Plan Ahead

JOIN HANDS DAY
May 1, 2010

Past events

May, 2009 - Join Hands Day

Branch 20
Trenton, NJ

On our JOIN HANDS DAY, we went to the Millhouse Nursing Home in Trenton, NJ. Tote bags made
by 4 youth and 2 adults were distributed to the residents.

Branch 35
Detroit, MI

When we are talking about JOIN HANDS DAY, we know spring is here. Members of Branch 35, after a long winter with a lot of snow, were ready to do some outside work. This year we started two projects on JOIN HANDS DAY. The first one we did was a spring cleaning and planting flowers in the garden of the American Hungarian Reformed Church in Allen Park, MI. Everybody was excited because we knew when we were done with our work, the flowers with their colors would give a nice uplifting touch to the church building and compliment the neighborhood. At our last meeting, we decided that as part of the JOIN HANDS DAY activities, Branch 35 would also like to help those who are experiencing hardship in this part of our state. We collected non-perishable food items and made it available for the needy families in our community. The activities of the day were concluded by a luncheon, refreshments and friendly fellowship. Dave and Margaret Tarkanyi planted a nice maple tree on the church property.

Branch 151
Beaver Falls, PA and Portersville Christian School

The event took place from May 7-8, 2009 at Portersville Christian School and began with devotions. Present were 122 students plus adults as chaperones. Ginger Harbison gave out assignments and took pictures of the projects that were completed by the students. Some projects were finished at the school while some students were bused to different areas to complete their projects. The various destinations and number of students are as follow:
Imani Christian Academy – 8 students
World Vision Distribution Center – 25 students
Pine Valley Camp – 40 students
PCS Soccer Field – 10 students
PCS Teachers and Staff Meal Preparation – 8 students
John Coomber’s Church – 15 students
Portersville Alliance Church – 8 students
Portersville Bible Church – 8 students
The Lighthouse – 5-6 students
New Castle City Rescue Mission – 8-10 students

On May 8, 2009, 122 students plus adults from the Portersville Christian School began their day at 9:00 a.m. with devotions by Principal Jeff DeSantes and staff. The students were then bused to Slippery Rock Baptist Camp. When they reached their destination, they were split up into groups for the projects. The adults supervised individual groups who painted the buildings, cleaned up debris, cleaned up the bathrooms and the park. They also removed furniture for the auction sale, planted flowers, removed building material, railroad ties and completed landscaping. At lunch time, Principal Jeff DeSantes, Chairman Frank Santoro and HRFA Director Joe Fabri grilled hot dogs and hamburgers for the students. Mrs. Julia DeSantes and Donna Santoro prepared the meal and set tables. After lunch, they finished the projects they started. Everyone did a great job and the directors, students and the chaperones are to be complimented for their school’s project of cleaning and beautifying a community area.

Branch 176
Gary, IN

This year for JOIN HANDS DAY, we did something different that involved the Hungarian Diaspora of Northwest Indiana and Chicago area. The Holy Trinity Hungarian Church and its pastor Rev. Alphonse Skerl have been home to several clubs, among them the Kossuth Club and the Hungarian American Citizen's Club. Moreover, it is the only Hungarian Catholic Church remaining in Indiana. Rev. Alphonse Skerl is 80 years young, he could have retired long ago; however he chose to remain among his flock. He is very much loved by everyone. Our project was planning, organizing and preparing a special celebration and birthday bash for Rev. Skerl. Our members prepared a tasty luncheon, along with many pastries. Our church filled-up with well-wishers. Attending were members of HRFA’s branches 176, 62 and 17; the St. Elizabeth Circle, with John Larson, president of the circle, and wife Judy, who also took great pride in helping this event be a success. Also, present were members of the American Hungarian Citizen's Club, the Holy Trinity Hungarian Church and many notable Hungarians coming from distant places, like Chicago, South Bend and even Hungary. We enjoyed a very pleasant afternoon celebrating the birthday of such an outstanding member of our community as Rev. Skerl, socializing with our friends, and strengthening the ties with our Hungarian-American community.

Branch 198
Ligonier, PA, Bethlen Communities

On May 2, 2009 Branch 198 and Bethlen Communities Staff along with children worked on Carey
School Road for clean up. Several bags of trash and recyclable items were collected. Upon the completion of the project, the team met in the Conference Room for a delicious lunch. As the clean up was taking place, the Cultural Center was busy preparing Hungarian Gulyas for an early May picnic lunch for the Retirement Cottage Residents. Everyone had a great day on that beautiful sunny Saturday.

