September 29, 2009

Tenth annual JOIN HANDS DAY awards announced.

OAK BROOK, IL – The National Fraternal Congress of America (NFCA) recognized this year’s ten JOIN HANDS DAY Excellence Award winners on September 17, 2009, at the 123rd NFCA Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas.

The ten awardees were selected from hundreds of volunteer projects that emphasized youth and adult partnerships on May 2, 2009. Each award-winning project will receive $1,000 and a plaque. The coordinating groups will choose how the funds are used. Some organizations donate the money to the beneficiary of the project or another benevolent cause. Others save the funds to use as seed money for the following year’s JOIN HANDS DAY event.

JOIN HANDS DAY, a program of the NFCA, takes place annually on the first Saturday in May. The volunteer day promotes fraternalism and fraternal benefit societies and is the only day of service on America’s Season of Service national calendar that seeks to build youth and adult relationships through planning and participating. This signature event is solely sponsored by America’s fraternal benefit societies and provides these organizations with an opportunity to connect with other volunteer groups to make an important impact on their communities.

A panel of independent judges selected this year’s top projects. As in years past, the judges selected the winners on the basis of the project’s uniqueness, its youth involvement, recruitment, publicity and the value of the project to people and the community. The potential for the contacts made on JOIN HANDS DAY to build into long-lasting relationships between the generations is also considered.

“In its 10 years JOIN HANDS DAY has really come into its own. Communities are developing this year’s event based on previous projects to further enhance the community and relationships begun a year ago,” said Joseph J. Annotti, NFCA President and CEO. “JOIN HANDS DAY has become a tradition for many people. When 450 people out of a town of 500 give up a day to volunteer, you know JOIN HANDS DAY is making an impact on people’s lives.”

Since its conception in 1999, JOIN HANDS DAY has awarded 100 Excellence Awards. This is the final year for this award program. The final Excellence awards follow:

2009 Excellence Awards Winners

Davenport, Iowa
At Modern Woodmen of America Park, members were joined by Quad Cities River Bandits, Genesis Health System, Scott County DAV/Auxiliary, Illowa Council BSA-Cub Scouts, 4-H, Girl Scouts and St. Paul the Apostle School. More than 151 youth and 209 adults made 425 Jared Boxes, shoebox-sized containers filled with toys, games and crafts for childern that find themselves in hospitals, in bereavement and trauma support.

Iroquois, South Dakota
Beadle County Thrivent Financial for Lutherans #30561, Iroquois Area Community Club, Redstone Valley Creek 4-H Club, Iroquois Housing Development, Iroquois City Council, United Methodist Church and St. Paul’s Catholic Church and school groups through three group meetings prioritized the needs of the Memorial Park. The results were new benches made by the shop class, an adopt-at-tree program, volley ball court preparation, landscaping and city-wide clean up.

Kimberly, Idaho
Sixteen Modern Woodmen of America (MWA) Youth Service Clubs, five MWA Adult Camps, Red Hat Society chapters, the Area Office on Aging, LDS relief societies, Meals on Wheels Volunteers, Boy Scouts of America, OWLS members, Key Ag Distributors, Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers, Rock Creek Growers and Kimberly Construction participated. Following last year’s projects at assisted living centers, these 192 volunteers chose to do a project for home-bound senior citizens. Volunteers found 200 shut-ins in need of attention. On JOIN HANDS DAY, the group planted 200 “Pots of Love”, adorned with a poem written by a youth and phone number for the shut-ins to call when an act of service was needed. Adults, accompanied by youth, delivered each pot to the shut-ins. Follow-up calls have resulted in weeding yards, planting flowers, mowing lawns and trimming bushes and on-going relationships.

Lafayette, Minnesota
Catholic Order of Foresters St. Thomas Court 1994, Bernadotte 4-H Club, Lafayette Area Lions Club, St. Gregory The Great Catholic Church/CCD Program, Troop #2 Boy Scouts, First Lutheran Church and Lafayette Charter School packed meals for the Kids Against Hunger campaign. The judges were impressed that event was organized by youth from beginning to end through all aspects of the project. They were also impressed by the fact that the population of Lafayette is 500 and 425 volunteers turned out to pack 91,086 meals.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin
In a project sponsored by the Wisconsin Fraternal Congress, Catholic Family Life Insurance, Catholic Knights, Employes’ Mutual Benefit Association, Children’s Service Society of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Fire and Police Academy, New Berlin High School, Pius High School, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and the Volunteer Center of Greater Milwaukee, students and adults provided parents of special needs children in 33 families a much-needed 6-hour day away from their 24/7 responsibilities.

