Hungarian American Coalition News, 2008 (16. évfolyam, 1. szám)
2008 / 1. szám
American Hungarian Foundation Remarks by August J. Molnár, President Founded in 1954, the American Hungarian Foundation is devoted to furthering the understanding and appreciation of the Hungarian cultural and historical heritage in the United States. Through grants, special events, lectures, educational scholarships, and exhibitions, the American Hungarian Foundation supports students and educational institutions. During the past five decades, the Foundation has promoted fellowships, scholarships, publications, research, and educational programs. It has been instrumental in establishing several academic programs focusing on Hungarian studies, such as the Institute for Hungarian Studies at Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey. The Foundation's mission is to communicate the story of American Hungarians through the facilities of the Hungarian Heritage Center, which is the only Hungarian research center of its type in the United States. The traditions and contributions of American Hungarians are documented and preserved as important collections and shared with the general public. As a premier institution for Hungarians in the United States, the Heritage Center provides space and equipment for the proper display and use of the Foundation's rich and diverse collections. The Center's main areas are: the Museum; the Library of more than 60,000 volumes, the Archives; and the Museum Gift and Craft Shop. Additional space within the facility provides for meetings and small conferences, research and reading, special exhibits, and community service groups. For more information, please visit: http://www.ahfoundation.org Hungarian Reformed Federation of America Remarks by Leslie László Megyeri, Secretary/Treasurer Let me say a few words about our Hungarian Reformed Federation of America located in this building. We are a fraternal life insurance society over 112 years old. Our Charter was signed by President Teddy Roosevelt. We are a $20 million tax exempt society with about 12,000 members. Our purpose is to maintain and support the religious, cultural and language tradition of Hungarians in America. The funds we generate from the sales of our life insurance and annuity products we use to support ethnic Hungarian churches, clubs, and scholarships. We host Hungarian language classes here and numerous receptions. We receive several delegations from Hungary and important leaders such as Ibolya David, President of the Hungarian Democratic Forum and others. Unfortunately, our membership declines by about 500 a year while we gain only 150 new members per year. Twenty years ago, we had 40,000 members. So, we need to reverse this membership decline. Our insurance products are good. For example our juvenile term policy is only $17.50 per year for $10,000. Where can one get $10,000 worth of assets for only $17.50? Please contact me and join our Federation so that we can survive for another 100 years. For more information, please visit: http://www.hrfa.org Hungarian Cultural Society of Connecticut Remarks by Dr. Balazs Somogyi, President The Wallingford Hungarian Reading Circle was to become the forerunner of the Hungarian Cultural Society of Connecticut (HCSC). Beginning in the midseventies, members of he Circle started to meet at monthly intervals. We congregated regularly to read together in a group setting: some members were better at it than others, but good camaraderie and good will always prevailed. In July of 1989, our organization was registered with the State of Connecticut, as the Hungarian Cultural Society of Connecticut. We had provided assistance, frequently in an “ad hoc” fashion, to construction projects of churches, kindergartens, schools and colleges in Transylvania, Slovakia and Trans-Carpathia. We had also initiated financial support of the Posonium Publishing House in Pozsony. We had succeeded in installing 100 parabolic antenna systems in remote Hungarian communities of Transylvania and the Partium, in order to provide the means for members of these communities to enjoy the broadcasts by Duna Televízió. By the early part of the new century, we had become more focused in our charitable activities: we had realized that promoting educational endeavors was to become our most important objective. Accordingly, in 2003 we established a system of educational grants for Hungarian high school students in Transylvania and the Partium. A year ago, we initiated a new 2 - June 2008 - Hungarian American Coalition
