MULTICULTURAL COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER Volume 7, Issue 5 May 2017 o Coming Events June 1—Hurricane Season Begins June 3—Highmark Walk For a Healthy Community at Presque Isle June 4—Pentecost June 5—World Environ- ment Day June 8—Best Friends Day June 14—Flag Day June 15—Native American Furaha Ya Mama Siku ** Feliz Dia de las Citizenship Day Madres** Happy Mother’s Day June 18—Father’s Day June 19—Juneteenth (Emancipation Day or Freedom Day) The expression “Hallmark Holiday” is often connected to Mother’s Day in the United States, implying that the June 20 First Day of Sum- holiday is celebrated to boost the greeting card business. While there is a definite benefit for florists, choco- mer latiers and card companies during this special holiday, its origins are far from the retail world. June 26—LGBT Pride Day Mother’s Day in the United States as we know it today began in 1908 with a memorial at St. Andrew’s Meth- odist Church in Grafton, WV. A woman by the name of Anna Jarvis wanted to celebrate the peacekeeping work her mother had done helping wounded soldiers during the Civil War and creating “Mother’s Day Work Clubs” to address public health issues. Congress rejected a proposal to make Mother’s Day an official holiday that year; however, Anna Jarvis was very persistent and worked to spread the celebration across the country. By 1911 all US states observed the holiday and in 1914, Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating the second Sunday in May as a national holiday to honor mothers. The intention was to always remember Multicultural Community mothers and honor them with sentiments of gratitude for all they had given to their children. Resource Center of Erie The commercialization of the holiday began in the early 1920s when companies started producing goods Michael Burns, Esq., Board President designed especially for the occasion including specialized greeting cards and candy. This angered Jarvis, Joanna R. Cherpak, Executive Director who protested at candy conventions and social meetings where Mother’s Day goods were sold for profit. Her intention was always that mothers be celebrated by hand written notes and homemade gifts that MCRC Noticias Editorial Team: showed love and gratitude. Cathie Whitmire, ESL Instructor While Mother’s Day is still a relatively new holiday for us in the United States, other countries have been cele- Carol Brigham, Education Manager brating women and mothers in many different ways for centuries. While much of the modern world cele- Gregg Sikora, IT Specialist brates along with us in the United States on the second Sunday in May, many countries have other tradi- Jordan Cherpak, Wellness Coordinator tions: 554 East 10th St., Erie, PA 16503 The United Kingdom celebrates Mothering Sunday – or the fourth Sunday in Lent. The tradition was that Ph: 814.455.0212 FAX: 814.453.2363 children who had been farmed out to work for wealthy gentry would be allowed to come home to celebrate Email: [email protected] Lent with their families. On their way home they would pick flowers for their mothers and some would even bake special cakes. V OLUME 7 , I SSUE 5 P AGE 2 Con’t from Page 1... Much of Europe celebrates International Women’s Day in March. This is a day to honor all women and is usually celebrated with the exchanging of flowers and small gifts with the women in your life. In Indonesia, Mother’s Day is celebrated in December, on the anniversary of the first Indonesian Women Congress, marking its original goal of honoring the spirit of the Indonesian woman. Today the sentiments have changed to align more with the general celebration of expressing love and gratitude to mothers. In Mexico, various political parties and religious groups have tried to capitalize on celebrations based on the family- promoting healthy families as a way to build a better society. It is believed that these efforts were abandoned in the mid-1940s. Today they celebrate “Dia de las Madres” every year on May 10 to show affection and appreciation to mothers. The Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community is an annual fundraising walk that benefits local health and human service agencies. Highmark Inc. coordinates and underwrites the cost of the walk so that 100 percent of the money raised by walkers goes to the participating nonprofits. The primary goal of the walk is to help participating organizations raise money for their individual missions. The secondary goal of the walk is to energize community members to have a greater hand in their health by becoming or staying physically active. The inaugural Walk for a Healthy Community took place in Pittsburgh, in 2003, and raised more than $25,000 for eight