From the President’s Desk
2007 was a challenging and ultimately
successful year for Friends of Ukraine. While there are lots of challenges and much work ahead, the foundation for a strong organization is in
place.
The beginning of ’07 provided an
opportunity for a fresh board to rethink Friends of Ukraine’s (FofU) objective. The result was a new mission
statement, “Keeping RPCVs connected to
Information Dissemination Networking FofU has been fortunate to have Harry Stevens (known to
all who read this no doubt) and Mark S Pulver powering our leap onto the web. In 2007, we launched our website: http://co.net/friends/
It provides organizational information and links to our
activities, newsletter, calendar of events and listserve sign-up
information. A new FofU social networking site (Ning) was opened this spring: for members only.
Ukraine-Related Projects
The FofU listserve reaches out to over 400 people
with an interest in Ukraine.
News, politics, local events and, yes, even an editorial comment or two drive
the outreach. In addition, FOU launched it's first ever Trident
(newsletter) in the Spring of 2007. The Trident
features articles on FOU activities, third goal initiatives, news from Ukraine and
information on NPCA’s work. Thanks to
Karen Groh, Mark S Pulver and Virginia J Pulver for their help! Finally, through third goal events such as the nationwide Ukrainian Independence Day celebration, RPCVs and local Ukrainian communities celebrated their common interest.
FofU hosted its fifth annual conference in Portland, OR
in late August. New membership chair Lani Horowitz welcomed the crew with, what else, gorilka.
While many were able to tour the city and be there in person, others joined a
conference call with 18 other people. 2008 conference will be in
Washington DC
1-4 August. (See a related Trident article
for details.)
FofU spearheads two types of Ukraine-related
projects: 1) Humanitarian aid and 2) the newly launched FofU Exchanges.
Ultimately, FofU will use a portion of membership dues to fund board-approved Ukraine projects each year. In lieu of spending FofU funds this year, FofU raised funds and made a $500 donation to RPCV Rosa Werthwein’s International Outreach Coalition (IOC). IOC seeks to inspire tomorrow’s leaders through its summer camps.
FofU Exchanges success in the past has been limited to $1000 to successfully implement a sister cities program. With the addition of Bill Holmes (Group 27), however, FofU Exchanges is experiencing a renaissance. Bill works with faculty and student exchanges in his job and is looking to shape FofU’s program to pursue Peace Corps’ second and third goals. Stay tuned to the listserve to see how you can get involved!
Organizational Foundation in
Place
With a bright motivated board, a new non-profit charter in Massachusetts and a bank account of $1,500, FofU has a firm administrative foundation. With FofU’s current programs and new initiatives, we’re confident about 2008.
In the coming months, we will be launching our membership drive to strengthen and expand our organization. We will make a compelling case for you to get involved and hope you will join us.
Together, we can keep the volunteer spirit alive!!
Ken Sommers
The Trident
Index
From the Presidents desk
Rosa's Summer Camp
It's a Shoe In
Kids Around the World
M-Bags
Lets All Get Together
September 2011
All Things Ukrainian
Spring into NING
Hail and Farewell
Call for Contacts!
Where Are They Now
Wanna be a Leader?
Sasha's Story
2008 Reunion News
How Do I Join?