Fraternity-Testvériség, 2005 (83. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2005-10-01 / 4. szám
Page 13 Fraternity- Testvériség Branch News Branch 20 — Trenton, NJ In October, my husband Julius and I were able to make a trip to Florida to meet with the Hungarians in the Sarasota area. National Fraternal Coordinator Judit Zambo and her family offered us great hospitality for our stay, and made sure that we saw as much as possible in the short time we were there. Judit even woke us up early to go running on the beach (well, she and Julius ran, I walked), and it was lovely to be out in the sand before the sun was high and while few people were around. We were invited to a Green Card party, which a woman who had waited more than eight years for a green card was throwing in celebration of finally receiving hers. We met many newly-arrived Hungarians, many with babies and very young children. The food, of course, was plentiful and delicious. The next day, we went to a private home (location was children’s choice, because of the swimming pool there) where Hungarian School was being held. The older children were out on the patio and the younger children in the sunroom, all learning Hungarian. The adults were in the kitchen, learning English. When lessons were over, the fathers watched the children in the pool and the women began learning to make saddlebags. Luckily, there were two expert sewers in the group, and several others with some experience. They were enthusiastic about the project, and kept four boxes of cutout saddlebags to make for nursing homes and hospitals in their area. It appears they may be the second-best group at making saddlebags, after Peggy Fabri’s group in Beaver Falls, PA, which makes over 200 bags a year. As an added bonus, my Hungarian probably improved as much in those three days as it normally does in three or four months. We hope to be able to return sometime to renew acquaintances and possibly get the group interested in other fraternal projects. Another project for which we have had a surprising response is the Appalachian clothing drive. Many people have thoroughly cleaned out their closets in order to donate generously. The New Brunswick branches also have participated on this project by collecting clothing. We thank the Bethlen Home for storing the bags for us until we can get them loaded into a van and taken to West Virginia. November has been a very busy month for Branch 20. We were finishing up the Operation Christmas Child boxes, and had help from the Youth Group, Sunday School Teachers, the contemporary minister, and many others for wrapping. Monday before Thanksgiving we were able to drop off 89 boxes at the church where they were being collected. That was an improvement of 69 boxes over the 20 we managed to send last year. Due to the fact that we started in January and continued with the project all year, we were able to fill the boxes with higher-quality items. During the back-to- school sales, we found 24 packs of crayons for 10 cents one week at Staples, and 9 cents the next week at Office Max, so every shoebox had a box of crayons in it. We found stuffed animals on sale for 49 cents to one dollar, and every box had a stuffed animal. By making notepads, they cost nothing but some time, a little wear and tear on our paper cutter, and a few staples, since we used outdated letterhead for the paper. Anyone who is interested in other ways we found to economize may call me. At the drop-off center, I learned several new things. The most important was that we are not required to use traditional wrapped shoeboxes. Some groups were dropping off plastic shoeboxes! No need to wrap them! The center director told me that they are actually preferred, because the families are using them to carry water and store food. We are already on the lookout for plastic shoeboxes on sale. Also, there was a youth group working at the center. By calling the 800 number early enough, we can schedule our Youth Group to work for a shift, giving
