Skip to content
Call Us Today! 212-533-4646 | MON-FRI 12PM - 4PM (EST)
DONATE
SUBSCRIBE
Search for:
About Us
UNWLA 100
Publications
FAQ
Annual Report 2023
Annual Report 2022
Annual Report 2021
Initiatives
Advocate
Educate
Cultivate
Care
News
Newsletters
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Join UNWLA
Become a Member
Volunteer With Us
Donate to UNWLA
Members Portal
Calendar
Shop to Support Ukraine
Search for:
Print
Print Page
Download
Download Page
Download Right Page
Open
1
2-3
4-5
6-7
8-9
10-11
12-13
14-15
16-17
18-19
20-21
22-23
24-25
26-27
28-29
30-31
32-33
34-35
36-37
38-39
40
trials and tribulations of Taras Shevchenko, Ivan Franko, and Lesya Ukrainka. I absorbed all this while learning about other cultures. I believed then, and still believe, that every Ukrainian American has an inherited responsibility to preserve his or her ethnic identity. Thus, as a teenager, I became actively engaged in the activities of the Ukrainian Civic Center, an organization of young girls from Ukrainian families, which met at the International Institute of the local YWCA in New York City. As the name implies, the Interna tional Institute catered to many ethnic groups, and the Ukrainian Civic Center planned and hosted programs there, such as out traditional Sviat Vechir and Sviachene. I also became a member of the Ukrainian Youth League of North America, a group of men and women of Ukrainian descent from a cross- section of the country. It was our aim to educate the public, through cultural programs, about our fore fathers’ customs and traditions that we had pre served and, at the same time, serve our communities with the enthusiasm and vigor of true Americans. As the years passed, the one organization I especially wanted to join was the Ukrainian Na tional Women’s League of America, mainly because my mother was a pioneer member. She was my role model, and her reports of the work of the organiza tion was doing greatly inspired me. The Ukrainian National Women’s League of America, a wholly independent women’s organi zation, is endowed with a firm base of established ideals and values, coupled with creativity, leader ship, tenacity, and flexibility. It is these charac teristics that have allowed the UNWLA to con sistently step forward as a pioneer on both inter national and local levels in providing financial assistance, scholarships, medical aid, and social services where needed. In doing so, the organization has made its mark in various parts of the world. In existence for more than 60 years, the UNWLA has achieved much, but there is still more to be done as I found during a recent trip to Ukraine. How proud I felt, and yet how sad, at the moment I placed flowers at the gravesite of Taras Shevchenko as the strains of his famous “Testa ment” played on the nearby sound system. Vivid memories of my childhood and all that I had learned about the great bard came to mind. In my visits to Temopil and Kyiv, I especially noted the intense russification and sup pression of all that is Ukrainian. Since language is a strong part of national identity, I would urge those of you who do not know Ukrainian to learn the language no matter what your age bracket, and to foster the study of our language in others. By all means encourage the enrollment of your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren in the pre schools established by the UNWLA, and give them the pride of knowing another language. The Ukrainian Museum in New York also merits everyone’s support because it preserves our priceless heritage. The museum continuously draws visitors from all over the world through well- publicized articles in the news media, and if we are to continue perpetuating our historical past, we must give our museum the financial and moral support it rightly deserves. Fundraising events for the benefit of the Ukrainian Museum in New York are of great importance, and we urge you to consider organizing such events. The UNWLA’s involvement with the Na tional Council of Women/USA and with the General Federation of Women’s Clubs has provided our organization with the opportunity to tell the other member organizations of the plight of the Ukrainian people, about our own unforgettable holocaust—the 1932-1933 Great Famine—and about the more recent nuclear disaster at Chomobyl. We must never let the world forget the hardships Ukraine has endured. My membership in the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America has not only given me lifelong friendships but has also been a vast learning experience. In fact, I have the best of two worlds and this has made me not only a better American but a better Ukrainian as well. I am glad that my parents made the decision to come to this great country where freedom of speech is enjoyed by all. I know I am not alone in feeling the “right to be proud.” From a speech delivered by the late Rosalie Polche at a UNWLA Convention. A member of UNWLA Branch 72, Mrs. Polche passed away in 1997.
Page load link
Go to Top
1 
2-3 
4-5 
6-7 
8-9 
10-11 
12-13 
14-15 
16-17 
18-19 
20-21 
22-23 
24-25 
26-27 
28-29 
30-31 
32-33 
34-35 
36-37 
38-39 
40 
