Annual General Membership Meeting – May 17, 2009 The Ukrainian Federation of America (UFA) is a not for profit humanitarian organization registered in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and in Ukraine. The Federation’s mission is to enrich and preserve the Ukrainian heritage in the United States and to initiate and develop programs and projects, which benefit our community and the people of Ukraine. The general membership of the Federation elects one third of its board of directors annually and the executive committee and the leadership of the working committees is chosen at the first post-election board meeting. The Federation has 5 on-going programs: Social Service, Health Care, Education, Humanitarian Aid and Information Center/Public Advocacy along with several projects within these programs as well as two special programs, Morgan Williams is Trustee of the Dr. James Mace Memorial Holodomor Fund administered by the Federation and a Business Assistance Program for Ukrainian Business Professionals chaired by Dr. Jim Portwood. In order to be more efficient and more productive, an important focus of attention of the Federation’s work this year was the restructuring of several key aspects of the organization. Government grants are not a reliable source of financial support. This year especially, most non-profit organizations have had their funding substantially reduced or rejected. Under the leadership of Marko Malyj, the UFA Development Committee conducted extensive research and developed a strategy for pursuing private sector funding. At the same time, it became evident that our financial reporting needed to be more grantor-friendly. This required our financial sector to spend countless hours of work in order to start the transfer of records of prior years to a new format. The Federation also aggressively began work on the next level of development of our website with professional assistance. The overall goal is to make the website more informative, attractive, user-friendly and interactive. At this time, several of the new website features are still under construction. We are also exploring other avenues of disseminating information using the internet to reach a wider and younger audience. An important aspect of the Federation’s work is our interaction with the non-Ukrainian community. During these uncertain times in Ukraine, it is vital that a good image of Ukraine and the Ukrainian community be present in the public arena. Our Information Center/Public Advocacy program devotes considerable effort to maintaining and developing good, cooperative relationships with non-Ukrainian organizations and government entities. Our work in Washington gives us an opportunity to participate in briefings and meetings with high level U.S. and Ukrainian government officials and diplomats. Among the briefings that we attended on the current state of affairs in Ukraine were presented by Oleh Rybachuk, former Chef of Staff for President Yushchenko and Hryhori Nemyra, Vice-Prime Minister of Ukraine. We regularly meet with representatives on local, state and federal levels of our government and provide them with issue-oriented information on behalf of our community and Ukraine. As part of the steering committee of the Coalition on a Secure and Democratic Ukraine, we are presently working on the revitalizing of the United States – Ukraine Bi-national Commission, which became known as the Kuchma-Gore Bi-national Commission and on a possible visit of several members of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus to Ukraine this summer including its very active co-chair, congressman Jim Gerlach. We also participate in the planning and the presenting of first-class cultural events, showcasing the best of the Ukrainian heritage in world-class theater venues that are accessible to a wider, non-Ukrainian audience. On Saturday, June 27, 2009 the Federation once more partners with the Voloshky, Ukrainian Dance Ensemble in presenting another “Steppes” Concert. This year’s recipient of the Steppes to Liberty Awards is Ruslana. She will be recognized for her humanitarian work on behalf of Ukrainian orphans and for her dedicated work for flood victims in western Ukraine last summer. The concert will feature violinist Vasyl Popadiuk and his ensemble—Papa Duke. Invited to the concert and reception by the Federation will be those physicians who provided free medical care for Ukrainian children and those specialists, who accepted Ukrainian medical professionals for internships. Please join us in sponsoring the tickets for these doctors and their spouses as a show of our community’s gratitude for their generosity. Your support and presence will make this cultural event a success. The Social Service program is chaired by Marijka Tatunchak, MSW. Last June, the state funding for our Social Service information and referral office expired. For ten months, we existed on a bare bones budget and were forced to scale down our hours of operation to four days a week. The office was staffed by only one part-time worker and assisted by volunteers. Recently, we received a grant from Montgomery County which enables us to re-start our Social Service program. Presently, we are developing a program for home visits and interpreter services that are necessary throughout the social service delivery process. We will implement a Needs Assessment project which will locate vulnerable elderly in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and, especially, the isolated at-home elderly. The assessment will enable us to provide contact and services to this language and home-bound population. As funding will be limited during these difficult financial times, the Federation is looking to partner with other local government agencies in order to provide more direct service for our community. In September 2009, our Social Service office plans to present a professionally conducted five-part Informational