Wind Beneath His Skis 
There's Man And There's Mountain.

By WILLIAM SPECHT; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Sunday, January 08, 1995 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3A 





FORTY FORT -- Global change needs local roots, members of an area arm of a
worldwide organization said Saturday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We want to encourage the thought `I can make a difference' and show that
grassroots influences can help make changes," said Robert Griffin, president
of the local Partners for Global Change. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Partners for Global Change is the action branch of the World Federalist
Association, which is dedicated to making the world a better place through the
improvement of the United Nations. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 There are about 30 partner groups across the country, Griffin said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Eventually our goal is to get one in every congressional district. We want
to build members and increase the public awareness of the need for a reformed
U.N. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "There are some issues that can't be dealt with by individual countries,"
he said. "We want to build a better United Nations that is more effective and
restructure it so it has more binding authority." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But Griffin said his organization is not advocating the creation of a
global utopia. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We are basically advocating what we have in America only on a much bigger
scale," said Griffin. "For some small countries, the U.N. is the only voice
that they have." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 From Griffin's River Street home, the group participated Saturday in a
nationwide telephone conference with about 30 related groups. The conference
featured guest speakers including former U.S. Sen. Harris Wofford, John Cox of
the Martin Luther King Jr. Foundation and former Illinois congressman and 1980
presidential candidate, John Anderson, president of the World Federalist
Association. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 During the conference, Wofford challenged association members not to make
Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 16 a holiday where you sit around and rest,
but a day where you get out and help people. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We want to be active and be a resource for the community," Griffin
said."We want to offer a way for people to contribute, an outlet to show that
they are not helpless." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Along those lines, Griffin and Partners for Global Change are planning to
assist Volunteers In Service In Our Neighborhoods on Jan. 15 and are planning
a river cleanup on Earth Day, April 12. VISION provides services to area
homeless men. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The World Federalist Association was founded in 1947 by physicist Albert
Einstein and others. The group has about 9,000 current members nationwide. The
local organization has about 10 members. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The national association currently has several well-known members,
including actress Jean Stapleton, singer John Denver, actor Lloyd Bridges and
newscaster Walter Cronkite. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Some local leaders who attended Saturday's event are VISION's Vince
Kabacinski and Constance Wynn, president of the chapter of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Wilkes-Barre. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Action Brings Global Change, Group Says Local Branch Of Worldwide Group Sees Grassroots Incentive Fueling Positive Change