Basilian Sisters plan fund-raiser for chapel and Spirituality Center (09/07/97)

Basilian Sisters plan fund-raiser for chapel and Spirituality Center

FOX CHASE MANOR, Pa. - The Sisters of St. Basil the Great will host the first major fund-raising event for the Basilian Chapel/Spirituality Center on September 26.

The Basilian Spirituality Center Honors Banquet will honor those who have distinguished themselves in their chosen field and have generously given of their time and resources over the years to support the Sisters and the Ukrainian community.

The categories of honors include those who have exemplified themselves in the fields of business, education, the media, politics, sports and religion. A volunteer honor and a special memorial honor also will be presented at his time.

Receiving the honor in religion is Josyp Terelya of Toronto, a noted religious activist. Born in the Carpathian Mountains of western Ukraine, Mr. Terelya joined the dissident political and religious freedom movement in Ukraine.

Imprisoned by the Soviet KGB for his allegiance to Ukraine and the outlawed Eastern-rite Ukrainian Catholic Church, he endured years of degradation and torture at the hands of his captors. Mr. Terelya's faith and perseverance resulted in his being described as a "living martyr."

In the field of education, Dr. Leonid Rudnytzky of Melrose Park, Pa., will receive the Basilian Spirituality Center Honor. Dr. Rudnytzky, president of the Shevchenko Scientific Society in the U.S., is a professor of Germanic and Slavic literatures at La Salle University in Philadelphia. His publications include numerous studies on contemporary Ukrainian literature and 20th century Ukrainian Church history.

Melanne Starinshak Verveer of Washington, will be honored that evening for her distinguished service in the field of politics. Ms. Verveer, who is assistant to President Bill Clinton and chief of staff to first lady, has accompanied the Hilary Rodham Clinton on goodwill missions around the world and was a member of the delegation that accompanied President Clinton in Ukraine in 1995. Ms. Verveer, whose grandparents were born in Ukraine, attended Transfiguration Ukrainian School and St. Mary's Villa run by the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate, a Ukrainian religious order.

The sports honor will be posthumously presented to Walter Chyzowych for his distinguished career in soccer. Mr. Chyzowych, who died in 1994, was one of America's most prominent soccer coaches and a collegiate soccer legend. In January, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Mr. Chyzowych's brother, Ihor Chyzowych of Rydal, Pa., will accept the honor in his brother's name.

For distinguished service in the field of business, the executive committee of the Basilian Spirituality Center chose Joseph Garvey of Philadelphia. Mr. Garvey, a businessman whose daughter attends St. Basil Academy, a private girl's high school founded by the Basilian Sisters in 1931, is being honored for his significant contributions in supporting the development efforts of the academy.

Marie Hanusey of Philadelphia is the recipient of the media honor. Ms. Hanusey is the host of the "Ukrainian Hour" radio program which airs issues of interest to the Ukrainian community in Philadelphia. The program, which has been on the air for more than 20 years, was founded by Mary Hanusey, Ms. Hanusey's mother.

A special memorial award will be presented to the family of Ann Palczuk Harris of Willow Grove, Pa. Mrs. Harris, an active member of the Basilian Spirituality Center Capital Campaign Committee, died on April 21. A retired teacher, she was named Ukrainian American commissioner for the Pennsylvania Heritage Commission and served on the boards of the Ukrainian Educational and Cultural Center, the Ukrainian National Choir and the Ukrainian Professional Society Advisory Board.

The Basilian Spirituality Center Honors Banquet will be held Friday, September 26, at 7 p.m. at the Celebrations banquet facility in Bensalem, Pa. In addition to the banquet and honors ceremony, there will be dancing to the Adonis Orchestra.

Tickets can be purchased for $75 per person from: Development Department, Sisters of St. Basil the Great, 710 Fox Chase Road, Fox Chase Manor, PA 19046. All proceeds from the banquet will be used towards the building of the Basilian Chapel/Spirituality Center, the first of its kind in the country.

For more information on the center and the honors banquet contact Linda Elia Koch at (215) 379-0628.

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