Articles Categorized 'Community Cause'

For many businesses, the answer to what they do can be fairly short and succinct. GM manufactures cars. Kroger is a grocery store. McDonalds is a fast food restaurant. Everyone knows what those businesses are. UCT is a Fraternal Benefit Society. Most people don’t know what that means. The statement simply raises more questions, the first being – what is a Fraternal… Continue Reading…

UCT’s website has undergone some updates recently. One item that is immediately apparent is the “What is UCT?” video on the landing page. It highlights the community service and volunteer work that UCT members have been doing for over 125 years. The expertise our members have developed and the support from Home Office staff can help anyone who wants to join us… Continue Reading…

On Tuesday, April 21, I was part of a group of fraternal executives that spent the day on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. The American Fraternal Alliance organizes meetings with members of Congress every other year to make sure our senators and representatives are aware of the impact that fraternals have in the US.  UCT, like all fraternal benefit societies, is a 501(c)… Continue Reading…

Fraternal Benefit Societies have helped families and local communities for over a century. They provide financial security and community service opportunities to their members, and a sense of community driven by their common bonds, whether they be religious, ethnic, occupational, or like UCT’s common bond, good citizenship.  Our members, like those of other fraternals, volunteer every day to make their local communities better… Continue Reading…

Last week, UCT held its 127th annual convention in Columbus, Ohio. UCT has been headquartered in Columbus since its founding in 1888, and while the location of the annual convention moves from year to year, occasionally the meeting occurs in UCT’s home town. It was a busy week, and while there was a great deal to do at the convention, attendees had the opportunity… Continue Reading…

Last week we went to Eldon, Missouri, to present the first place prize for the UCT Gives Back contest to Eldon High School. Their program is very impressive, and the community worked to get out the vote to win the contest. The assembly where we presented the check was a great event, and I know the prize money will be put to good use… Continue Reading…

On Thursday morning, April 3, 2014, UCT’s CEO Joe Hoffman and I entered the gymnasium at Eldon High School in Eldon, Missouri with a check for $10,000 and were greeted by more than 500 students, teachers, faculty, staff, board members, and members of the community.  To say Eldon, Missouri, is a special town is an understatement. With a population of just over 4,000, what… Continue Reading…

As George Harrison so famously sang, “…it’s been a long cold lonely winter…” For most of us spring cannot come soon enough. For the homeless, it must have been unbelievably harsh. Statistics show that homelessness is poverty driven, but there are other factors that also contribute. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless: Approximately 63% of homeless women have experienced domestic violence… Continue Reading…

After weeks of voting, with two schools running neck and neck to the end, we have two winners in our video contest, UCT Gives Back . . . Again. Eldon High School in Eldon, MO, is the winner of the $10,000 prize, and Saint Raphael Catholic Elementary School in Sudbury, ON, came in second place and wins the $5,000 prize.  All 10 of… Continue Reading…

The long winter has almost reached an end, and it’s time to “think spring!” For many UCT members this means it’s time to start planning a JOIN HANDS DAY project to support a community cause.   Traditionally held on the first Saturday in May, JOIN HANDS DAY is a noted day of service throughout North America that specifically targets and develops relationships between… Continue Reading…