Our Mission

Our Mission

About … Estonian American National Council, Inc. / Ja nüüd lühidalt ERKÜ’st:

The Estonian American National Council, Inc., (EANC), is the nationally-elected central organization of Estonian Americans.  EANC helps support and maintain our Estonian heritage and language, Estonian American cultural activities and organizations in the U.S., and works to create awareness of, and support for, Estonia among all Americans.  EANC also works in Washington with other like-minded organizations, such as the Joint Baltic American National Committee (JBANC) and the Central and East European Coalition (CEEC) to inform the U.S. Congress and Administration of issues of concern. EANC XXI Rahvuskomitee, with guests Karl Altau, Priit Veslind and Ambassador Eerik Marmei, Sept. 2014
EANC is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization sustained by voluntary, tax-deductible contributions from the Estonian American community.  These contributions help support Estonian American institutions, activities and special projects such as:
  • Singing Revolution documentary and upcoming films, To Breathe As One, about the history of Estonian song festivals, and In the Crosswinds, about Soviet-era deportations in Estonia
  • Vaba Eesti Sõna / The Free Estonian Word newspaper published in New York
  • The Estonian Archives in the U.S.   
  • Long Island Estonian Children’s Summer Camp
  • Estonian American girl guides and boy scouts 
  • Estonian American festivals and get-togethers, such as ESTO (the world-wide Estonian festival), and KLENK (Mid-West Estonian Days).

For more details about current activities and projects, read the page “EANC Activities.”

If you wish to apply for monetary support on behalf of an Estonian American organization, institution or group, or for a project, please fill out the downloadable application form on the right Sidebar.

Interested in learning more about EANC and how you can help? Get in touch via the“Contact Us” page of this website. To reach Linda Rink, EANC Executive Director, call 215-546-5863 or e-mail her at erku@estosite.org. To enable future support of the many worthwhile endeavors initiated by organizations and individuals throughout the United States in support of Estonian culture, please contribute to EANC!
Eesti Rahvuskomitee Ühendriikides (ERKÜ) on üleriigiliselt valitud Ameerika eestlaste organisatsioon. ERKÜ toetab ja säilitab Eesti keelt ja pärandit, Ameerika eestlaste kultuurilist tegevust ning Ühendriikides asuvaid organisatsioone. Samuti propageerib ERKÜ Eesti tutvustamist ja toetamist ameeriklaste seas. Veel teeb ERKÜ koostööd Washington, D.C. teiste samamoodi mõtlevate organisatsioonidega nagu JBANC ja CEEC, et juhtida U.S Kongressi ja administratsiooni tähelepanu murettekitavatele probleemidele.
ERKÜ on mittetulundusühing 501(c)3, mis põhineb ameerika eestlaste ja teiste maksuvabade annetuste toel. Need annetused tagavad Ameerika eestlaste institutsioonide, erinevate tegevuste ja projektide toetamise, nagu näiteks:
  • dokumentaalfilm Laulev Revolutsioon ja varsti valvim film Üheshingamine, mis jutustab Eesti laulupidude ajaloost ning film Risttuules, mis räägib Eesti küüdidamisest.
  • Vaba Eesti Sõna ajaleht, mis ilmub New Yorgis.
  • Eesti arhiiv USA’s
  • Long Island’i eesti laste suvelaager
  • Ameerika eestlaste gaidid ja skaudid
  • kohalikud festivalid ja kokkutulekud nagu ESTO (ülemaailmne eestlaste kokkutulek) ja KLENK (kesk- lääne eesti päevad
Rohkem infot selle kohta keda või mida on ERKÜ hiljuti toetanud saate “EANC Activities” lingilt.
Kui te soovite taotleda ERKÜ’lt  rahalist toetust mõne Ameerika eestlaste organisatsioonile, institutsioonile, grupile või projektile  siis palun täitke ära avaldus, mille leiate paremat kätt.
Kui olete huvitatud ERKÜ aitamisest või soovite rohkem teada meie organisatsioonist siis ühendust meiega saate “contact us” lingilt, või helistage Linda Rink’ile, ERKÜ tegevjuht, 215-546-5863 (e-mail: erku@estosite.org). Et võimaldada tulevikus huvitavate ning põnevate projektide toetamist, mis aitavad eesti kultuuri säilitamist Ühendriikides, siis palun annetage ERKÜ’le: “Contribute.“ 
Mission Statement

