another major key is a support. We support each other no matter what. Not just with words of encouragement but with concrete actions. Each successful event comes with a lot of hard work, patience and persistence. It is impossible to satisfy everyone, so we chose our niche and now concentrate on what we do best: deliver the best quality with consistency, do it with a sincere passion and whoever enjoys our work sticks with us, follows our events and becomes part of the Baku Sunset family.
Loading ...
