On January 14, 1933, which is marked as the founding date of the Armenian Youth Federation, the ARF Central Committee of America decided to create a national youth organization by combining the existing ones and setting up new chapters where such groups did not exist.  After the decision was made an invitation was sent to representatives of interested youth groups in the East Coast to join a conference on Sunday, July 16, 1933, in the old Hairenik Hall in Boston.  The conference was to discuss the unification of the interested youth groups.

Forty youths, from Boston, Brockton, Chelsea, Lawrence, Lynn, Watertown, Whitinsville, and Worchester, were present at the unprecedented conference.  This conference decided to hold a convention in June of 1934, at which time the elections of the first Central Executive of the AYF were to be held.  They also decided the ARF should appoint a committee of seniors to assist the organization for the coming year.

In the 1933-34 fiscal year many new chapters were formed across the country.  It was due to the inspirational teachings of charismatic General Karekin Njdeh that AYF attracted thousands of members and supporters during that one year.

Forty chapters were represented during the first AYF Convention that took place at the Hairenik Hall.  It was decided that the organization was to be named the ARF Tzeghagrons (or young pledges), which was concerned with stopping assimilation and instilling the youth with Armenian pride.  But the main goal remained to work against Kemalist Turkey and Communist Russia for the establishment of a free, independent, and united Armenia.  The Convention also elected the first Central Executive composed of five members.  The members of the Central Executive were Hamparsoum Gelanian, John Der Hovanessian, Hagop Hagopian, Arthur Giragosian and K. Merton Bozoian.

In Canada the first chapter to come into existence was in St-Catherine's, Ontario in 1933.  Until 1974, the A.Y.F. was one organization which included over 50 chapters in three regions: the Eastern American region, the Western American region and the Canadian region.  Each was governed by its own Regional Executive, which in turn was subject to the Central Executive, whose head office was Boston, Mass.  In 1974, the A.Y.F. went an administrative re-structure, which separated the three regions.  Today each has its own Central Executive, subject only to the A.R.F. Central Executives of their region.  During the early eighties, the A.Y.F. in Canada changed its name to A.R.F. Youth Organization of Canada.  Presently the A.R.F. Y.O.C. has eight active chapters in all of major Armenian Communities of the country.