October 20, 2022

Dear Members and Friends of the Finnish Room Committee and Finlandia Foundation Pittsburgh (the Pittsburgh Finns), 

We are happy to announce that we will have a live Holiday Party this year! It will be on December 18, so please save the date. The party will be zoomed for those who cannot attend in person. We will be in contact with you via email.

Another yearly highlight, the Nationality Rooms Open House, will also return. It will be Sunday, December 4, noon to 4 PM, in the Cathedral of Learning. We will have a table, so this will be a chance for you to exercise your cooking ability or donate your Finnish treasures to sell, as well as a chance to saunter through rows of enticing food and wares. 

We are still fundraising. As it is, we will have enough money to ensure that 2023 is a year of detailed planning which will lead to 2024 as a year of construction. Our current fundraising is for the increase in costs which is likely to occur along the way, and also for the final ten percent of the current estimated building cost, which we will not have paid. 

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 dues. Dues need to be paid during the academic year, which falls from July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023. 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. Make out the check 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 www.nationalityrooms.pitt.edu and 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. 
 
Looking forward to a happy holiday season, Hyvää Joulua!

From your officers: Karen Fix, Chair; Sally Morton, Treasurer; Gloria Nelson, Secretary; Seija Cohen, Chair Emeritus