EDITORIAL: One hundred six (02/20/00)

EDITORIAL

One hundred six

One hundred six years ago, the oldest and largest Ukrainian fraternal-benefit insurance institution in the world, the Ukrainian National Association, was established in Shamokin, Pa. It was the first association to organize Ukrainian immigrants in the United States and strengthen their national consciousness, both as Ukrainians and as Americans. The UNA is also the oldest Ukrainian fraternal organization in Canada, where the first branches were founded in 1904.

The UNA has played many roles during more than a century of activity. It has been a patron of the arts, supporter of Ukrainian causes, charitable organization, as well as a promoter of sports.

A glance at a listing of UNA donations to various causes, projects and programs through the decades reveals its multi-faceted good works: in 1902 to Ukrainian students in Lviv; in 1908 to assist the noted Ukrainian writer Ivan Franko; in 1912-1914 for education in Austro-Hungarian ruled western Ukraine; in 1920 for Ukrainian invalids in Prague; in 1923 for post-war orphans in Halychyna; in 1930 for Plast on western Ukrainian lands ...

In later years, we see donations to Ukrainian schools in the United States, teachers in Canada, churches, museums, publications, community organizations, youth groups, scholarly societies, veterans, performing ensembles, not to mention such great national causes as the United Ukrainian American Relief Committee, the Shevchenko monument in Washington, the Ukrainian Studies Fund, the World Congress of Free Ukrainians and the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine.

In fact, during the period of 1902-1999, UNA donations and sponsorship amounted to more than $7 million.

But the UNA did more than facilitate; it also played the role of leader in our community. Its Ukrainian Heritage Defense Committee stands ready to defend the good Ukrainian name against defamation, as in the recent case of "The Ugly Face of Freedom" aired by CBS's "60 Minutes." Its Fund for the Rebirth of Ukraine was instrumental in many projects providing assistance to the newly independent state, including the establishment of the Kyiv Press Bureau utilized by this newspaper. And its Ukrainian National Foundation was established to "aid charitable, educational, cultural and educational institutions and provide assistance to the needy."

The UNA is perhaps best known as the publisher of two newspapers - Svoboda and The Ukrainian Weekly. And, it is the owner of the ever-popular Soyuzivka resort in the scenic Catskill Mountains of New York. It offers programs for youths, such as college scholarships, and cares for its senior members. In addition, the organization offers its members mortgage loans and other low-cost loans, provides mortgages for churches and other institutions supported by UNA members, and extends financial assistance to ill and indigent members. The UNA's insurance professionals can also offer advice on financial and estate planning.

To top it all off, this amazing organization - which some incorrectly misconstrue as merely an insurance company - functions as a true democracy, with each and every member having a voice in the organization and input into determining its direction. UNA members can be active on the branch or district level, and they can be elected as delegates to the organization's quadrennial conventions at which UNA officers are elected.

As this exemplary organization entered the new millennium, the UNA announced, just weeks before its 106th birthday, that it had introduced new rates on insurance, featuring premiums that are 20 to 40 percent lower, as well as new insurance plans and annuities - all in response to the changing needs of its members (see The Weekly, February 6). So, now more than ever, there is a reason to join the ranks of what can properly be described as the largest Ukrainian organization in the world.

As underlined in its Mission Statement, "The Ukrainian National Association exists: to promote the principles of fraternalism; to preserve the Ukrainian, Ukrainian American, and Ukrainian Canadian heritage and culture; and to provide quality financial services and products to its members. As a fraternal insurance society the Ukrainian National Association reinvests its earnings for the benefit of its members and the Ukrainian community."

In short: the UNA is an organization with a proud history and a promising future that is worth supporting with your membership.

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