MCRC noticias

Coming Events

Every Wednesday 6 to 7pm –coupon exchange – Horan Apts

Every Monday & Wednesday 5 to 6:30pm – Karate – CEC

Nepali Parenting Edu – Fridays 10-12

See Wellness Center

Education Events on p.4

o

Every year we celebrate Valentine’s Day by showering those we love with gifts, cards, and

words that describe how important they are in our lives. We thank them for standing beside us

when times were tough and finding ways to keep us positive when we ourselves were ready to

give up. For many of our immigrant clients, this holiday has a very special meaning, even

though they may have never celebrated it before arriving in Erie, PA. Each passing day we hear

the stories of families fleeing across their countries, with babies tied to their backs, seeking ref-

uge for their loved ones. We hear about husbands who stayed behind to provide an alibi that

would give their wives and children a better chance of not being caught. We are told of wives

who awaited the return of their husbands, sometimes for years, never wavering from their

commitment to them; and we hear of the heartache for those that never returned. We see in

their eyes the love for a spouse, stronger than any hardship, deeper than any fear.

Within the MCRC Elder program, we observe daily and are moved by this kind of love that can

only be achieved through years of devotion in the midst of trials and suffering. With a gentle

hand they support their spouse as they walk; with a soft voice they help each other talk; with

loving eyes they watch over their loved one from across the room; and with a caring heart they

encourage each other to stay strong and move onward. To look at this group of elders, you

might find it hard to believe that they started their new life journey here in Erie at the age of

sixty, for they are eager for knowledge and actively committed to helping their families estab-

lish new lives. They speak of the possibilities for their grandchildren with tears in their eyes,

eager to see them provided with opportunities regardless of their religious, political, or social

choices. For those of us who have an opportunity to spend time with these wonderful people

each week, they are an inspiration. They provide us the living proof that love can conquer all,

no matter how frightful or grim the situation seems.

Multicultural Community

Resource Center of Erie

Richard Perhacs, Esq., Board President

Joel Tuzynski,, Executive Director

MCRC Noticias Editorial Team:

Joanna Cherpak, Assoc. Dir. - Operations

Allan Turner, PhD, Assoc. Dir. - Programs

Trish Lawrence, Section Mgr.- CEC

Cathie Whitmire, Section Mgr. - Education

Al Richards, Production Editor

554 East 10th St., Erie, PA 16503

Ph: 814.455.0212 FAX: 814.453.2363

Email: MCRC@multiculturalcrc.org

MULTICULTURAL COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER

Volume 3, Issue 2

February, 2013

The Greatest of These is Love . . .

MCRC Elder

Program par-

ticipants know

strength born

of love and

commitment.

PAGE 2 M C R C N O T I C I A S

MCRC takes great pleasure in announcing that Atty. Richard Perhacs has begun a term of service as President of our Board of Directors. Atty. Perhacs joined our Board in 2011 and succeeds Jim Globa

in his new leadership role.

For over 30 years Mr. Perhacs has counseled employers on labor and employment law issues in in-dustrial and commercial settings, as well as school districts and municipalities. Mr. Perhacs served as a law clerk to the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania. A former faculty member in Gannon Univer-sity's MBA program, he currently serves as solicitor for Labor Relations for Erie County. Mr. Perhacs is a former commercial pilot, and coached youth hockey for 12 years. In addition to serving as Board President of the Multi-Cultural Community Resources Center (formerly the Erie Hispanic-American Council), he is actively involved in programs aiding the Erie area's Hispanic immigrant population and is pursuing conversational fluency in Spanish. He also serves as an Admission Test Proctor for

American Mensa.

Commenting on his new service role, Mr. Perhacs said, “I consider it an honor to have the opportuni-ty serve as President of the MCRC Board. The organization has a long and distinguished history of

serving first the Latino community and now the broader immigrant and refugee community. I haven’t forgotten that only two gen-erations ago my grandparents were in the same circumstances as the people we serve.”

We welcome Rich Perhacs to the MCRC Board of Directors and to the MCRC Family!

Introducing Our New Board President, Richard Perhacs, Esq.

It hardly seems like almost a year has passed since our last bowling tournament. Again, this year’s tournament, our 4

th

Annual Tournament, is co-sponsored by the GE Hispanic Fo-rum. The tournament is scheduled for April 20

th, at Eastway

Lanes in Harborcreek, with teams choosing to bowl in either the 10 am to 12 noon, or the12:30 to 2:30 pm flights. The 2013 tournament will have 2 Divisions, an adult recreational division and a family division (which must have at least one bowler under 14 years of age). The winning team in each division will receive a team trophy and each bowler will receive a personal medal. In addition, this year, we are offering an ‘Intra-Tournament Challenge’ initiative where teams can for-mally challenge other teams, with whom they have a relation-ship, and trophies will be provided to the winning team within their challenge. For example, a church group may challenge other churches in the tournament, or a business may chal-lenge other businesses. A challenge must be pre-registered and include a minimum of 4 teams. Each team requires 5 bowlers. Pizza, a soft drink, bowling shoes and two games of bowling are included in the $100/team fee. Lane sponsorships will be available again this year for $100 each and sponsors will have their company logo and name assigned to each lane they sponsor. MCRC will also be ac-knowledging sponsors in their monthly newsletter and on the MCRC webpage. 50/50 tickets will be available prior to the tournament and we will have door prizes and gift-basket raf-fles during the event. So, reach out to your friends and co-workers, assemble a team and join in the fun. Registration forms are available on our webpage at http://www.mcrcerie.org/events , on our Facebook page or by call-ing 455-0212 and requesting a form be sent to you. We look forward to your being a part of this year’s event.

4th Annual Roll with Diversity Bowling Tournament

Proudly serving the needs of the Hispanic and refugee communities since 1975.

Your Donation

is Appreciated

To make a financial gift to

MCRC, send it to Joanna

Cherpak, Assoc, Director, 554

East 10th St., Erie, PA 16503 or

donate online at

www.multiculturalcrc.org.

Phone 814-455-0212 814-453-2363 Web: www.multiculturalcrc.org

554 E. Tenth St.

Erie, PA 16503

Multicultural Community

Resource Center

Date Event Presented by

March 2, 2013

Saturday

12:00—1:00 PM

Pediatric Care and Education LECOM

March 9, 2013

Saturday

12:00—1:00 PM

Health Care Insurance Education LECOM

March 13, 2013

Wednesday

10:00—11:00 AM

Prescription Drug Abuse Education Erie County Health Department

MCRC Wellness Center Scheduled Education Events . . .

Our combined Mardi Gras/Chinese

New Year Celebration was held on

February 12th

. Joel Tuzynski, Anna

Tischenko, and Debby Pazmino are

shown here wearing the colors of

Mardi Gras (purple, green and gold).

We celebrated the Chinese New

Year (Year of the Snake) by sharing a

delicious feast of Chinese food from

Golden Wok. In keeping with Epiph-

any/Mardi Gras tradition, we also

had a King Cake at our celebration.

Joanna Cherpak had the good for-

tune to find the hidden baby in her

piece of cake.

MCRC Staff

Luncheon Celebrates

Mardi Gras/Chinese

New Year

A charming Chi-

nese legend has it

that in ancient

times, Buddha asked all the

animals to meet him on Chi-

nese New Year. Twelve came,

and Buddha named a year af-

ter each one. He announced

that the people born in each

animal's year would have some

of that animal's personality.

Those born in snake years are

wise, charming, gregarious,

introverted, generous, and

smart. (-Infoplease.com)