Fran Itkoff, 90, has volunteered with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for nearly 60 years, helping thousands of people suffer from the disease that afflicted her late husband.
The elderly volunteer recently told Libs of TikTok’s Chaya Rejcik that his days at the MS Society had been rudely criticized for daring to question the organization’s social constructivist virtue-signaling, particularly its gender pronoun regulations. He said he had put an end to it.
The MS Association is ostensibly an organization dedicated to fighting the disease, but in recent years it has become steeped in identitarian and LGBT ideology.
In 2020, the MS Association Began Encourage employees to recite the DEI statement before every meeting. The Columbus Day holiday was removed and Juneteenth was added as a paid holiday. And we started holding race-based summits. The following year, the MS Society added a “pronoun option” to its standard email signature template, reinforcing its obsession with racial politics.
By 2022, we will begin hosting a Hispanic Summit in addition to our annual Black Summit and establish zero tolerance. Inclusion policy “We are committed to embedding diversity, equity and inclusion in everything we do.”
Decades before this institutional decay occurred, Fran Itkoff’s husband took over an MS support group in Long Beach-Lakewood, Calif., to help people in his own afflictions.
Itkov told Laichik: “Of course, I have always helped him. When he died 20 years ago, everyone wanted to continue the group, so I decided to continue the group.” he said.
The elderly volunteer said everything was going well until he was recently contacted by an MS Society representative who asked him to use pronouns.
“I was confused. I didn’t know what it was or what it meant,” Itkov said. “I had seen it in some letters that I received, and it had a pronoun after the person’s name, but I didn’t know what it meant. As I was talking to her, I said, “What do you mean by that?” I thought to ask her. And let her tell you. ”
“She said it meant all-encompassing, but I didn’t know what that meant, because if you just include she/her, it’s like you’re labeling women instead of men. Because it sounds like,” Itkov continued. “A few days later…she received an email from her. She said she was sorry to ask you to resign as a volunteer with the MS Society.”
A copy of a letter Itkov reportedly received from Kali Kumol, community engagement manager for the California-based MS Society, which provided pronouns. I deleted her LinkedIn profile “As I mentioned earlier in our phone conversation, after a thorough review of our guidelines and standards, we found that our diversity, equity, and inclusion guidelines were not adhered to during the work of our clients. It turns out.’ It’s volunteer time. ”
“Unfortunately, given the circumstances, we have made the difficult decision to require you to resign from your volunteer position effective immediately,” Kumor wrote.
The letter indicates that Itkov is free to continue meeting independently with the self-help group, but that the group will no longer be officially affiliated with the MS Association.
Itkov’s group Not currently displayed We are listed on the MS Society’s most recent list of local support groups.
“When I read that, I was completely shocked,” Itkov told TikTok’s Libs. “I couldn’t believe it. She had to read it over several times to make sure I understood what she was saying.”
Mr. Itkoff’s daughter, Elle Hamilton, emphasized that the apparent ideological ouster was especially surprising considering her mother’s accomplishments, which were praised by the New York Post. shown She received the Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.
Reichik summed up the situation: “You’ve been volunteering for 60 years, right? You gave your life to this organization. You paid tribute to your late husband. .And…they take it away from you in a split second and throw you under the law.” I couldn’t understand why someone who is a woman would have to put her words in her email signature. I just took the bus. ”
“It’s really sad that they’re discriminating against her,” Hamilton said. “So MS doesn’t discriminate. It’s a disease that can happen to anyone. Anyone can get this disease and they’re discriminating against her…whatever her pronouns are. I’m trying to help her just because I asked her a question to explain something.”
Hamilton said the MS Society is “too focused on these words and pronouns and not on finding a cure for MS and supporting patients and all the programs that come with it.” I’m wondering if that’s the case.
new york post shown We asked the MS Association for comment, but have not yet received a response. However, TikTok’s Libs obtained an internal email regarding Itkoff’s firing on February 9th.
“Yesterday, a video was posted online about the leader of a National MS Society self-help group who was recently asked to resign from his position,” said an e-mail sent ostensibly using the pronouns “Executive Vice President and General Counsel.” It is written in the email.
“We expect National MS Society volunteers to uphold the values outlined in our Inclusion Policy,” the email continues. “We celebrate learning and personal growth, and we do not intend to dismiss volunteers for asking questions about the association’s inclusive practices.”
Mr. Itkov made it clear that while the MS Society is becoming more entangled in woke ideology, it will continue to carry out the necessary work on the ground.
“I’m going to continue with this group as I’ve always done,” said the 90-year-old volunteer. Told.
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