2010 Officers Visit Poland
Meeting with Caritas Polska
Warsaw -- On July 20, 2010, the PACCF delegation visited the headquarters of Caritas Polska, the largest Catholic charity in Poland. PACCF President Virginia Sikora, PACCF Vice Presidents Christopher Nowotarski and Steve Tokarski, and PACCF Director Bo Padowski presented a donation of $10,000 to Caritas for a program called "Backpacks Full of Smiles" or "Turnister pelen Usmiechow." The funds will be used for back-to-school supplies for Polish children who were affected by the recent floods in Poland. Over 5000 backpacks have been filled with supplies -- and with smiles -- so far.
Other programs discussed during the meeting that the PACFF will continue to support in the future include sending aid to children in Poland suffering from childhood diseases. Father Marian Subocz, Director of Caritas Poland, expressed his gratitude to Polish Americans for their generosity and for their continued support of the people of Poland, especially its youngest citizens, whose lives are often the most affected by economic hardships.
Meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Warsaw -- On July 21, 2010, the PACCF delegation visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland and met with Undersecretary of State Grazyna Bernatowicz, who is responsible for political matters and policy development within the EU and for North and South America. Present at the meeting were PACCF President Virginia Sikora, PACCF Vice Presidents Christopher Nowotarski and Steve Tokarski, PACCF Director Bo Padowski, and Aleksander Sielicki, President of the Polish Cultural Center in Krasnodar, Russia.
The PACFF and the Polish Women's Alliance of America offered financial support for a joint effort to send Polish children from areas affected by the recent floods to Krasnodar for a summer camp. Undersecretary of State Bernatowicz expressed her thanks for the donation of $8,500 ($6000 from the PACCF and $2500 from PWA) which will underwrite the program. Other possible areas of cooperation between the East and West were discussed as were the efforts of Poles living around the world to bring aid to the flood victims in Poland. The PACCF, along with the PWA and PNA, have donated $23,500 so far and the fundraising continues. The PACCF delegation also met with the Marshal of the Senate Bogdan Borusiewicz