Polish Home Foundation
2003 Report Summary
February 25, 2004
Dear Friends of the Foundation,
This letter contains a brief summary of PHF activities in 2003 and plans for 2004. 2003 was the first year in which the Foundation could focus on its core mission of promoting Polish heritage in the Pacific-Northwest. It was a very successful year for our organization. In 2004 we would like to grow and attract more members and volunteers to better server our mission.
Foundation events
The Foundation organized or was involved directly in the following events:
- the fundraising at the spring Bazaar at the Polish Home, April 2003
- the Olbinski Exhibition and Fundraiser, May-June, 2003
- the fundraising at the fall Bazaar at the Polish Home, Nov 2003
The Foundation also helped raising money for individuals in medical emergency, in particular it helped to handle funds from a very successful fundraiser at the Polish Parish in Tacoma.
The Olbinski Exhibition & Fundraiser, May 2003
The biggest event organized and supported by the PHF was the Olbinski exhibition and fundraiser in May. Mr. Olbinski came to Seattle as an invited speaker for the lecture series commemorating 50 years of teaching Polish at the University of Washington in Seattle organized by the UW Slavic Department. A poster exhibit organized by the PHF May 3-30, 2003 had two parts. The main exhibition with 40 posters was held at the Suzzallo library at the UW campus and an auxiliary exhibition with 16 posters at the Polish Home. This very interesting exhibit brought a great surrealist artist to the local public and generated a lot of interest in Polish culture. It also enjoyed wide public support and the Olbinski lunch fundraiser was a big success. All the exhibition costs have been paid and we also made a profit that we now use for other cultural events and grants supporting Polish culture. The income came from donations, the lunch fundraiser and from very strong art sales. Thank you for your support and generosity!
A sample of poster art by Mr. Rafal Olbinski
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Other Fundraisers
The Foundation had stands at the Spring and Fall Bazaars at the Polish Home, increasing public awarness of the PHF and raising money by selling Olbinski calendars and cards as well as folk art and some other goods donated to the PHF.
The Foundation also helped raising money for individuals in medical emergency, in particular it helped to handle funds from a very successful fundraiser at the Polish Parish in Tacoma.
Events the Foundation supported financially
The following 2003 events in Seattle were organized by others but supported financially by PHF through cash grants
· the “Polna Rapsodia” concert, organized by Mr. Tomasz Aleksander (grant awarded in 2002)
· The Polish Avant-Garde Films of 1930-1945 at UW, organized by the Dept. of Slavic Languages and Literatures of University of Washington in Seattle
· The “Polonez” dance group performance at the Polish Home 85th Anniversary gala, organized by the Polish Home Assn.
· Seattle Polish Film Festival, organized by Seattle-Gdynia Sister City Assn
· The performance of Polish poetry and music by the Academic Theatre of the Warsaw University, organized by PHA
More details about all the events organized by PHF can be found on our website.
Grants
Besides the grants supporting the events mentioned above, in 2003 the PHF issued the following grants, in cash and software, to support:
· Polish Home Association in Seattle, a software package to update software on computers used for member services
· Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures of the University of Washington in Seattle for events related to Polish language and culture
· Polish Home Association in Seattle for the facility improvements related to noice reduction program addressing neighborhood complaints
· Red Cross, the Seattle Office, for the family reunion trip of George Gordon, born Jerzy Budzynski, to Wroclaw, Poland
· The Film Arts Foundation in California for the “Wiktor: the Art of Survival” documentary movie project
· The Polish School in Seattle to support Polish language education
· Individuals in medical emergency: Mr. Krzysztof Tasak, Mr. Zack Moss
Overall in 2003, the Foundation financed 12 grants with the total value of $12,672. More details about these grants can be found on the Foundation website.
The year ahead of us
Raising awareness in the local community
We have raised our profile in the local community significantly in 2003 and established many contacts helpful in carrying our mission. However, many people still haven’t heard about PHF and about our goals and accomplishments as well as about benefits that we bring to them. I hope this letter will bring the news about the Foundation to new audience.
Plans for 2004
We plan to continue with a vigorous fundraising efforts and active community involvement in organizing events supporting our mission. Currently we have the following plans for 2004
- Concert by Roman Czarny, Feb 5, 2004,
- Wiktor Siminski exhibit & fundraiser March 12, 2004
- Spring Bazaar fundraising, April 2004
- Poles in Middle Asia exhibit, April 2004
- A concert by the Polonez group, late spring 2004
- Fall Bazaar fundraising, Nov 2004
- A klezmer band concert, Fall 2004
The Foundation also plans to support the cultural program of the Polish Consulate in Los Angeles as per communications with the Consul General, Ms. Tokarska-Biernacik and the Consul for the Cultural Affairs, Mr. Roman Czarny. The details of the program and the Foundation’s involvement are still at the discussion stage.
Again, the website has the current information about events organized and supported by the Foundation.
The Foundation invites supporters and volunteers
The Foundation had a very successful year in its core activities in 2003. At the same time, our ambitious plans for 2004 and beyond call for involvement from more people. We would like to invite members of the Polish-American community and of general public of the Puget Sound region to support the Foundation by donations and volunteering. Our common goal is to promote Polish heritage and culture in the Pacific Northwest in 2004! 2003 was a good year but we need your help to keep the momentum going!