FCSLA In the Community: Join Hands Day
Branches S081 and J058 -
Whiting, IN
On May 28, 2008, the St. John the Baptist Catholic School seventh grade students,
with the leadership of Miss Judith Nies, showed the First Catholic Slovak Ladies
Association some of the skills these young adults have developed partly as
a result of Whiting, Indiana, Branches' S081 and J058 financial contributions
for some of the school's computers. The students provided insights to various
aspects of the computer as well as internet use.
The students' goal was to enhance both the students' and adults' ability
to communicate using technology as a platform to work from. A success of this
project was that the two generations worked together and learned from each
other.
As the classroom session was winding down, a few comments made by the participants'
projects the potential impact of this activity. First, Florence Hovanec, the
current branch president and long time national officer, thanked all that had
attended. Florence addressed the history of The First Catholic Slovak Ladies
Association and the strong influence FCSLA has in our community. Florence encouraged
the young adults to take another look at our Fraternal Society. Next a youth
participant indicated that she would like the senior branch members to return
to see what we remember, and to determine if we could move forward. As we were
leaving the computer lab, Tony Abildua, the spouse of district president Margret
Abildua, said that "this was good." Four days later, after the 11:00
Sunday mass at St. John the Baptist Church, one of students re-introduced himself
to Marjorie Strbjak, the FCSLA adult member who had joined hands. All of theses
are little steps, but we are moving in the right direction.
At this point, there is no plan to continue this relationship. However, Whiting
Branches S081 and J058 hold a monthly meeting. We will address this post activity
seriously, anticipation that the youth volunteers would provide a service for
The First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association again, and continue to be a resource
for each other and the community. Submitted by Ed Bach.
Learn more about FCSLA in the community.
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