Coral Gables, Florida
An amazing 1,291 youth and adults from 30 organizations, led by Thrivent Financial for Lutheran’s Miami Dade Chapter, worked side by side to support Operation Thank You. They collected “wish list” items for the troops serving in Iraq, packaged and shipped the care packages abroad. Letters were were included in the packages to give them a touch of hope and of home.

Dewitt, Iowa
The West Clinton County Chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, along with Modern Woodmen of America, asponsored May Day in Lincoln Park. Volunteers spread mulch, pulled weeds, raked leaves, prepared flower beds, work on the walkways for the new hausbarn and to ready the park for summer use. Later volunteers went to a nursing home and did the same there.

Gray Court, South Carolina
A JOIN HANDS DAY Gospel Fest was organized by Woodmen of the World/Omaha Woodmen Life Insurance Society Lodges 206 and 1298. Profits benefited the crisis center, the food bank, the youth association, fire deptartment and PTO. The eight-hour event included inflatable structures for the children, school information, face painting and over 40 vocalists sang and donated their time. Local businesses donated use of tents, porta-pottys, a truck, trailers for the stage and sound equipment. Also pitchng in were the Hickory Tavern Volunteer Fire Department, the Hickory Tavern Youth Association, Hickory Tavern Elementary PTO and the Laurens Baptist Association Crisis Center/Food Bank.

Ottawa, Kansas
Youth Action Council-ECKAN, Youth in Government-ECKAN, Ottawa University’s Phi Kappa Chi, Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce and Modern Woodmen of America Camp No. 499 went green. Volunteers donated materials and worked with 25 seniors to construct rain barrels for their homes. A local cable channel taped the workshop and the video brought more support for the youth and their sustainability project. Other volunteers painted over graffiti in the downtown park in preparation for the kick-off of Famer’s Market season, and planted flowers at the Ottawa Retirement Village. In the afternoon, volunteers distributed cost-saving and environmentally friendly CFL light bulbs and reusable shopping bags to 120 households.

Columbus, Ohio
The Order of United Commercial Travelers (UCT), Columbus ZooTeens, Linden Youth Association, Westland HS Junior Air Force ROTC, Ghosts of Ohio and Green Lawn Volunteers Association cleaned up the 350-acre Green Lawn Cemetery. Volunteers cleared away sod and weeds from military markers and children’s graves; and picked up debris from around the pond and the office. Many people stopped into the office that weekend just to comment on the neatness of the grounds. UCT, through this experience, learned that three of the founders of the organization are buried at Green Lawn. Green Lawn Association acquired two new volunteers for the non-profit cemetery as a result of JOIN HANDS DAY efforts.

NFCA Member Price: FREE – sponsored by ReadyTalk

The goal of this complimentary webinar was to help participants identify worthwhile fraternal events, the steps needed to ensure a coordinated effort, and strategies for promoting your JOIN HANDS DAY event to lodge leaders, local media and your community.

Whether you’ve participated in JOIN HANDS DAY in the past or are interested in coordinating your very first project, you’re sure to gain the knowledge to plan a successful event.

Replay and Share the Webinar

This link below can be used to replay the webinar at any time, at no cost, until May 2. We urge you to share this event with anyone on your staff or within your lodge system who may benefit. You also can download a copy of the webinar’s PowerPoint presentation.

Replay the Webinar >>

Presenters:

Sharon R. Warga, Manager of Fraternal Activities, Woodmen of the World/Omaha Woodmen Life Insurance Society

Sue Ann Seich, Fraternal and Youth Director, First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association of the USA

Barbara Sekerak, National Auditor, First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association of the USA

Elizabeth Snyder, Manager of Political Advocacy, NFCA

Scott Roosa, ReadyTalk, provider of audio conferencing and Web meeting services

For more information, please contact Allison Koppel, Vice President, Membership & Marketing.

