9/8/2005 - Polish Women’s Alliance Education Fundraiser

On Friday, September 23, guests will enter the Arts Club of Chicago for the annual Polish Women’s Alliance Education Fundraiser. Their goal: to make a difference in education and empowerment.
Among the “hallmarks” of the Polish Women’s Alliance and its members, wrote Barbara Mikulski, Senator from Maryland, is “a commitment to the well-being and success of the next generation.” Likewise, “I am proud,” she remarked, “of Poland, and I am proud of the Polish Women’s Alliance not only in fostering a free and prosperous Poland, but in giving Polish Americans a voice and a link to their shared heritage.”
Addressing the needs of education and the soaring costs of going to college, the PWA is more and more committed to helping meet those needs. Since 1950, when scholarship funds were first raised in the PWA until the last few years, the commitment to scholarship help has grown. To date, more than six thousand college scholarships have been awarded to students belonging to the Alliance. The combined total of these grants exceeds $1.4 million.
“One of our goals for the evening,” reports Barbara Matusik Miller, co-chair of the evening and national treasurer of the PWA, “is to convey the full range of cultural life in the Polish American community as we meet the educational needs of our young. This year’s fundraising event at the Arts Club of Chicago features an array of Polish American accomplishments in education and the arts.”
Mira Puacz of Polonia Bookstore will exhibit books in Polish and English. Visual objets d’art from the PWA’s own collection will be on display in the entrance foyer, as well as contact information for Polish American artists active in Chicago. The featured speaker for the evening will be Prof. Bogdana Carpenter, whose work at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor on behalf of Polish studies is a true inspiration to scholarship and education. A musical component will complete the evening’s attractions.
Ms. Miller adds that “our hope is to advance the best values of our community in advancing the cause of education.”
Thus, one of the major beneficiaries of this year’s event is the Center for Polish Studies at Loyola University Chicago. Inspired by the energy of the Polish Student Alliance at Loyola, efforts have been ongoing to fund such a center of Polish Studies. The measured and timely expansion of courses at Loyola is a direct result of such efforts.
Isiaah Crawford, Ph.D., dean of the college of Arts and Sciences at Loyola was quoted recently in Loyola magazine as saying: “we want our students to compete effectively in the 21st century marketplace and assume positions of leadership in the world. The possible development of an interdisciplinary program in Polish studies would be a fine addition to our curriculum and the intellectual life of the university.”
It is twenty-five years after the the Solidarity Union strikes at the Gdansk shipyard in Poland. But its slogan, “The spring will be ours,” has been adopted by the PWA for this year’s event. Virginia Sikora, President of the PWA and Barbara Matusik Miller wrote in their sponsorship appeal: “Our spring is now. Our young people are vigorous, ambitious, and better and better educated. And our institutions of higher learning are more aware than ever of the vigor and energy of our community…It is to address the needs of these two groups, our young people and programs of Polish Studies, that we seek your help, your energy and your support.”
The Polish Women’s Alliance Fundraiser takes place on Friday, Sept. 23, at the Arts Club of Chicago at Ontario Street. Further information is available at the PWA office of Ms. Barbara Matusik Miller, 847384-1206.

Additional Sections

Photos - 2 Items