Seminar Series that will bring much needed health, legal and overall financial information to a large group of senior citizens. We invite you to attend the Series, which will be presented free of charge. The Federation’s Health Care program, chaired by Dr. Zenia Chernyk accesses the U.S. medical community for assistance in its various projects. It arranges medical internships for Ukrainian students and develops informational programs. Dr. Chernyk participates in medical seminars (Distance Learning) via the internet in order to bring the latest western medical information to Ukrainian medical professionals. Last year, the Health Care program initiated the “Nasha Rodyna” project which addresses the needs of patients afflicted with Multiple Sclerosis and their overburdened families. In summer 2008, Bohdanna Yudina, the director of this project, organized a highly successful specialized retreat-camp in the beautiful Carpathian Mountains for several of these children. “Nasha Rodyna” is working in conjunction with the local and National Multiple Sclerosis Foundation in an effort to organize international conferences and fundraising events. The Health Care program also continues to provide Ukrainian children with specialized medical care at our best facilities. In order to understand the complexities involved in bringing a Ukrainian child to the USA for medical treatment, Dr. Chernyk will present a short case study of little Nikita who is presently receiving such care. TThe Humanitarian Aid program, chaired by Walter Maruschak, often intersects with the UFA Education program. In October 2008, the Kobzar Society, chaired by Orest Hanas, transferred its successful 8 year “Computers for Ukraine” program to the Federation. To date, 170 refurbished Pentium 4 computer systems have been purchased and will be distributed to underprivileged children and youth in Ukraine. This program also organized two Green Day recycling events with the cooperation of the UECC and TBS Industries collecting used computers and other electronic equipment to provide additional funding for this project. The Federation’s Education program is chaired by Prof. Volodymyr Bandera. This program translates and publishes textbooks and key publications into Ukrainian and distributes them to schools, libraries and other institutions. Recently, the Federation helped to distribute a recently published, "Symon Petliura and the Jews - A Reappraisal", authored by Dr. Taras Hunczak. Several books and publications on the Holodomor have also been funded through the program this year. As part of its Business Assistance Program for Ukrainian Business Professionals, in October 2008 the Federation hosted a 16 member Ukrainian Greenhouse Association for a two week U.S. study visit. The delegation of business owners and top managers had an opportunity to meet and interact with department of agriculture heads and faculty members of the Delaware Valley College, Pennsylvania State University and the University of Toledo in Ohio and agribusiness professionals in four states. They participated in round table discussions and site visits which included viewing greenhouses of their U.S. counterparts as well as experimental forays of university researchers. The delegation forged relationships for future interaction with several institutions and private businesses. Presently, we are in the process of planning a second visit which will also include viewing Canadian greenhouses as the climate of both countries is similar. The Greenhouse project required a great deal of planning and co-ordination. Beside the educational aspect of the project, it was also our responsibility to find lodging and transportation for 16 persons in several cities and four states. The project proved highly successful and we look forward to the return visit. /p> The Federation was assisted in this project by the Trade and Economic Mission of the Embassy of Ukraine, Pennsylvania State University, Delaware Valley College, University of Toledo, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, Congressman Jim Gerlach, Global Trade Development, The Washington Group, the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council, Ukrainian Museum and Archives in Cleveland, U.S-Ukraine Foundation, UECC, Tryzub-Ukrainian American Sport Center as well as several private individuals. In 2010, a national census will be conducted. It is a short form that asks only a few simple questions. Taken every 10 years the census defines who we are as a nation. It affects our political representation and directs the distribution of billions of dollars in government funding. More than $300 billion in federal funds is awarded to states and communities based on the information provided by the census. More detailed information will be collected on a long form annually from a small segment of the population by the American Community Survey. Based on prior statistics, five groups of people will be able to obtain the 2010 census short form in their native languages: Korean, Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Russian. The Ukrainian Federation will partner with the U. S. Census Bureau to assist in reaching our community. It is critically important to fill out the form properly, after answering the question on race – please write the word UKRAINIAN when asked for OTHER identification. Your co-operation will affect the funding that our community is allocated. We will be providing you with additional information as the schedule for the census progresses. As our term of service on this board of directors ends, we wish to thank the Federation members and friends for their trust and support. We have begun important projects and there exist new ideas that we are anxious to explore. We ask for your continued assistance and support. Together we can make great strides for our community and for Ukraine.
Vera M. Andryczyk (Updated 6/22/2009)
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