Pages are in PDF format. You can download a free version of Adobe® Acrobat® Reader to view these documents.

OAK BROOK, IL – The National Fraternal Congress of America (NFCA) recognized this year’s ten JOIN HANDS DAY Excellence Award winners and nine honorable mention projects. The 2008 JOIN HANDS DAY Excellence Awards were presented at the Celebration of Fraternalism Luncheon held during the 122nd NFCA Annual Meeting, September 4-6, in Washington, D.C.

The ten awardees were selected from hundreds of volunteer projects that emphasized youth and adult partnerships on May 3, 2008. Each award-winning project received $1,000 and a distinctive glass trophy. The coordinating groups will choose how the funds are used. Some organizations donate the money to the beneficiary of the project or another benevolent cause. Others save the funds to use as seed money for the following year’s JOIN HANDS DAY event.

JOIN HANDS DAY, which promotes fraternalism and fraternal benefit societies, is the only day of service on America’s Season of Service national calendar that seeks to build youth and adult relationships through planning and participating in a day of volunteering. This signature event provides fraternal benefit societies with an opportunity to connect with other volunteer organizations to make an important impact on their communities.

In selecting Excellence Award recipients, the most important consideration is the quality of the youth and adult partnership in planning and conducting the event. Other criteria include the quality of the project to the community or persons in need, effectiveness of the mobilization group and the potential for relationships to continue after JOIN HANDS DAY.

“On May 3, fraternalists and non-fraternalists came together for JOIN HANDS DAY—to make a difference in their communities through helpful projects that connect youths and adults,” said Michael Stivoric, Chair of the Join Hands Corporation Board of Directors. “JOIN HANDS DAY gives fraternal benefit societies and volunteer organizations the opportunity to reach out to people they don’t know, to connect generations and develop new relationships.”

Eight of the ten winning projects were coordinated by fraternal benefit societies. The other two projects were conducted by local community groups and volunteer organizations.

2008 Excellence Awards Winners

Modern Woodmen of America: Camp 10594-3 of West Burke, Vermont: This multi-generational project included 200 volunteers who cleared one mile of walking trails. An unfinished platform on the observation deck was completed and a bridge was built over a marsh area.

Gleaner Life Insurance Society: Volunteers between the ages of four and 86, from the Harrison Arbor of McClure, Ohio, and the McClure Little League spread 23 tons of gravel in the community park. The park is used by many residents in this village of 754 people and is a focal point for local families and events.

The Spink County Extension Service: Along with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ Redfield, South Dakota, branch and the 4-H Club created a Pizza Garden for Eastern Star Nursing Home. A circular plot was planted in slices with wheat, herbs, vegetables and tomatoes. They expect a fall harvest to yield produce, which will be sold at the local farmers’ market and given to food banks.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans: In the Spokane, Washington’s West Central Neighborhood, the lowest income per capita neighborhood in the state, Riverfront Farm and Project HOPE received permission from property owners to till trash-filled lots for urban gardens. The West Spokane County Chapter of Thrivent Financial donated $1,000 in “seed” money to purchase supplies including tools that would remain after JOIN HANDS DAY in a ‘tool-lending library’ for residents in this low-income area. Sixty-five volunteers including Girl Scouts Troops, an elected city official and local businesses helped in this effort. Youths also built three handicapped-accessible raised planter beds and two compost bins.

Volusia County Environmental Management: In New Smyrna Beach, Florida, youths and adults from the Boy Scouts of America, Boys & Girls Club, 4-H, Future Farmers of America, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and many other organizations were among the 650 volunteers participating in the 20th Annual Halifax/Indian River Cleanup. Eighteen tons of trash were collected.

Royal Neighbors of America: The society purchased and donated three Wii games to senior centers in Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa. Youth and adult volunteers taught nursing home directors how to hook up the game consoles to their TV sets and provided gaming instructions. Youths taught the seniors how to play tennis, bowling, baseball, board games, card games and puzzles.

Woodmen of the World/Omaha Woodmen Life Insurance Society: Lodge 865 in Tallahassee, Florida, educated the community about pet overpopulation at this Fort Braden School project. An essay contest and a pet food drive were held. Approximately 543 cans and 70 lbs of dry pet food was collected and donated to the Animal Aid Society for their homeless pet program. This project was so successful that the school’s principal has asked that they partner with them again next year and indicated that at least two other schools also want to participate.

