December 12, 2024

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The Pittsburgh Finns are currently focusing on building a Finnish Nationality Room at the Cathedral of Learning on the campus of University of Pittsburgh. The Finnish Room will join the existing Nationality Rooms which depict and commemorate the cultural heritage of 31 different ethnic communities.  We are working with our architects and Pitt staff on the detailed plans for the room.

Our chapter has also been busy entertaining and reaching out to the community. This year we celebrated Vappu, Midsummer and Pikkujoulu with traditional food, drink and music. We also participated in the Nationality Rooms' large public events of the Festival of the Egg in March and the Open House in November.  In the summer, our group had a presence at this year's FinnFest in Duluth.

We'd like to thank all members, and those involved once again for their donations and their PATIENCE with the Finnish room project - a project decades in the making, passed on to new generations to come. We should not stop supporting our project and our group.  We are ALL now builders of our ROOM. Also, we need to keep our group going through yearly dues. If you haven’t paid dues or want to make a donation, you need to follow separate procedures for the two organizations we are members of—the Finlandia Foundation Pittsburgh Chapter and the University of Pittsburgh Finnish Room Committee.

Finlandia Foundation Pittsburgh
Dues are $5 yearly. We also appreciate donations for office supplies, if you would like to add something extra to the $5. 
Make the check payable to “Finlandia Foundation Pittsburgh” and send it to “Sally Morton, 5250 Liberty Ave, Apt 447, Pittsburgh, PA 15224-2380.” 
Finnish Room Committee
Dues are $10 yearly. You can also include donations for the Finnish Room, since all monies sent to our Committee go into the same fund while we are building the room. 
By mail:
Make the check payable to “University of Pittsburgh” and in the memo write “Finnish Room”. Send it to “University of Pittsburgh, PO Box 640093, 
Pittsburgh, PA 15264-0093”.  
Online: 
This procedure is complicated at the moment but will become simpler once we have an established room. We tried it and it works!
Go to http://www.nationalityrooms.pitt.edu
Select the About button at the top left and then select Support the Nationality Rooms! --you will be sent to the page Donate to the Nationality Rooms. 
Cursor to the bottom of the page under the section General Funds and click the Finnish Room Construction link.  You will be sent to the University of Pittsburgh/Pitt Giving page. 
Fill in the gift amount. Click on Choose Area(s) to Support. You will be sent to the page Select Your Area(s) of Support. Scroll down to the bottom and select Other and click Continue. 
The University of Pittsburgh/Pitt Giving page will appear again only this time Please Enter a Description of Where to Direct This Donation will appear under Designations.
In the box below Please Enter a Description, type Finnish Construction Fund and continue filling in the form. 
 
Best wishes for a happy holiday season!

From your officers: Karen Fix, Chair; Sally Morton, Treasurer