NEWS REGARDING 2021

To the Entire Ulster Project of Greater Milwaukee Community

While incredibly encouraging news about Covid-19 vaccinations is finally resulting in a medical response to this pandemic, uncertainty continues to prevail globally.  Economic hardships, travel interruptions, isolation/quarantine, social distancing, family challenges: all are real and in our future for many months to come.
 
With that in mind, we must share the sad yet understandable news received from Fr. John Forsyth in Belfast confirming our fears that due to the coronavirus, there will not be an International Ulster Project for 2021.  We all hoped for the best- that somehow the stars would align and we'd again be welcoming Belfast teens to Milwaukee in late June.  But the pandemic and its effect on all of our lives prove too difficult to overcome at this time.  Flights cannot be booked with certainty; health cannot be assured for teens and families alike; events and gatherings cannot be scheduled confidently.  It all adds up to a situation that is not safe, certain or wise.
 
We cannot imagine that this prudent decision catches anyone by surprise.  While unfortunate for all and potentially detrimental to many UP centers in both the US and NI, we in Milwaukee are well-positioned to weather this continuing storm and will be tirelessly working to not only plan for what will be an incredible 2022 Project, but also to initiate a more robust approach to our own UP community and the goals of the project locally.
 
The same goes for our annual Discover Your Irish fundraising event.  With such gatherings, the risks far outweigh the reward, even if somehow we were able to pull it off with covid restrictions, etc.  Therefore, our annual soiree at Pius will be postponed/cancelled for 2021.  We are planning other UP events that we hope the community embraces in order to help us continue our Projects aims going forward.
 
In the upcoming weeks and months, look for the UPGM Board to unveil plans for modified and hyper-local Project events, efforts and initiatives.  It's urgent that despite the lack of Belfast teens in our community our Project continues the mission of peaceful interaction, communication, leadership building, seeking justice and so forth in the tradition of Christian values we all respect and attempt to emulate daily.  The need remains.  And we in UPGM intend to fully address all that we can to ensure that need is addressed.
 
Again, it saddens us to no end to pass along the news that UP21, as we know it, will not come to pass.  However, we remain hopeful and resolute that our 'mission' will continue and our aims realized.  We're all in this together, as we said in our Christmas message, and together we'll get through these difficult times and when the time comes to welcome Northern Irish teens to Milwaukee again, we will be more prepared than ever to continue our international efforts.  In the meantime, we'll be focusing on our issues right here and use our resources to move forward in 'letting peace begin with us'.
 
Kevin F Pulz
President UPGM
 
Ginney Haas Pauly
Vice-President UPGM

An Important Message from the UPGM Board of Directors