Ladies Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union: Working with local churches and the Lioness Club of Bethlehem, Ladies Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union held “WE SUPPORT OUR TROOPS.” More than 700 pounds of items filled 35 boxes that were packed for shipment to military personnel stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans: KIPP Aspire Academy in San Antonio, Texas, is a free college preparatory public middle school that provides a “no excuses” approach to an intercity students in grades 5 to 8. Adult, student and youth participants worked together to create a special inner-city “Green Space” of flower beds and walkways next to the school. Youth participants learned skills planning and carrying out a project. Adults learned how a dedicated educational program at KIPP Aspire could change and transcend the lives of youths and make a difference in the community.

Modern Woodmen of America: In Twin Falls, Idaho, a diverse group of five Modern Woodmen of America camps, a Red Hat society; home schoolers, a motorcycle group, the Potato Growers of America, Kiwanis, Boy Scouts, a builders association and church groups created the “best Christmas party ever” for residents of an assisted living center, complete with personalized Christmas cards, decorations, refreshments and Santa Claus. More than 500 presents were purchased, wrapped and presented to seniors at the surprise event.

2008 Excellence Awards Honorable Mentions

Modern Woodmen of America: Working with local Girl Scouts and high school students, collected a total of 2,183 canned goods and non-perishable items to replenish shelves at the Middle Tyger Community Center food pantry in Lyman, South Carolina.

Morton Health Homeless Community Clinic: Provided a picnic lunch to 280 of the homeless population of downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Catholic Order of Foresters: In Sauk Centre, Minn., many community groups including the Catholic Aid Association, Boy Scouts, Camphill Village, Rotary Club, Lions, Sauk Centre Education Association, Gopher Prairie 4-H and First Lutheran Church mobilized to distribute 2,000 compact fluorescent light bulbs to every household. Organizers estimate the effort would save enough energy to light more than three million homes for a year.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans: Volunteers including Boy Scouts, Society of St. Andrew and the Salvation Army bagged 44,000 pounds of loose sweet potatoes and then distributed them to local food banks and in low-income neighborhoods in Cape Coral, Fla.

First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association: The Saint John the Baptist Catholic School’s seventh grade students in Whiting, Ind., demonstrated their computer skills to members of The First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association who had made financial contributions for their purchase.

Modern Woodmen of America: Handicap accessibility was constructed on the front and rear entrance of a building that had been turned into a outreach center for the youth of Jacksonville and Pulaski County, Ark. Youth volleyball and basketball team members assisted.

Woodmen of the World/Omaha Woodmen Life Insurance Society: In Lebanon, Virginia, Boy Scouts, Green Valley Youth Group, Lebanon Baptist Church and the high school joined Woodmen members to collect food and other necessities for the food bank.

Cook County Middle School Student Council: Students volunteered in 22 different locations in Grand Marais, Minn., from daycare centers, museums, libraries, elementary classrooms, the community center, trails, nursing home, senior center, senior housing, North House Folk School, and littered alleys.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans: Combining forces with Global Youth Service Day in Nashua, New Hampshire, Thrivent helped to connect Community Service Teams with City Year for an inspiring day of service led by 17-24 year old AmeriCorps members and local middle school youths.

“Congratulations to the JOIN HANDS DAY 2008 Excellence Award winners, and we’ll see you out in full force next year, on May 2, 2009. Until then, join us in celebrating fraternalism by JOINING HANDS 365 days a year,” said Stivoric.

Sponsored by America’s fraternal benefit societies, JOIN HANDS DAY is the fraternal national day of service when youths and adults work together to plan and implement projects that benefit their local communities. To learn more about JOIN HANDS DAY, visit the Web site at www.joinhandsday.org or e-mail actioncenter@joinhandsday.org.

