​As you well know October is Polish Heritage Month and we are delighted to recognize some of the programs and groups that have helped sustain and grow the Polish American culture. Polish language classes, Polish scouts, dance groups and camps, and Fraternal Organizations, not only give us pride in our heritage but give new generations an understanding of their past. It is with these activities in mind that we not only celebrate Polish Heritage Month but that we share with you Piast Institute’s exciting plans for future growth of Polonia.
 
With your help we are about to launch a Capital Campaign, our first since acquiring this building in 2008, to renovate three areas of our building to support and grow our programs and give the youth and community a safe and welcoming place to gather. This effort will be in three phases.
 
The first phase involves the renovation of our current conference room, where we have traditionally held all of our events, including lectures, seminars, community meetings and dignitary and consular visits. In light of Covid-19 we believe this will allow us to accommodate different needs and offer safe distancing, and additional technology giving the Piast Institute and the community the opportunity to have a multipurpose space for individual or group activities. Changes would include new technology, a new floor, and ADA compliant furnishings that can be reconfigured and disinfected easily.
 
The second phase of our campaign involves renovating an unused portion in the back of our building which was originally used as a garage. We would be maintaining the original brick walls while adding utilities and equipment. This would allow us a second space with a café atmosphere for artists to display, music to be heard and community groups to gather. We would be excited to bring in emerging Polish American artists, poets, musicians and writers to display and share their work. Piast has been promoting the arts and culture of Polonia for years but has lacked the space needed to truly highlight these programs.
 
The third phase of this renovation involves preserving and protecting our archives. For many months now we have been blessed with a college intern that has begun the arduous task of sorting and cataloguing the papers, artifacts, and rare books that were Dr. Thaddeus C. Radzilowski’s legacy which is housed on the second floor of our building. The archives also contain extensive materials from the libraries of Dr. Edward Martin, Mr. Bruno Nowicki, Mr. Stanley Nowak, Mr. Joseph Kalenkiewicz and the Pieronek family. Unfortunately, this space is in desperate need of repair and updating. It is our goal to make it a useable space for historians and students who want to do research. Though the structure is solid, it has not been updated since 1958 and needs new walls and mechanics. We are most concerned about preserving the historical documents, housing them in a controlled environment, and making them accessible to a new generation of learners.
 
We believe that this Capital Campaign will give us the opportunity to support the groups and organizations that are the pillars of our heritage as well as grow our youth involvement in the community. Polish Americans have a rich culture that needs to be shared. It is important that we have a place that says “come in, so we might share and learn together” and Build a New Polonia for the 21st Century.
 
We hope that you will support this campaign financially and join us in preserving the heritage that our parents and grandparents loved and cherished. If you would like to view more details of our plans, please call our office and schedule a visit.   

​It is difficult to express the anger, heartache and frustration that we are experiencing during this difficult time for our Metro Detroit community and our country. Not only the needless killing of George Floyd, but also Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and so many other African-Americans, have shocked us, at the Piast Institute, to our core. These killings represent the worst of our country: needles violence and injustice driven by racism and hatred of our fellow American brothers and sisters.
 
As members of the Polish-American community, it pains us deeply to see such injustice in the United States. As an immigrant community, many of our people came to this country because, at its best, it represents the best of humanity: a beacon of freedom, justice, and opportunity. It is a place where anyone can become an American, as long as they are committed to these shared set of values. Unfortunately, the killing of George Floyd demonstrates that we are falling well short of living up to these values. For too many African-Americans, the color of their skin is a major obstacle to the freedom, justice and opportunity that is the right of every American.
 
Because of this, we cannot remain silent or indifferent to recent developments. A famous Polish creed says “for our freedom and yours.” This commitment to freedom and fighting oppression is a key Polish-American value, and has been a part of our community from the days of the Polish heroes of the American Revolution, Thaddeus Kosciuszko and Casimir Pulaski. Living up to their example must mean supporting the peaceful, and just, protests around the country, opposing police violence against protesters, allowing everyone to exercise their Constitutional and moral rights, and doing all that we can to end racism and bigotry that has ruined so many Black and Brown lives in the communities across our country.
 
