Ukrainian National Women's League of America to mark 75th anniversary (03/12/00)

Ukrainian National Women's League of America to mark 75th anniversary

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - The Ukrainian National Women's League of America, the foremost organization of Ukrainian women in the United States, and a leading institution in the Ukrainian American community, this year marks the 75th anniversary of its founding.

The jubilee will be celebrated across the country by the organization's regional councils; the goal of the regional councils will be to recall what the UNWLA has done and continues to do for the entire Ukrainian community.

As the first UNWLA regional council was founded in Detroit in 1925, the anniversary celebrations will kick off in the Detroit area on March 18. (See related article on page 6.)

The celebrations will continue as follows: Philadelphia, March 26; northern New York state, April 9; New Jersey, May 21; New York City, June 4; and Ohio, September 21.

Exact dates have yet to be announced for other regions, but the preliminary schedule is for events to take place in Chicago in October, and New England and central New York in November; The anniversary year will culminate with special events in Washington in December.

In most districts the anniversary events will encompass divine liturgies, a traveling exhibit of photographs, documents and publications of the Ukrainian National Women's League of America, as well as a display of children's publications.

In addition, the UNWLA plans to publish a history of the organization authored by historian Dr. Martha Bohachevsky-Chomiak, author of "Feminists Despite Themselves: Women in Ukrainian Community Life, 1884-1939."

As the UNWLA marks this milestone in its history, its president Iryna Kurowyckyj, and members of the executive committee, Press Chair Jaroslawa P. Rubel and Member-at-Large Irena Steckiv, as well as Iryna Chaban, editor-in-chief of Our Life (Nashe Zhyttia) magazine, emphasized in an interview with The Ukrainian Weekly that the organization is adapting to the current and future needs of its members. They pointed to a new webpage, located at www.unwla.org as one example of the modern-day UNWLA.

As well, the UNWLA leaders pointed out that this long-established women's group whose history includes a long list of achievements is now actively seeking to recruit the next generation of young women as members, encouraging them to use their well-honed professional skills for the good of the Ukrainian community.

Many newcomers to this country from Ukraine also are joining the UNWLA, they pointed out. Boston, for example, has established a new branch composed of members of the Fourth Wave of immigrants. Baltimore, too, is attracting members from among the new arrivals. And, in Philadelphia one branch recently enrolled 40 new members.

Women can join the UNWLA even if there is no branch in their locality, Mrs. Kurowyckyj added, since the organization has made provisions for members-at-large to be active in the organization through contacts with the UNWLA headquarters.

For further information about the Ukrainian National Women's League of America contact the UNWLA headquarters at 108 Second Ave., New York , NY 10003; telephone, (212) 533-4646; fax, (212) 533-5237; or visit the website cited above.

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