About the NFCA

The 123-year-old NFCA unites 73 not-for-profit fraternal benefit societies operating in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. The association represents 10 million fraternalists in 37,000 local chapters, making it one of America’s largest member-volunteer networks. Fraternal benefit societies provide their members with leadership, social, educational, spiritual, patriotic, scholarship, financial and volunteer-service opportunities. Combined, the NFCA’s member-societies maintain more than $343 billion of life insurance-in-force and, in 2007 alone, contributed almost $418 million to charitable and fraternal programs, and volunteered more than 95 million hours for community-service projects. These statistics demonstrate the commitment that fraternals make to those in need and exemplify the true meaning of the NFCA signature phrase: Joining Hands to Touch Lives. For more information, visit the NFCA’s Web site at www.nfcanet.org.

OAK BROOK, IL – This year’s JOIN HANDS DAY, May 3, 2008, was a great success thanks to the efforts of the fraternal benefit system. Created in 2000, JOIN HANDS DAY is a national day of service where youths and adults work as equal partners to plan and carry out local volunteer projects to benefit their communities.

In 47 states, plus the District of Columbia and three Canadian provinces, approximately 1,100 projects were registered for this year’s JOIN HANDS DAY. JOIN HANDS DAY is sponsored by America’s fraternal benefit societies and is held annually on the first Saturday in May. Details of this year’s many projects can be found on the JOIN HANDS DAY Web site (www.joinhandsday.org).

Fraternalists hold events throughout North America

In Baytown, Texas, more than 1,400 volunteers collected funds, food and hygiene, office and cleaning supplies for the Bay Area Homeless Services.

The Boissevain, Manitoba, chapter of United Commercial Travelers invited youth to help tidy up the grounds of the International Peace Garden on the American and Canadian border followed by a wiener and marshmallow roast.

Scavenger Hunt Bingo was held in Albany, Georgia. Youngsters paired up in teams with adults and went to neighborhood houses to ask for donations of canned goods shown on a bingo card. The team that completed the bingo card first and the team that collected the most food received prizes. The food was given to Neighbors in Need, a local non-profit organization that supplies food to the elderly and needy.

“JOIN HANDS DAY is just one example of how fraternal benefit societies make a difference in their communities,” said Join Hands Corporation President Joseph J. Annotti. “Volunteering and contributing in their own neighborhoods is a key part of fraternalists’ daily lives.”

JOIN HANDS DAY creates meaningful partnerships

This volunteer day brings diverse groups together to work for a common good. In Twin Falls, Idaho, Modern Woodmen of America, Red Hat Society, Magic Valley Builders Association, Sober Riders motorcycle club, the Rotary Club, the Kiwanis Club, a homeschoolers association,

Boy Scouts of America, OWLS (Outstanding Women of Leadership), LDS Relief Society and Potato Growers of America joined forces to bring a “Christmas in Springtime” celebration to a large assisted living center. These groups reunited this year after doing a JHD project last year.

Youth involvement creates innovative projects

Having youths involved in the planning of the volunteer activities brings a fresh approach to helping others. Royal Neighbors in Rock Island, Ill., purchased Wii games for use at senior residences. On JOIN HANDS DAY, young people taught residents how to use these popular games, which are not only fun, but can help with rehabilitation, coordination and social skills.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans volunteers created a “Pizza Garden” on the grounds of the Eastern Star Nursing Home. After the ground is tilled, nursing home residents, community and 4-H youths and leaders plant “ingredients” needed for making pizzas: tomatoes, garlic, onions, wheat for crusts, corn and soybeans to feed the animals that provide the cheese and meat. The residents and community youths will continue meeting once a week throughout the summer to learn more about gardening, nutrition and weeding.

Other good works done on JOIN HANDS DAY continue to provide assistance throughout the rest of the year. Fraternalists planted 10,000 gladiola bulbs in Marg’s Glad Garden in Grafton, Nova Scotia, a memorial for a cancer victim. Blooms are harvested and sold as a fundraiser for other cancer victims who need financial assistance for their treatments. Last year, the garden raised $12,000 for the Marg Salsman Cancer Care Patient Navigator Memorial Fund.

More than 1,000 volunteers collected collected funds for Casting Your Cares, Inc. and Devine Creations, a nonprofit mentoring group for low-income young women and girls from the Northeast side of Houston, Texas, that meets as a monthly club and holds workshops on self-esteem, self-image, problem solving, decision-making and communication.