Black Lives Matter 

U.S. 2020 Census Complete Count Committee - Hamtramck invites community members to complete their census forms at the Piast Institute (11633 Joseph Campau, Hamtramck MI). We will have a computer and staff available to assist you in completing the 2020 Census form.

Please know this service will be available Mon., Tues., Wed. from 10am-2pm starting on March 16, 2020. POSTPONED!!!

DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS, OUR STAFF IS TAKING PRECAUTIONS AND LIMITING OFFICE HOURS. THE OFFICE WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE TO HELP COMPLETE CENSUS FORMS. PLEASE CALL 313-733-4535 AND WE WOULD LIKE TO HELP WITH YOUR  QUESTIONS.

The Piast Institute is organizing Polish language classes for beginners and advanced students.
For those who are interested please register by using link below. All information about the classes is in the form.

https://forms.gle/Xw1Q5rQCKvru8HPW8

For additional questions please contact Marzanna Owinski directly at 248 613 6751 or by email at owinski@piastinstitute.org.

Join the staff at the Piast Institute on Tuesday September 10th at 6:00p.m. for discussion on the 2020 Trip to Poland. All questions will be answered and you'll have a chance to review the itinerary with the guide. 
The address to the Piast Institute is: 11633 Joseph Campau, Hamtramck MI 48212
Please email Ms. Tulecki at: tulecki@piastinstitute.org if you plan on attending. 

For those interested in the trip itself.
Register here:  https://forms.gle/2y4eoi25ouwkDm1M8
Itinerary Information: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwY3qwqMDztJQ0cxZ2dXc1ZyZ0RyU3lYWENMek5CSndGNENV/view?usp=sharing
Trip Information: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cMsc6m3zfLLtDjoIQ_4TY4r9iKAZkbBmvggLI5zwbNo/edit?usp=sharing

Piast Board of Directors member Levi Smith stopped by the Institute on June 19th to donate both volumes of The Encyclopedia of the Righteous Among the Nations in memory of Dr. Thaddeus C. Radzilowski. The book focuses on the Poles who protected the Jews during the Holocaust despite the great risks. Thank you Levi for your generosity and dedication. These books will make a great addition to our library. If anyone would like to see it for themselves, you are more than welcome to visit the Institute.

HAMTRAMCK, Mich. – The Piast Institute is pleased to announce that on Saturday, June 1 the Institute will be hosting a ceremony at 10 a.m. awarding Seal of Biliteracy diplomas and congratulatory letters from the Michigan Department of Education to Polish students who have achieved very high levels of Polish language proficiency on the standardized Polish biliteracy test. Students who will be honored are high school seniors Gabriela Andrzejewska, Maria Emilia Bieciuk and Elizabeth Wright.

The Piast Institute will also recognize four other students who completed the Polish biliteracy test. These students achieved the high proficiency required for the Seal of Biliteracy, but due to age restrictions the students will not be receiving the Seal at this time.

The Seal of Biliteracy program is a voluntary program to certify students who have high proficiency in both English and another world language. The program is being introduced in many Michigan high schools, but its implementation often requires efforts from parents or from the school board to request that the school allow students to participate.

Until recently, Polish students could not receive the Seal because a standardized test for Polish proficiency did not exist. Now the STAMP4S test developed by Avant Assessment Inc. has been approved as an exam to certify students across the U.S. for the Seal of Biliteracy. Between April 2018 and May 2019, 894 Polish language students in fourteen states have taken the STAMP4S test to receive their biliteracy certification.

Additional information about the Seal of Biliteracy program and the STAMP4S test can be found at SealofBiliteracyPoPolsku.com.