Skip to content
Call Us Today! 212-533-4646 | MON-FRI 12PM - 4PM (EST)
DONATE
SUBSCRIBE
Search for:
About Us
Publications
FAQ
Annual Report 2023
Annual Report 2022
Annual Report 2021
Projects
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:
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
Our Life | Наше життя February | Лютий 2021 5 Marianna Zajac REFLECTIONS FROM THE UNWLA PRESIDENT Welcome to the first 2021 issue of Our Life (January/February)! As we announced late last year, there will be eight issues annually of our newly refreshed and restyled magazine going forward. A very important source of input for this move was the Our Life survey that was either emailed or hard-copied to our members in 2019 (depending on whether or not you had an email address in the UNWLA database; please see pages 32–33 for a summary of the results). The National Executive understood that, in fulfilling its fiscal responsibility to the organization, it was obliged to discover a way to keep our beloved and treasured calling card, Our Life , financially viable. The proposal was shared with our National Board on April 4, 2020. While articles from our branches and regional councils continue to take precedence, the newly restructured Editorial Board will be presenting our readers with new and innovative articles in a new and innovative format. Congratulations to our leadership, which was instrumental in making this forward-thinking decision during the year of the UNWLA’s 95th anniversary! While the pandemic has changed how the UNWLA is functioning, it has not affected our collective strong will and dedication to our organization’s mission, as was exhibited by our 95th anniversary celebration. The extremely well-attended virtual event (over 1,200 computers) took place via Zoom/YouTube on Sunday, December 6 (see our report on pages 6–9). I would like to thank the Organizing Committee (Valentyna Tabaka, Natalia Pawlenko, Iryna Buczkowski, Chrystia Boyko, Orysia Soroka, Kateryna Hrynewycz) for its focus and dedication in planning and executing the event. My thanks also go to Roman Vaskiv, who worked in the “technical” background for months to make the anniversary celebration such a resounding success. I am sure that each of us, no matter how long we’ve been members of the UNWLA, was astounded to actually “see” the magnitude and breadth of the projects of our branches – those branches belonging to regional councils and those that are branches at large. We hear and read reports of our members’ work on an annual basis, but this virtual event allowed us to actually see the lovely, smiling, and sometimes nervous (that’s what being on camera does to some) faces and the pride behind these broad and varied accomplishments. This event, held during the pandemic and its accompanying uncertainty, gifted us the opportunity to walk away with the certainty that the UNWLA is doing great work and will continue to do so! In my keynote address on this occasion, I posed a question that I had also asked on the UNWLA’s 90th anniversary: “Why is it that the UNWLA has continued to live, to thrive?” My proposed response: “Because the UNWLA demonstrates devotion, dedication, patriotism, compassion, sympathy, camaraderie. Because the UNWLA gives its members a sense of belonging, realization, pride, and inseparability. Because the UNWLA is a reflection of the Ukrainian soul, Ukrainian heart, and Ukrainian culture!” The UNWLA’s success, however, did not evolve within a historical vacuum. Since 1925, the UNWLA has been morphing, adjusting to the times – under the leadership of 13 presidents. Each president approached her duties uniquely, with her own special talents enriching the organization. Each president had her own professional and volunteer strengths and used these for the good of the UNWLA. And it is with gratitude that we recall the rich history of the UNWLA built by strong, dedicated, amazing women who were supported by their National Boards and backed by the organization’s membership ... because, after all, our membership is the very backbone of the UNWLA! The goals set by our predecessors, who understood the importance and power of uniting Ukrainian women, have been modified over time, but they remain clear to our members, as well as to the entire diaspora, which has shown strong support for everything we do. And, so, let us move forward ever closer to the UNWLA’s 100th anniversary with pride, innovation, and determination!
Page load link
Go to Top