[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 11 (Tuesday, February 8, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
      UKRAINIAN NATIONAL ASSOCIATION CELEBRATES 100TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______


                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 8, 1994

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring to the attention of 
my colleagues an important event which will take place later this 
month. On February 22, 1994, the Ukrainian National Association [UNA], 
a fraternal insurance organization which was founded in Shamokin, PA, 
will mark its 100th anniversary. Its creation was sparked by the 
founding in 1893 of Svoboda, the first Ukrainian newspaper printed in 
the United States. Svoboda began publishing on September 15, 1893, and 
is now the oldest Ukrainian newspaper in the world.
  Svoboda's founder and editor, Rev. Gregory Hrushka, had clearly seen 
the need for a financial organization in the growing Ukrainian 
immigrant community, and it was his visionary leadership which made 
this idea a reality. Upon the establishment of the Ukrainian National 
Association, Svoboda became its official organ. It still is today.
  UNA began with just 13 branches in 1894, but has steadily expanded to 
its present 370 branches in the United States and Canada. It is the 
largest Ukrainian-American fraternal insurance organization, with over 
66,000 members and over $100 million in assets. UNA now has branches in 
27 States in the United States and 7 provinces in Canada.
  In addition to providing for the life insurance needs of tens of 
thousands of Ukrainian Americans by offering low-cost insurance 
protection, UNA provides its members with a wide range of social, 
educational, cultural, and charitable benefits. UNA has contributed 
immeasurably to preserving the traditions and customs of Ukrainians in 
the United States, and consequently to enriching American culture.
  Along with Svoboda, UNA has also published the Ukrainian Weekly, an 
English language newspaper, for over 60 years and a monthly children's 
magazine entitled ``Veselka'' which means ``Rainbow.'' UNA has an 
ongoing commitment to promoting literature which deals with Ukrainian 
subjects.
  UNA works even more directly with the Ukrainian-American community, 
providing over $120,000 in scholarships to its members each year, and 
operating a retirement home for senior citizens. UNA is also a major 
patron of the Ukrainian community's cultural and religious activities. 
Over the 100 years since UNA's establishment, countless Ukrainian 
churches and community centers owe their existence to UNA's generous 
low-interest mortgage loans.
  In June 1964, President Dwight D. Eisenhower dedicated a monument in 
Washington, DC to Taras Shevchenko, the national poet of Ukraine. This 
was a major project initiated by UNA. The Ukrainian Congress Committee 
of America [UCCA] and the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council 
[UACC] were both established by UNA to better coordinate the work of 
the many financial, social, youth, and political organizations in the 
Ukrainian-American community. Their establishment is just another 
example of UNA's visionary leadership in its community.
  And while UNA was established to assist Ukrainians living in the 
United States and Canada, it has never lost sight of the struggles and 
aspirations of Ukrainians in Ukraine. Throughout its history, UNA has 
assisted the cause of a free and independent Ukraine by bringing to the 
attention of the American people and government the events taking place 
in Ukraine. UNA has always risen to meet the challenges which the 
people of Ukraine have faced, from assisting the many refugees created 
by World War II, to providing assistance to the victims of natural 
disasters.
  Now that Ukraine has at long last achieved its independence, that 
commitment has taken on new meaning. In 1990, UNA established a fund to 
provide humanitarian, educational, and technical assistance to Ukraine. 
This fund has been a tremendous success, and UNA is continuing to work 
with the United States Government and numerous private voluntary 
organizations to promote the establishment of democratic and free-
market institutions in Ukraine. This assistance took on a new dimension 
with the creation, in 1992, of the Ukrainian National Foundation which 
will further coordinate humanitarian and development programs.
  Because the Ukrainian National Association has been assisting the 
Ukrainian-American community and the people of Ukraine for a century, 
and because it has become the keystone of the Ukrainian-American 
community through its extensive membership network, newspapers, 
foundations, and offices in both Ukraine and here in the United States, 
I would like my colleagues to join me in congratulating UNA on its 
100th anniversary and wishing it another 100 years of good fortune and 
service to the Ukrainian-American community, Ukraine, and the United 
States.

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