Andrius Čižiūnas
A Call to Lithuanian Youth!
Andrius Cižiūnas is the president of the Lithuanian American Youth Association.
On April 8, 2000,
the Lithuanian American Youth Association (LAYA) held its yearly
organizational meeting during which many issues important to Lithuanian
American youth were discussed, and a new leadership was elected. As the new
president of LAYA, I would like to introduce the new LAYA board and myself,
mention some of the issues discussed at our conference, and call upon
Lithuanian youth to take action.
The newly elected board of the Lithuanian American Youth Association includes:
Andrius Čižiūnas president; Marius Petrušonis vice president; Pranas Čižiūnas treasurer; and Juratė Zubinienė secretary.
Our membership, Americans of Lithuanian descent between the ages of 18 and 35, are a very scattered group among whom there is very little contact. Although many of these members are active in their own local Lithuanian organizations, this situation causes a preponderance of problems. Among these are: Lithuanians in each locality only having knowledge of what local Lithuanian youth is doing, a feeling of powerlessness among Lithuanian youth, and, consequently, a very large group of the Lithuanian-American Community having a very quiet voice.
Although these are deeply ingrained problems, these can be changed. The Lithuanian American Youth Association will work on making these situations better for the youth, for other members of the community, and for the community as a whole. But to change this situation, we need the help of the community, especially the youth.
With this in mind, we, the LAYA leadership board, call upon, invite, and encourage Lithuanian youth to become more active in their local Lithuanian communities, youth organizations, and their activities. There are many organizations and activities that cater to the needs of Lithuanians. They include: Lithuanian Scouts of America, Ateitininkai, Knights of Lithuania, Lithuanian sports clubs, Lithuanian parishes, Lithuanian dance groups, local Lithuanian Communities, local Lithuanian Youth Associations, and other such organizations. We invite and encourage the Lithuanian youth to join and participate in these organizations activities.
We invite local and national organizations that cater to Lithuanians, especially to Lithuanian Youth, to contact and become better acquainted and work together with the Lithuanian Youth Association. Our organizations main goal is to unify Lithuanian youth, help them to know or get to know the land of our forefathers, and to strengthen their Lithuanian character. We ask Lithuanian organizations to help us in this worthy cause.
We invite Lithuanian youth, who participate in these organizations, to help us spread the word about their activities. Through the use of our web page (www.tamos.net/~javljs), e-mail (javljs@tamos.net), and traditional Lithuanian media (newspapers, radio shows, etc.), we will advertise activities attended by Lithuanian youth. If you know that the youth in your area is taking action, please let us know and well advertise it.
The World Lithuanian Youth Congress will take place December-January, 2000-2001 in Australia. This Congress brings together Lithuanian Youth from all over the world. We encourage all to attend. For more information, write to the contacts at the addresses below.
If you are Lithuanian and between the ages of 18 and 35 years old, and you would like further information about what Lithuanian Youth is doing locally or nationally, please contact your local Lithuanian Youth Association. In Boston, contact Kazys Adomkaitis (kadomkai@emerald.tufts.edu) or Naida Šnipaite (snipas@massed.net); in Chicago, contact Juratė Zubinienė (jankauskas@webtv.net); in Cleveland, contact Andris Dunduras (adunduras@hotmail.com); in DC/Baltimore, contact Andrius Čižiūnas (buzzcut@tamos.net); and in LA, contact Povilas Pakuckas (povilas@ucla.edu) or Daina Žemaitaitytė (dabzy@aol.com). If your city is not listed, contact the Lithuanian American Youth Association president, Andrius Čižiūnas at:
JAV LJS
7766 Trevino Lane
Falls Church, VA 22043
Phone: (703) 573-8193
E-mail: javljs@tamos.net
Web site: http://www.tamos.net/~javljs
 |
| Pictured: Participants in the LAYA Conference (from left to right): representative of the Australian Lithuanian Youth Association, Melisa Savickaitė; LAYA Treasurer, Pranas Čižiūnas (Washington, DC); Aras Mattis (Chicago); LAYA Secretary, Jūratė Zubinienė (Chicago); Chicago Lithuanian Youth Association president, Nida Bichnevičiūtė (Chicago); World Lithuanian Youth Association board member, Marius Vygantas (Chicago); Julytė Plačaitė (Chicago); representative of the Australian Lithuanian Youth Association, Linas Šeikis; JAV LJS president, Andrius Čižiūnas (Washington, DC); Kristen Logan (New York); Tomas Matusaitis (Chicago); Canadian Lithuanian Youth Association president Matas Stanevičius; and World Lithuanian Youth Association board member Daina Batraks (Canada). Photo: Andrius Čižiūnas |