nonprofit organi- zations. Additional walks have since been added in Lehigh Valley, Erie, Harrisburg and Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and in Wilmington, Dela- ware. Through 2016, the events have raised more than 10 million dollars for nearly 400 nonprofits across the states. V OLUME 7 , I SSUE 5 P AGE 3 MCRC’s 3rd Annual ServErie Makes A Difference Trivia Competition MCRC’s 3nd annual “Who wants to be a U.S. Citizen” trivia compe- tition was once again held on Friday, April 28th at the Prep & Villa Event Center. The evening included dinner, a Chinese auction and, of course, trivia! Jim Kurre served as emcee for the evening, adding his comedic style to the 6 rounds of trivia. This year’s event raised over $4,600.00! The money raised for this event will be put toward a permanent outdoor shelter to be built in the agencies back lot so there is a shaded area for Daycare kids and other classes to utilize. We’d like to thank all of the participants, community sponsors and agency staff that helped to make this event a success. Plans have already begun to make next year even more fun. Watch for a Save The Date notice soon! A group of young men from ServErie helped wash windows and paint the exterior steps of the annex and main building on the MCRC Campus this past month. Bicyclists welcome! Pictured above, one of three bike racks in- stalled on Friday April 28th at MCRC. It was designed and installed by on the left by local metal artist Greg Gehner of Transit Forge and assisted by on the right Jim Dunn. The program in partnership with the Erie Art Museum, Erie County Department of Health, Bike Erie and Erie Yesterday and was funded by an Erie County Greenway Grant. V OLUME 7 , I SSUE 5 P AGE 4 An Imperfect Fix V OLUME 7 , I SSUE 5 P AGE 5 Monarchies Still Exist Royalty is a term that defines a person in a high position or standing within society. Throughout much of history, royal members were the rulers of a kingdom or country. Today, most countries are democracies with elected officials. However, there are a few nations that still have a monarchy as their system of government. When discussing monarchs, the United Kingdom is probably the first country that comes to mind. Queen Elizabeth II has held the crown for 65 years and possible successors are always a favorite discussion topic. Like most monarchies, the United Kingdom relies on royal lineage; the crown is passed on to the next generation to rule. There are currently 16 realms that recognize Queen Elizabeth II as their Head of State. During her 65 year reign, she has overseen a total of 32 sovereign countries. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom have been under the Queen’s rule for her entire tenure. These countries may celebrate royalty, but they are actually governed by a constitutional republic or parliament. This means that law is determined by a group of elected officials. The English Monarch may not make law, but they do host charitable events to help the people they “rule”. Before their defeat in World War II, Japan was an empire with an absolute ruler. In 1947, they drafted their constitution to become what is now modern Japan. There still exists a line of royalty from their emperors, and recently a princess made global news. Princess Mako of Japan has decided to marry a classmate of hers, and become a commoner. Not a typical fairytale of becoming a prince or princess as pop culture would portray. Europe used to be the continent that housed all the major kingdoms, such as France, Denmark, Norway, Prussia (Germanic), Russia, and Sweden. Most kingdoms were dissolved before the start of 1900’s. Even most of the African kingdoms disbanded post World War II and were gone by the 1970’s. There are only a handful of absolute monarchies left in the world: Brunei, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Swaziland. Only in these kingdoms, do Kings make the laws. A Constitutional Democracy is how the majority of governments in the world are described today, but without the monarchs to get countries started, the world would not be the same. Our forefathers chose having a president rather than another king, so we cannot forget our own roots. Prince William and Duchess Kate King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck King Felipe and Queen Letizia (Spain) (England) and Queen Jetsun (Bhutan) V OLUME 7 , I SSUE 5 P AGE 6 MULTICULTURAL COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER 554 East 10th Street Erie, PA 16503 Phone: 814-455-0212 Fax: 814-453-2363 Web: www.mcrcerie.org One Race...the Human Race Over the Memorial Day weekend, I saw a photo of a Muslim man praying with a Jewish woman for the victims of the Manchester, England terrorists attacks.