EDITORIAL: Season of giving (12/22/02)

EDITORIAL

Season of giving

Are you done with your Christmas shopping? Have you taken care of everyone on your list? Your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, teachers, the mailman...?

Now what have you forgotten? Perhaps giving a gift to someone less fortunate in His name.

Christmas, after all, is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. And in celebrating His birth, it is most appropriate to give unto others. Who are these others? Well, besides those closest to us, they include our community, our nation and those in need on the other side of the globe. It is in our power to make a difference, to help these others.

Let us tell you about some of them.

Here in our community, these "others" could include your local Ukrainian school, or one across the country for that matter. According to the most recent issue of The Way, the newspaper of the Philadelphia Archeparchy of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, its seven elementary schools all are in need of funds to help support their very important work with our children - this community's future. (The very existence of some of them is threatened, as they are experiencing great financial difficulty.) Just over a year ago the archeparchy established the Metropolitan Sheptytsky Education Fund to assist these schools. A donation to the fund, or directly to a school in your area, can provide tangible help to this essential but struggling facet of our community.

"Others" can also include the elderly in Ukraine, who struggle to survive on meager pensions. One of our community organizations, the respected United Ukrainian American Relief Committee - which has a track record of nearly six decades - has established an Adopt-A-Grandparent Program through which benefactors can sponsor a senior with a sum as small as $15 per month. Think of it, a mere $15 can mean so much!

The Ukrainian National Women's League of America, too, is helping "others" around the world by providing scholarships to needy and deserving Ukrainian students in such far-flung places as Ukraine, Brazil, Poland and Romania, as well as teachers of the Ukrainian language in former Soviet republics such as Kazakstan. The UNWLA Scholarship Program, whose mission is to "enhance and create opportunities through education and preserve Ukrainian cultural heritage," this year marked its 35th anniversary. Helping the UNWLA invest in our students is an investment in the future of the Ukrainian people.

Your donations can help these organizations - and countless others that support worthy causes and endeavors - to continue and expand their educational and charitable activity. Your generous gift can make a huge difference. And what better time to give than Christmas?

Christ is born! Let us praise Him!

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