Our mission is to help preserve and promote the Estonian cultural heritage in the United States; to foster ties with, and to represent the interests of, Estonian Americans and their organizations; and to support the maintenance of democratic institutions in, and cultural exchange with, Estonia.
We do this by:
  • Providing support to U.S. events, projects, and activities that document, maintain or introduce our language, cultural heritage, and history.
  • Facilitating the participation of Estonian American youth in activities that enhance their understanding of the Estonian language, culture and heritage.
  • Disseminating information to the Estonian American community and organizing congresses of Estonian American organizations to foster coordination and information exchange.
  • Maintaining informational contacts with U.S. and Estonian government entities and following developments that affect the well-being of Estonia.
  • Working with and supporting organizations with goals similar to that of the EANC, including the Estonian World Council, the Joint Baltic American National Committee (JBANC), and the Central and East European Coalition (CEEC).
 Background

The Estonian American National Council was established on July 19, 1952, in New York City by post-World War II refugees seeking to restore independence in Estonia, while making a new life in the United States. With the rebirth of the Estonian independence in 1991, the work of EANC changed somewhat, to support the security and stability of the Estonian state, while continuing to preserve, protect, and promote Estonian heritage, culture and values in the United States.  The Council consists of a maximum of 50 members who serve without pay, elected nationally every four years by Americans of Estonian descent. EANC is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization sustained by voluntary, tax-deductible contributions from the Estonian American community.

The XXI Council (2014-2018)

The Estonian American National Council currently has 30 members, which in turn elects a governing Board.

 

Board of Directors/Juhatus

Marju Rink-Abel, President; Eric Suuberg, Vice President; Matti Prima, Treasurer; Maia Linask, Secretary

Kristi Allpere, Mai-Liis Bartling, Arne Kalm, Mirjam Krull, Andres Simonson, Alvar Soosaar, Tiina Urv

Matti Prima, Maia Linask, Mirjam Krull, Mai-Liis Bartling, Marju Rink-Abel, Eric Suuberg, Arne Kalm, Kristi Allpere, Andres Simonson (not present: Alvar Soosaar, Tiina Urv)

Matti Prima, Maia Linask, Mirjam Krull, Mai-Liis Bartling, Marju Rink-Abel, Eric Suuberg, Arne Kalm, Kristi Allpere, Andres Simonson (not present: Alvar Soosaar, Tiina Urv)

The current EANC Council members (Esinduskogu liikmed) include:

Kristi Allpere – GA;  Aliisa Altau – MD; Mai-Liis Bartling – CA;  Ave Blithe – NJ;  Marianne Brokaw – MI; Ülle Ederma – NJ;  Marit Davey – CA;  Leif Fritzell – ND; Arne Kalm – CA;  Gilda Karu – IL;  Mirjam Krull – DC; Kersti K. Linask – FL;  Maia Linask – VA; Kadri Linask-Goode – WA; Epp Meisner – MD;  Monika Orumaa Craig – FL;  Mati Otsmaa – CA;  Matti Prima – NJ; Erik Puskar – MD; Aavo Reinfeldt – CA;  Marju Rink-Abel – MD;  Andres Simonson – NJ; Alvar Soosaar – PA; Eric Suuberg – RI;  Toomas Tubalkain – OH;  Tiina Urv – MD; Ilmar Vanderer – NJ; Tõnu Vanderer – NJ;  Viiu Vanderer – NJ;  Urmas Wompa- NY

EANC Executive Director: Linda Rink  (Contact info:  erku@estosite.org, 215-546-5863)

EANC Washington DC Director: Karin Shuey