The Bucks County Chapter of the United Nations Association was founded in 1996. Formed out of a small group of people strongly passionate about the work of the United Nations, this group sought to raise awareness of the UN and its work. Elizabeth Huberman, who served on the Board of Directors for 19 years, played a crucial part in getting the group on its feet. She and many other members were residents of Pennswood Village, a small retirement community located in Newtown, PA.

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The United Nations Association, or UNA, operates off of dues collected from members. This money helps pay for programs to inform young and old alike about the workings of the UN and its smaller groups. In addition, the UNA strongly encourages the creation and continuation of Model United Nations clubs in high schools, both public and private. Through these dues collected the UNA is able to form grants for these high school programs, allowing the groups to get started or expand. In addition, members of the UNA often visit these groups in order to learn more about what they are doing at a point in time, or see what can be done to help expand programs to other schools.

At one of the BCUNA’s meetings in 2010 the first high school student member was voted onto the group’s board of directors. In 2011 the Youth Committee was formed, comprised of students representing five schools in the county. The mission of the Youth Committee was and is to promote and support student’s understanding of the work of the United Nations. The Chapter is delighted that these students are actively engaged in Model United Nation clubs in their schools and also in the Girls Up program that promotes the education of girls in many parts of the world. These students help to raise awareness of UN groups and for human rights activists around the world, a cause they consider to be more than worth of their time.

That said, nothing is quite as gratifying as actually seeing the work of these youth members, along with donations and dues from UNA members and sponsors come together. In 1999, the Bucks Chapter of the UNA adopted a small village in the middle of Cambodia. This village was surrounded by a minefield on all sides, and farmers working and children playing alike often struggled with the real possibility that a mine may go off at any time. The chapter was able to raise enough money in order to clear the field entirely of mines, which quickly became both a major step in our history and in that of the village.