A BRIEF HISTORY OF ASAAD ABOOD FOUNDATION
By Mr. Henry Creidy , Attorney of the “Asaad Abood Foundation”
Assad Abood a native of Aitanit, Lebanon, emigrated to the United States and became a successful entrepreneur. He was not blessed with children. However, he never forgot his native village and its children. With this in mind, he established a school in Aitanit, initially in a small house in the village. Fortunately, he was able to pay for this and support the school himself. Not only did he established and fund the school, he traveled regularly to Aitanit and continued to personally supervise all activities.
To insure the continuation of the school in perpetuity, he established the Assad Abood Foundation, Inc. a membership corporation under the laws of the State of New York, USA on April 19, 1947. The foundation owns and operates the school.
The foundation charter provides for the following purposes:
“To give assistance and support by voluntary donations and contributions to worthy and needy persons and causes, and to organizations, both within and without the United States, and for such purposes to receive voluntary donations, bequests, real and personal property.”
The original subscribers of the Charter and the original Directors were:
Assad Abood
John Trabulsi
Dr. Hazimi S. Rasi
John Sada
George C. Dagher
The first Officers off the foundation were the following:
Assad Abood President and Treasurer
John Sada Arabic Secretary
George C. Dagher English Secretary
Dr. Hazimi S. Rasi Vice-President
John Trabulsi Vice-President
Not only did Mr. Abood fund the initial expenses of the school building and operation, he agreed to create a trust in his Will for the benefit of the school.
It was agreed that the charitable and educational activities of the foundation would be confined principally to the people of Aitanit and its children. In the event of any surplus funds, they could be used for scholarship for students of the entire region of Aitanit.
Mr. Abood arranged with the Antonine Sisters to supervise and manage the school. The Sisters continue to date to be at the school in the same capacity. The school however is non-sectarian and accepts students of all faiths.
In order to protect the assets and income of the foundation, an application was made to the Internal Revenue Service of the United States for tax-exempt status, upon the ground that the foundation was a charitable and educational institution. The Internal Revenue Service approved the application and granted the foundation tax-exempt status. Because of this, persons of good will who give donations to the foundation are permitted to take all donations as deductions on their income tax returns.
The following is a list of the many prominent citizens of the United States of Lebanese descent who served or are serving as officers and directors of the foundation:
Assad Abood
Dr. Hazimi S. Rasi
George C. Dagher
John Trabulsi
John Sada
Khalil S. Najim
Attorney Henry Creidy
Mrs. Assad Abood (Shahraban)
Richard Keneevan of Chase Manhattan Bank
Clemence Khoury
Raymond P. Phillips
David G. Rahal
Joseph F. El-Haj
Albert Barsa
Attorney Eugene J. Kalil
John Abood
Maurice Najim
Toufic N. Abood
Dr, Naef K. Basile
Hafiz Abood, DDS
Richard Habboush
Maroun Daher
Attorney Joyce Creidy
Charbel Kairouz
Alia C. El-Asmar
During his lifetime, Assad Abood recognized that the original school building was too small for the growing student population and he built at his own expense the new school house to supplement the first building. The new school house is a modern building, with modern facilities and appointments. It also contains a modern apartment for the living quarters of the Sisters.
After the death of Mr. Abood in 1996, the Board of Directors enlarged the new building by adding an additional floor. This permitted the school to separate the grammar classes from the high classes as is required by the Ministry of Education of Lebanon.
Over the years, the student body increased and at present we have an average of 435 students, each year. Actually many other children seek to enter our school. Unfortunately we are unable to accept any more.
Asaad Abood died in New York in 1996. His remains were transferred to Lebanon and his enterment took place in a beautiful mausoleum on the hillside at the portals of Aitanit.
In his will, probated in the Surrogate’s Court, Westchester County, New York State, USA. Mr. Abood left his entire estate in trust, and appointed the Chase Manhattan Bank as Trustee. The trust provided that one half of the income be paid to Mrs. Shahraban Abood his surviving wife during her lifetime and the other half to the Foundation. Upon the death of Mrs. Abood, the trust provided for the entire income to go to the Foundation.
Mrs. Shahraban Abood served on the Board of Directors until her death in 1985.
The Foundation School is under the supervision of the Minister of Education of Lebanon and is regularly inspected. Our students are required to take the government exams to graduate. We are proud to say that our students have a very high percentage of success on the examinations.
In 1974, the Foundation celebrated its silver anniversary. Great festivities were held in Aitanit. A high mass was celebrated in the Church next door to the school, followed by an assembly at the school, attended by many dignitaries of Lebanese Government, including the Minister of Education, Edmund Rizk, Ambassador Edmond Khayat of the Foreign Ministry, Michel Malouly, Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Henriette Raphael , Mother General of the Antonine Sisters, General Alexander Ghanim, head of the Armed Forces of Lebanon, many Clergy from the United States and Lebanon and many persons from the U.S. , among them Kalil S. Najim, President of the Foundation , Attorney Henry Creidy , Secretary Dr, Naef K. Basile, Treasurer , and Mrs. Sharaban Abood , Vice-President . After the assembly at the School, a great banquet was held at Chalet du Lac, overlooking the Litani Lake.
The Foundation School is a non-sectarian and accepts students from Aitanit and the surrounding villages. Scholarships are granted each year to a limited number of students who graduate the school. For the past several years, David G. Rahal, has donated each year $ 5,000.00 U.S. for scholarship in memory of his late wife.
Under the Laws of the State of New York, the Attorney General of the State supervises the activities of all foundations. The Assad Abood Foundation, Inc. files a report with the Attorney General, with details of its activities for the year, together with a copy of the U.S. Internal Revenue Tax Return. The Foundation also files the Tax Return with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, each year, even though it does not pay taxes because it was granted tax exemption.
The Foundation employs the following professionals:
Parker & Parker, CPA’s
Accounts for the Foundation
And
Ferris, Adams & Creidy, Esqs.
Attorneys for the Foundation
Each year, the Board of Directors sends money to the School for operations, maintenance, repairs and modernization, and received in return from the School, details of all expenditures. To date many improvements have been made in the curriculum with modern equipment including computers. The teaching staff consists only of lay teachers. The Foundation is structured in such a way as to remain in perpetuity and to continue the operation of the School in Aitanit.
The foundation at present in sunder the supervision of the following Officers:
Mr. Maroun Daher, of Mentor, Ohio President
Attorney Henry Creidy of New York Secretary & Treasurer
It maintains its offices at:
Ferris, Adams & Creidy
18 East 41st Street
New York, N.Y. 10017
Tel: (212)532-33834- fax: (212) 532-383
This article was written by Attorney Henry Creidy and was published in the “Assad Abood Foundation” special publication.
© All rights reserved to the author and the Assad Abood Foundation.
Edited and posted on the net by Ramzi G. Selouan ([email protected])
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