With just a few days to go until this newsletter was due I found myself going through a dry spell. I felt like I was channeling Joey when trying to write the speech for Monica and Chandler’s wedding (“Friends” fan alert - a 57-seconds video that cannot be missed). 

I was trying to avoid platitudes related to what holiday we celebrate in November and then I started wondering; not about the origin of the holiday, but rather of the word “thanks / thank you”. According to Merriam-Webster, the first known use of “thanks” occurred before the 12th century, but it didn’t exactly translate to “gratitude” back then. The word “thank” stems from the Latin wordtongēre. The root tong- means “think.” Loosely translated, the expression might read “I will remember what you have done for me.” 

Browsing through resources I also asked myself if “thanking” is observed in other parts of the world as well. After all, we have several international days, from women to Earth, from volunteers to health and everything in between, so that’s when I came across the "International Thank-you Day" (January 11th) and “World Gratitude Day” which was celebrated on September 21st.

“Even though the language of “thank you” dates back hundreds of years ago, the concept of gratitude has always been a piece of human interaction. The fact that nearly every language today embodies the idea of thanking someone goes to show how human communication can survive across different cultures and times”.

That being said, do we have reasons to remember what others have done for us, or do others have reasons to remember us? Plenty. 

Recent News:

The “giving”:

United Way, one of our strategic partners, launched its #LectiiDeBunatate Fundraising Campaign on Saturday, October 17th (see video). United Way Romania is a Romanian foundation affiliated with United Way Worldwide, USA, which develops and supports education, financial stability, and health programs - the pillars of a prosperous community. Annually, they help over 12,900 children, young and elderly in different situations of vulnerability to have a better life. United Way Romania's education programs fight against school dropouts in poor urban and rural communities, where the priority is not the children's education but the daily struggle to find resources needed for survival. 

The “receiving”: 

The Balkan Festival, the one mentioned in the previous newsletter, was a success. The event raised over $10,000. Since the money will be split among 4 NGOs with activities in the Balkans, RUF will receive about $2,500.  We are deeply grateful to Historic Wyoming Farm and Andreea Rebaltescu-Coca (our Communications Director, one of our most active volunteers who was also an MC for the event) for organizing it and to all of those who took part and donated. 

News from RUF:

The “having”

As Romanians would say: “haideti la o sueta!” If you are a RUF volunteer, join our Coffee Hour every Saturday at @10am CDT where we meet the other members of the "tribe", get to know each other a bit more, brainstorm ideas, and future projects. For an hour we put everything on hold and just enjoy each other’s company (or at least that’s what we’re hoping ;) 

If you are not a volunteer, you have no idea what you're missing. Sign up to find out and we'll get in touch with you. 

Experience RUF Nation, our Facebook group. You can meet like-minded people, members of our community, other Romanian American organizations that have incredible programs in their community across the US. Come and have a chat with us, tell us about you or your organization.

Romanian American Organizations events:

The "sharing"

We are happy to present you with a list of events organized by Romanian American Organizations for this month:

American Romanian Cultural Society is inviting you to “The 7th edition of the Romanian Film Festival". Their amazing story for the past six years has a new creative format, responding to the vital need to stay connected through arts, film, and meaningful discussions. They invite you to watch, from the comfort of your homes, inspiring stories of resilience and solidarity, imagine the world after the pandemic and explore new possibilities for social change. They will offer you opportunities to virtually interact with local, national, and international special guests.

Upcoming RUF Campaigns:

Out of love for Romania! 
The Princess Margareta of Romania Foundation was established in 1990 by Her Majesty Margareta, Custodian of the Romanian Crown, together with her father, King Michael. During its 28 years of work, the Foundation developed a wide variety of sustainable projects in the areas of education, community development, civil society, health, and culture, projects which contributed to the spiritual and social renewal of Romania. The Princess Margareta of Romania Foundation is today an elite non-governmental organization that supports children, young people, and the elderly through sustainable intervention, based on sharing experience and values between generations.  At the end of this week, in partnership with RUF, they are launching the campaign “Avem o dragoste de dat" (We have a love to give). The campaign targeted to support the elderly in these challenging times will be launched on ourFacebook platform.  Keep an eye out for our December edition to get all the information on this royal campaign.

We need your help! Do you want to get involved?

We are looking for volunteers for two positions inside the Communications Department: Social Media Monitoring for our Community Partners/Strategic Partners and Social Media Content Creator. If you are interested, please contact Ariana Drule, Volunteer Coordinator. Her contacts are listed in the job postings listed below. Check our website for all the announcements for positions available.

We conclude with a big “Thank you”. For who and what you are, for your continuous support and thoughts of encouragement. We remember what you have and are doing for us and are very grateful. Because yes, this month and the next are, after all, about “giving and receiving, as well as having and sharing” ;)

Anamaria Neamt, Word Whisperer in Chief 

Adriana Kulcsar, Web Editor, Deputy Word Whisperer