At the recent Ukrainian Cultural Festival at Soyuzivka, the traditional gala fund-raiser – the sixth such annual benefit – was dedicated to the two newspapers published by the Ukrainian National Association. The goal was to raise funds for the UNA Publications Endowment Fund that exists under the aegis of the Ukrainian National Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) organization that performs charitable activities on the UNA’s behalf.
It is worth noting that this year, in celebrating the 125th anniversary of the UNA, we are also celebrating the jubilee of Svoboda, the world’s oldest Ukrainian newspaper, which has been published since 1893. Why? Because it was that Ukrainian-language newspaper which gave birth to the UNA – in the beginning was the word. Already in its fourth issue, dated November 1, 1893, Svoboda stated in a front-page editorial, “We need a national organization.” The word became deed on February 22, 1894, with the establishment of a Ukrainian fraternal organization then known as Ruskyi Narodnyi Soyuz.
We are also celebrating The Ukrainian Weekly, which was born in 1933 with a dual mission: to keep new generations of Ukrainians born in America involved in community life and – what was even more important – to inform the English-speaking public about the Holodomor decimating the population of Ukraine. The idea of an English-language publication was proposed at the UNA’s 1933 Convention by Svoboda Editor-in-Chief Luke Myshuha, and the idea became reality less than five months later.
At the gala fund-raiser on July 12, wonderful words of support for Svoboda and The Weekly were offered by Honorary Member of the UNA General Assembly Taras Szmagala Sr., who for many years chaired its Publications Committee (previously known as the Press Committee). In his message, read by UNA Advisor Irene Jarosewich, who now chairs the Publications Committee, Mr. Szmagala eloquently posited that the UNA has always had a commitment to “maintaining a platform of communication for Ukrainians in our community, even worldwide, …and to our extraordinary fraternal legacy of maintaining Ukrainian identity and efforts toward the building of an independent and strong Ukraine.” Therefore, its publications are deserving of our support. And the UNA Publications Endowment Fund is the vehicle for that support.
Calls for the establishment of an endowment for the UNA’s newspapers can be traced back to 2006, when such a fund was proposed at the UNA Convention. The idea came up repeatedly and was formally adopted in a resolution at the 2010 Convention that read: “Whereas, the official publications of the Ukrainian National Association – Svoboda and The Ukrainian Weekly – represent a crucial public image for the Ukrainian National Association and are indispensable for the organization in the Ukrainian community at large, be it resolved that a UNA Publications Endowment Fund be created to ensure the future of the UNA’s official publications – Svoboda and The Ukrainian Weekly – via a permanent reserve fund.” In May 2014, the UNA established the UNA Publications Endowment Fund by donating $10,000 of seed money.
It is that endowment which benefited from the gala at Soyuzivka. Proceeds from the event, as well as generous donations presented that evening, are meant to help secure the future of the two most important newspapers serving our community here in North America and our nation worldwide. By donating to the UNA Publications Endowment Fund, supporters can help ensure that Svoboda and The Ukrainian Weekly inform and engage succeeding generations for years to come. (Checks payable to UNF – UNA Publications Endowment Fund may be sent to: Ukrainian National Foundation, 2200 Route 10, Parsippany, NJ 07054.)