Fraternity-Testvériség, 2002 (80. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2002-07-01 / 3. szám
FRATERNITY Page 3 From the President’s Desk Fraternalism at Its Best Join Hands Day, June 15,2002, lingers only in our memories. But our memories are tucked away in the storehouse of our minds for quick recall. This is what I would like to do in this article, reflect back together with the many branches and dedicated members of the Federation on the day when Fra- temalism reached its peak throughout this nation. Join Hands Day is the only national day of service that specifically targets and develops relationships between young people and adults through neighborhood volunteering. Youth and adults work together to plan, organize and implement the day’s activities. Leaders of the Points of Light Foundation, one of the nation’s most recognized leaders in service, were looking for a sponsor. They found one in America’s Fraternal Benefit Societies, namely in the National Fraternal Congress of America (NFCA). With more than 10,000,000 members and over 43,000 chapters, it is one of the largest benevolent associations in the nation. During a more than 150-year history, these various fraternal organizations have provided social, educational and financial help to people of various ethnic, religious and vocational backgrounds. By creating a volunteer day in partnership with the Points of Light Foundation and the Volunteer Center Network, the NFCA offered its manifold organizations and its members for this service. Thus, in 1999 at the 113,h Annual Meeting of the NFCA held in Washington, D.C., the announcement was made for a Join Hands Day. President George W. Bush joyfully greeted the announcement with these words: “Our nation is fortunate to have America’s Fraternal Benefit Societies and people like you to lead us in building a bright future for ourselves, our families and others and being one of what I call a thousand points of light.” In this same year, a Join Hands Day Action Center was established and staffed in Naperville, Illinois, with offices located inside the NFCA. After exhaustive research and evaluation, the name “Join Hands Day” was chosen along with the distinctive logo. The motto, “It starts with us,” shows the strong interest that, from the very beginning, described the interest and service of the benefit societies. From its inception, the day of volunteerism was created to break down the walls that separated the generations. The first Join Hands Day was held on June 17, 2000. According to statistics, about 50,000 individuals, youth and adults, participated in about 3,000 projects in the 48 states. The second Join Hands Day was held in June 16,2001, and had over 70,000 people participating in many thousands of projects throughout the country. Then there was the third Join Hands Day held this year. According to the information available from the NFCA, more than a quarter of a million people, youth and adults, participated in the many thousands of projects nationwide. I cannot express in words how proud I am, as the President of the Federation, to inform you of the part that we played as a sponsoring organization in this year’s event. Our Fraternal Coordinator, Mrs. Teri Pflurn, played an integral part in organizing not only the event here in Washington, D.C., but also in coordinating the events of our branches that participated in this venture. In this issue of Fraternity, there is a full accounting of the branches and activities our organization performed for Join Hands Day. I am truly proud of the participation and hard work of the Home Office Staff, and thank their spouses and families who offered their services in the beautification project of the Brookland School in urban Washington, D.C. I am also grateful to the many sponsoring organizations for their gifts and the volunteers who came and worked hard so our project would be successful. Rev. Stefan M. Torok President/CEO Join Hands Day, June 15, 2002 Brookland Elementary School, Washington, D.C. L. to r.: Rev. Stefan M. Torok, HRFA President/CEO; Ruth Goodwin and her husband, Robert Goodwin, President/CEO Points of Light Foundation; Maxine Lewis, President, Chesapeake Fraternal Congress; and Bobby Polito, Director of Faith Based Community Initiatives.
