Hungarian Reformed Federation of America

The Hungarian Reformed Federation of America (HRFA) is a fraternal organization chartered by congress in 1907. The HRFA main office is in the Kossuth House located at 2001 Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C. It publishes the "Fraternity/Testveriseg" periodical once quarterly. [cite web|url=http://www.jstor.org/pss/3318012|title=Hungarian Americans in the Nation's Capital |publisher=JSTOR: Anthropological Quarterly, Vol. 54, No. 2 (Apr., 1981 ), pp. 89-93|accessdate=2008-08-11|last=G. Schuchat|first=Molly ]

History

The HRFA was founded at Trenton, New Jersey on July 5, 1896. [citebook|title=Encyclopedia of New Jersey|author=Maxine N. Lurie, Marc Mappen|publisher=Rutgers University Press|year= 2004|id=ISBN 0813533252|pages=396] The need was to build relationships between scattered groups of Hungarian immigrants and create congregational centers. There was also a need to support the financial needs of the members in times of death or disaster. The goal of the federation as defined by Rev. Sandor Kalassay were and are:

:::"The aim of the Federation, besides giving material and moral support to the Hungarian Calvinist mission in America, is to pay a death benefit and funeral expenses to the heirs of the members. The Federation will begin to function when it reaches a membership of 500. Any Hungarian who will pay the $1 initiation fee and the annual fee of $1 may become a member. Having reached a membership of 500, the Federation will pay a $250 death benefit and $50 for funeral expenses. The amounts will be collected from the members through proportional assessments."

By 1898 the federation had grown to 936 members and in 1907 it received a charter from Congress. The federation asked for and received a national charter to allow it to be a national organization, with branches in every state founded on charity rather than business.

References

External links

* [http://www.hrfa.org/ Official site]