“The NFCA appreciates the efforts made by its member-societies and state fraternal congresses on JOIN HANDS DAY,” said Join Hands Corporation Chairman of the Board Michael Stivoric. “While we, as fraternalists, join hands year-round, JOIN HANDS DAY gives us the opportunity to reach out to people we don’t know, connect with other generations and develop relationships that would never happen otherwise.”

Sponsors of the Day

Sponsored by America’s fraternal benefit societies, JOIN HANDS DAY is the fraternal national day of service when youths and adults work together to plan and implement projects that benefit their local communities.

About the NFCA

America’s fraternal benefit societies are members of the National Fraternal Congress of America (NFCA), a trade association founded in 1886. The association’s 73 member-societies are not-for-profit membership organizations that represent 10 million people in 37,000 local chapters, making it one of America’s largest member volunteer networks. Fraternal benefit societies provide members with leadership, social, educational, spiritual, patriotic, financial and volunteer-service opportunities. In 2006, these societies and their members volunteered 95 million hours and contributed $410 million to charitable and fraternal programs. To learn more about fraternal benefit societies and the NFCA, visit the NFCA’s Web site at www.nfcanet.org.

To learn more about JOIN HANDS DAY, visit the Web site at www.joinhandsday.org or e-mail actioncenter@joinhandsday.org.

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OAK BROOK, IL – The National Fraternal Congress of America (NFCA) recognized this year’s 10 JOIN HANDS DAY Excellence Award winners. The 2007 JOIN HANDS DAY Excellence Awards were presented at the Celebration of Fraternalism Luncheon held during the 121st NFCA Annual Meeting, September 6-8, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The 10 awardees were selected from hundreds of volunteer projects that emphasized youth and adult partnerships on May 5, 2007. Each award-winning project received $1,000 and a distinctive glass trophy. The coordinating groups will choose how the funds are used. Some organizations donate the money to the beneficiary of the project or another benevolent cause. Others save the funds to use as seed money for the following year’s JOIN HANDS DAY event.

JOIN HANDS DAY, which promotes fraternalism and fraternal benefit societies, is the only day of service on America’s Season of Service national calendar that seeks to build youth and adult relationships through planning and participating in a day of volunteering. This signature event provides fraternal benefit societies with an opportunity to connect with other volunteer organizations to make an important impact on their communities.

In selecting Excellence Award recipients, the most important consideration is the quality of the youth and adult partnership in planning and conducting the event. Other criteria include the quality of the project to the community or persons in need, effectiveness of the mobilization group and the potential for relationships to continue after JOIN HANDS DAY.

“This is fraternalism’s day, a day when fraternal benefit societies and volunteer organizations reach out to people or communities in need, connect generations and develop relationships that would never happen otherwise,” said Michael Stivoric, Chair of the Join Hands Corporation Board of Directors. “Fraternalists ‘JOIN HANDS’ year-round, because fraternalism is not a one-day-a-year event. However, JOIN HANDS DAY provides all fraternalists and nonfraternalists alike with the opportunity to make a difference in their communities through helpful projects that connect youths and adults.”

Eight of the 10 winning projects were coordinated by fraternal benefit societies. The other two projects were conducted by local community groups and volunteer organizations.

2007 Excellence Awards—Fraternal Winners

Greater Beneficial Union of Pittsburgh – Operation Reach Out … “delivering a little piece of home to our troops” was held at the Greater Beneficial Union home office in Pittsburgh. Participating volunteers organized, packed and prepared collected items for overseas delivery.

Modern Woodmen of America – In Twin Falls, Idaho, a diverse gathering of four Modern Woodmen Camps, Boy Scouts, OWLS, the Latter-day Saints (LDS) Relief Society, two motorcycle groups, home schoolers and the Red Hat Ladies learned about the difficulties facing the homeless, then packed four kinds of kits for them: comfort kits, hygiene kits, activity kits and baby kits. They also packed personal care kits for U.S. military personnel stationed in Iraq.

Modern Woodmen of America – Modern Woodmen of America, along with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, joined forces to clean up trash and debris at the Darwin Aman farm in Eureka, South Dakota, which had been struck by a tornado.

National Slovak Society of the USA – The National Slovak Society (NSS) sought out people in need throughout the city of Struthers, Ohio, to compile a list of multiple projects. On JOIN HANDS DAY, participating groups joining NSS included Knights of Columbus, the Boy Scouts, St. John’s AME Church, the National Honor Society, the VFW, Rotary, St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church, Struthers Business Association, the police department and the historical society.

