Vol. 20, Issue 4 Friendship Force of Western North Carolina April 2020

www.ffwesternnc.org www.friendshipforce.org

Next FFWNC Meeting Our meeting time and place will be announced later. For now, all activities are on hold.

Stay Safe!

A Word From Our Club President This is a difficult time for everyone, including those of us who love to travel. Friendship Force Journeys around the world are being cancelled and clubs are experiencing disappointment and uncertainty.

I am one who has grumbled in the past about the fees we pay Friendship Force International for each of our Journeys. I now realize how those fees are essential to keeping FFI going and how much I would miss it if it ceased to be.

My understanding is that FFI has a reserve fund for emergencies. I don’t know how much it is or how long it can last. FFI President Jeremy Snook says the Board is working hard to deal with this critical time.

There are so many agencies and causes needing our help right now and I know we can’t respond to them all. I would ask you, however, as I am asking myself, to look to the future and be thinking about steps we might want to take to support FFI and ensure that it continues.

One step I am taking, and encourage you to take, is to keep the contacts and good will of Friendship Force alive. I am reaching out to people I have met through FF, hoping they are well, sharing what is going on in North Carolina, asking what is going on in their community and recalling specific places and experiences we shared when we were together.

In this time of social isolation and fear at national borders, I feel the FF mission of awareness, friendship and peace is more necessary than ever. We can’t travel physically right now, but nothing is stopping us from traveling in our imagination wherever friendship and concern take us. Stay well and stay in touch.

- Larry Harvey

2

A Note on COVID-19's Impact of Friendship Force

I hope this letter finds you healthy and well provisioned during this difficult time. This pandemic continues to impact all of us in unimaginable ways. Now more than ever we need to hang on to hope for the future and reach out to friends and loved ones. As an organization, Friendship Force faces an economic crisis unlike anything we have experienced in our 42-year history. While we have survived Y2K, the attacks of 9/11, SARS, and many other global catastrophes, never before has our organization faced a situation that has impacted every club in every country at the same time. As you know, the mission of Friendship Force is financially supported through the act of members participating in Journeys. Cancellation of nearly all Journeys for the foreseeable future has FFI facing the worst financial situation in its history, putting the organization itself in peril. FFI operates on a $1.2 million dollar budget annually. This budget pays for our technology needs, marketing efforts, club growth and development, and our small staff of 15 people - half of whom work part-time. The pandemic has erased nearly 60% of our revenue this year so far, causing us to cease all technology projects, eliminate all expenses, and, sadly, even lay off some staff and reduce paid hours for everyone else. Without a miracle, FFI will deplete its $200,000 in savings and lay off all of our dedicated staff by August. We must not let this happen. Although there are hundreds-of-thousands of people who have already lost their jobs and thousands of businesses already closed (some permanently) as a result of the pandemic, Friendship Force has one major advantage: you. If we band together, we can support the basic infrastructure of FFI to keep its doors open until our Journeys are able to pick up again. One of the things the world will need when this pandemic subsides is to get out and visit old friends and make new ones. In many ways, I believe this pandemic will be a wake-up call for most people to seek and embrace real and meaningful relationships. Ones that expand their understanding and connectedness to the world around them, and Friendship Force needs to be there! I am asking everyone to step up and commit to donating one-week’s worth of a US outbound Journey fee to FFI; more, if you are able to do so. We often talk about how “one week” on an FFI Journey can change your life. During this crisis, “one week” can ensure that FFI will be here in 2021 and beyond, for you and for future generations. If we all come together and give, even just a little, collectively we can ensure Friendship Force’s future. Communication, transparency, and access are essential in this effort. To read the latest bulletins from myself or FFI, to seek answers to your questions, or to ask anything of FFI, please don’t hesitate to call, email, text, Facebook, or WhatsApp me. A special link is being set up to keep everyone informed at blog.friendshipforce.org, and, if you haven’t signed up to receive notifications, please go to our website and do so today. Thank you in advance for considering your special gift to Friendship Force International. Stay safe and let’s keep in touch. In friendship, Jeremi Snook, President/CEO

3

From the Membership Committee The 2020 WNC membership directory is printed and was ready for distribution at the March meeting, which, of course, was canceled due to the ongoing mandates at locally, state and federal levels. Marlene Beggs, the membership chair, received the printed directories from Diane Tokarski, who so graciously completes many tasks such as overseeing the publication of the directory. The updated directory is available on the password protected site of our local website https://ffwesternnc.org/ if you click on the tab "Membership". If you would like your paper copy sooner, than at an unknown later meeting date, please call Marlene at 828-845-1894 to arrange a time & place to pick-up; but, do remember we are under a 30 day mandate of 'stay-at-home'. Be safe and well From Marlene Beggs, Chair

2020 Journeys and Coordinators Charlotte inbound Sept. 25 – 28 Joe Robustelli & Becky Reid

Friendship Force Website www.thefriendshipforce.org

Sometime when you are “browsing” online, check out the Friendship Force International website at www.thefriendshipforce.org (After you have checked the Western NC FF site of course!). This could be particularly helpful for our newer members. You will find that you are not limited to the Journeys our club takes. There are also Journeys that are open to anyone and being part of them you will meet people from all over the world. Also, by clicking on “all Journeys,” you will find that other clubs have open spaces on their Journeys that you are invited to fill. Finally, under “Membership Resources>videos” you can find promotional videos to share with friends as well as interviews with Jeremi Snook, Friendship Force International president. It’s a good way to see the “Big Picture” of Friendship Force. Check it out. Note: Journeys listed on the FFI website are not viable options at the moment.

Upcoming Events July 11 Annual Picnic at Mills River Park ?

4

2020 Officers and Directors

President Larry Harvey

President-elect Marlene Beggs Past President Kay Manley Secretary Lynne Cigal Treasurer Mary Evers

Club Directors 2020 2021 2022

Nancy McGaughy Diane Tokarski Ellen Brazauskas Chuck Stevens Joe Robustelli Kathy Marbois-Segall

Membership: Marlene Beggs, Kim Reid, Gerri Gurbuz

Directory Diane Tokarski Journey Jan Partin (chair), Susan Harvey, Larry McGaughy Newsletter Ron Partin Publicity Renee Kumor Website Diane Tokarski Facebook Ron Partin Hospitality Sandy Foster, Beth Fox Archives Chuck Elston Sunshine Judy Wondolowski

Suggestion Box At their February meeting, the Board decided to have a suggestion box available at each General Meeting. The hope is that this will enable members of the club to make suggestions, give feedback and offer options on club matters and will help keep the Board in touch with the members.

5

Membership Application / Renewal

Send to: Treasurer, FFWNC, P.O. Box 1425, Skyland, NC 28776 (Separate Application per person)

PLEASE CHECK ONE: □ New Membership w/badge $44 per person $_____________ □ Renewal Membership $32 per person $_____________ □ Associate (if you are a member of another FFI club and pay

that club’s full dues) $12 per person $_____________ Name:____________________________________________________________________ Address:__________________________________________________________________ Phone:_________________________ Cell Phone:_______________________________

Email:____________________________________________________________________

Year joined FFWNC ___________ Date of Application________________________

TALENTSORINTERESTSYOUCOULDSHAREWITHFRIENDSHIPFORCE:Foreignlanguagesspoken___________________________________________________________ Countriesvisitedorknowledgeof_____________________________________________________Talentsandskills__________________________________________________________________ Profession(orformer)______________________________________________________________