Branch 202
Mon-Valley, PA

The members of Mon alley Branch 202 and the First Hungarian Reformed Church of Pittsburgh joined hands on May 2nd. Phone calls and an article in the church bulletin publicized the national event. The Church Council Trustees prepared a list of things to do. Twelve volunteers signed up and chose their projects according to their talent and time needed. As the projects were completed they were crossed off the chart. Thumps-up were seen many times. Young Alexis with her parents also did neighborhood clean-up of litter by selecting a site along State Route 885 which runs through the community. Good and faithful servants, you have done well.

Branch 227
Warren, OH

For JOIN HANDS DAY, five of us bought supplies, baked, packaged and delivered over 60 cup
cone and also took magazines to the residents of Gillette Nursing Home of Warren. We spent
an unforgettable day sharing fellowship with the residents.

Branch 300
Washington, dc

Április 25-én, reggel 8.30-kor gyülekeztünk a Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens bejáratánál. Néhányan később csatlakoztak hozzánk. A vállakozás főszervezője Lévay-Nagy Kati volt, aki a harapnivalóról is gondoskodott. Eljött Megyeri László, az Amerikai Magyar Református Egyesület elnöke, illetve Markó Lenke, Pásztor László, Frank Kapitány, Lévay-Nagy Kati, Vera, Erik és a kis Mark Bjurstrom, Trinfuly Melinda, James Ferrebee és Fehérvári Petra. Már kora reggel láttuk, hogy gyönyörű, de fáradságos napnak nézünk elébe, elvárásainkban nem is kellett csalódnunk. Rövid útmutatás után az önkéntesek több csoportra oszlottak, mi a virágágyak tisztításával foglalkozók közé álltunk. Miután magunkhoz vettük a felszerelést (kesztyűt, térdvédőt, ásót, gereblyét, kinek-mi került a keze ügyébe), máris munkához láttunk. Kicsik és nagyok együtt gyomláltak, gereblyéztek, a szerencsésebbek néhány órával később még ültethettek is, míg a figyelmetlenebbek egész végig a gazokkal küzdöttek. A munka végeztével csodás virágágyakat hagytunk magunk után, és a festői szépségű parkban elfogyasztottuk jól megérdemelt ebédünket. Vidám nap volt, reméljük jövőre még többen velünk tartanak a 300-as csoport tagjai közül.

Branch 302
New Brunswick, NJ

On Saturday May 2nd, members and friends of Branch 302 in New Brunswick, NJ got together for JOIN HANDS DAY. The purpose of the event was to bring together people of differing backgrounds and generations to perform valuable work for the community. This year we decided to focus on The Hungarian Reformed Church and the Teleki Pál Scout Home. The Hungarian Community is split amongst those that can speak the language and those who no longer can. This year, we made a point of bringing together not only people of many generations, but also the two cultural groups to make sure we had fellowship with people who, while members of our common community, tend not to spend time together. We were extremely lucky in two ways. First, the weather in New Jersey had been rainy and Saturday turned out to be the only sunny day in the week. Beside that, we knew that we were going to generate a lot of trash that day, but due to the complications and cost of disposing of trash we weren't exactly sure of what we were going to do with all of it. In the morning the group gathered at the Hungarian Reformed Church on Somerset Street. The participants included children from the Aprokfalva Montessori Preschool, The Széchenyi Hungarian School and the Hungarian Boy Scout Troop. We also had seniors from the Hungarian Reformed Church and some young adults from both the Hungarian Reformed Church and the St. Ladislaus Hungarian Catholic Church. The goals at the Reformed Church were to tear down and unused shed and clean out a garage area. Also, the seniors and preschoolers “joined hands” to pot and plant flowers around the Church properties. The children had a great time, and each child was able to take home a otted geranium for their mothers. The adult crew took some sledgehammers and power equipment to the old shed and tore it down. This project was important because the unused shed had become an eyesore. Mr. Mozes Kovacs not only offered his business' dumpster for the Demolished shed, but he hauled away the pieces in his van. There were another 15 bags of trash that was put out for the Sanitation Department. The work started at around 9AM. There were in all about 20 volunteers who helped pitch in for this phase of the day. At around noon, the focus of the work turned to the Teleki Pál Scout Home yard. The yard was in a serious state of disrepair with trash and leaves all over the place. Here four intrepid volunteers from the previous phase as well as a dozen boys from the Scout troop got to work bagging the yard waste. All in all about 50 bags of trash were collected. A local Hungarian business owner Mr. Thomas Vajtay of SLM Manufacturing, generously allowed our group to fill an entire dumpster with the collected refuse. The event brought together many people that would not have otherwise worked together for a common cause. All in all, about 40 people donated their labor or resources to make the event work. Everyone involved agreed that the JOIN HANDS DAY concept is a great one and we will all work toward making next year an even bigger success.