SPJST – SPJST, along with Catholic Family Fraternal of Texas, KJZT, and Catholic Union of Texas (The KJT), combined forces to update the Texas Czech Heritage and Cultural Center in LaGrange. They resealed decks, handicap ramps, a bridge and stairs; cleaned the storage room and landscaped.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans – In Cape Coral, Florida, 350 volunteers bagged up more than 2,500 bags of donated sweet potatoes destined for more than 40 relief agencies in a project organized by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Also participating were Boy and Girl Scouts, the Salvation Army and the Society of St. Andrew.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans – Thrivent Financial Chapter #30323 of Alma, Missouri, working with baseball enthusiasts made structural and maintenance repairs to the local ballpark.

Woodmen of the World/Omaha Woodmen Life Insurance Society – Woodmen of the World/Omaha, Lodge #5, worked with the Chamber of Commerce and the Boy Scouts to plant 30 trees in Carlsbad, New Mexico.

2007 Excellence Awards—Non-fraternal Winners

Boy Scouts of America – Charles Park in Middleburg, Pennsylvania, was the site of a JOIN HANDS/Community Day in which nine groups came together to refurbish the park. The adults fixed the current equipment and erected a new climbing wall, while the youths scattered mulch and planted flowers. The park has been used heavily since the JOIN HANDS DAY.

Pleasant Valley High School – In LeClaire, Iowa, children from Cody Elementary School, youth from Pleasant Valley High School and adults from the PTA, working with all sizes of shovels and rakes, completed a large landscaping project at the elementary school.

2007 Excellence Awards—Honorable Mentions

Catholic Knights – Built a stronger sense of community between African refugee and immigrant families in Milwaukee and created a cultural exchange. They helped a newly formed nonprofit group (Pan African Community Association – PACA) to build relationships in the community so it can more effectively achieve its mission.

Davenport West High School Business Academy – The students and teachers cleaned, picked and trimmed the school grounds. Flowerbeds were weeded, raked and cleaned, and 200 bags of mulch were spread around the school’s trees and shrubs.

S.K.I.P. [Special Kids in Preschool] – Students joined the residents at Amber Ridge Assisted Living where the old worked with the young, planting 37 flower boxes and 16 flower pots together.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans – Fraternalists made 22 quilts for children in need. Police and fire departments, hospitals and cancer treatment centers all over New Hampshire were given the quilts for distribution.

Woodmen of the World/Omaha Woodmen Life Insurance Society – Lodge members partnered with the Girl Scouts to collect and deliver personal-care items, such as shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, hairbrushes and combs, to the High Desert Homeless Services in Victorville, California. Other items that were requested and included in the kits were laundry detergents, bleach, paper towels, Kleenex, suitcases, duffle bags, men’s toiletry cases and healthy snack items.

“Congratulations to the JOIN HANDS DAY 2007 Excellence Award winners, and we’ll see you out in full force next year, on May 3, 2008. Until then, join us in celebrating fraternalism by JOINING HANDS 365 days a year,” said Stivoric.

Sponsored by America’s fraternal benefit societies, JOIN HANDS DAY is the fraternal national day of service when youths and adults work together to plan and implement projects that benefit their local communities. To learn more about JOIN HANDS DAY, visit the Web site at www.joinhandsday.org or e-mail actioncenter@joinhandsday.org.

About the NFCA

The 121-year-old NFCA unites 75 not-for-profit fraternal benefit societies operating in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. The association represents 10 million fraternalists in 37,000 local chapters, making it one of America’s largest member-volunteer networks. Fraternal benefit societies provide their members with leadership, social, educational, spiritual, patriotic, scholarship, financial and volunteer-service opportunities. Combined, the NFCA’s member-societies maintain more than $329 billion of life insurance-in-force and, in 2006 alone, contributed almost $410 million to charitable and fraternal programs, and volunteered nearly 95 million hours for community-service projects. These statistics demonstrate the commitment that fraternals make to those in need and exemplify the true meaning of the NFCA signature phrase: Joining Hands to Touch Lives. For more information, visit the NFCA’s Web site at www.nfcanet.org.