​The Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago is organizing consular duty in Hamtramck, Michigan on November 17 and 18, 2023. (Friday & Saturday).

Appointments are required to be made in advance by telephone. Registration will be open on November 7th and 8th. Please call the consular office on the above-mentioned days at the following telephone number:

312 337 8166, ext. 1 in the hours of 10.00am - 1.00pm (Chicago time).

During the duty, you will be able to submit an application for a Polish passport.
The visit will be held at Piast Institute, 11633 Joseph Campau Street, Hamtramck, MI 48212. Piast Institute does not register individuals.

Konsulat Generalny RP w Chicago organizuje w Hamtramck w stanie Michigan dyżur konsularny w 17 i 18 listopada br. (piątek - sobota).

Na dyżur obowiązują wcześniejsze zapisy telefoniczne. Zapisy będą prowadzone w dniach: 7 i 8 listopada lub do wyczerpania miejsc.

W celu dokonania zapisu na dyżur, prosimy dzwonić do Urzędu w wyżej wymienione dni pod numer telefon:
312 337 8166, wew. 1 w godz. 10.00-13.00 (czasu chicagowskiego).

Podczas dyżuru będzie możliwość złożenia wniosku o wydanie dokumentu paszportowego.
Dyżur odbędzie się w Piast Institute, 11633 Joseph Campau Street, Hamtramck, MI 48212. Piast nie zapisuje na dyżur.


Przed wykonaniem telefonu w sprawie rezerwacji terminu wizyty paszportowej należy:
przygotować dane osobowe (imię nazwisko, numer PESEL lub w przypadku braku numeru PESEL data i miejsce urodzenia),
przygotować dane kontaktowe - numer telefonu,
przygotować dane dotychczas posiadanego polskiego paszportu lub dowodu osobistego;
upewnić się, że:
w przypadku zawarcia związku małżeńskiego w USA, dokonano transkrypcji (rejestracji) amerykańskiego aktu małżeństwa w Polsce. Dopiero po uzyskaniu odpisu polskiego aktu małżeństwa z informacją o nazwisku noszonym po zawarciu małżeństwa można wystąpić o wydanie paszportu na to nazwisko.
w przypadku urodzenia dziecka w USA, dokonano transkrypcji (rejestracji) amerykańskiego aktu urodzenia w Polsce. Dopiero po uzyskaniu odpisu polskiego aktu urodzenia można wystąpić o paszport dla danej osoby.

Text included below from Mark Kohan at the Polish American Journal

​Congratulations to Piast Institute!
 
Each year, the members and board of the Polish American Journal Foundation select a Polonia non-profit organization for a $500.00 donation. Past winners of this prize include The Polish Singers Alliance of America, the Polish Museum of America, the Polish American Historical Association, The Polish Center of Discovery and Learning at Elms College, and others.
 
This year, members selected the Piast Institute, headquartered in Hamtramck, Mich.
 
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Piast is a national research center devoted to Polish and Polish American affairs. It is also one of forty-eight United States Census Bureau Information Centers (CIC) and one of two located in Michigan.
 
Piast develops conferences, seminars, data publications, public programs, lectures, and exhibits that provide accurate information about Poland, Poles, and Polish Americans. It also has a special interest in the role of ethnicity in American Life.
 
With its resources and its position as a Census Information Center, Piast acts as a data resource center helping Polish, Polish American, and other business and community groups develop policy papers and historical, cultural, political, economic, social, and demographic studies on a wide variety of topics. It works to implement environmental and policy changes within its community.
 
Piast’s mission and programming also aim to celebrate Polish contributions to America as well as world culture, and to address and counter inaccurate or defamatory information about Poland, Poles, or Polish Americans.
 
It was founded in 2003 by the late Dr. Thaddeus Radzilowski, a celebrated historian, writer and academic, and Ms. Virginia Skrzyniarz, an accomplished executive serving non-profit organizations in various capacities for over thirty years. Skrzyniarz is now the CEO, being selected by the Piast Board of Directors in 2018 after Dr. Radzilowski’s passing.
 
Please join us in congratulating the Piast Institute.

Polish ancestry remains at the heart of this two square-mile town. While Polish and Polish American residents are in the minority now, even those who have moved away years ago remember their family history being firmly planted here.
 
For the Piast Institute in Hamtramck, October is synonymous with being celebrated as Polish American Heritage Month. Founded 20 years ago, the Piast Institute is a national research and policy center for Polish and Polish American Affairs. In addition, it is an official Census Information Center designated by the U.S. Census Bureau. It advocates Polish heritage and culture year-round through organizing events and ongoing programs. This includes Polish language and the Seal of Biliteracy promotion, and assisting to carry on the Dekaban- Liddle Foundation work to support Polish scholars in their studies.
 
The first celebration of Polish American Heritage Month was organized by Michael Blicharz, the president of the Polish American Cultural Center in Philadelphia in 1981. Three years later the House Joint Resolution 577 passed, making August Polish American Heritage Month. President Ronald Reagan urged all Americans to join in the celebration honoring Polish heritage in the United States.
 
The month was moved to October in 1986 to enable participating schools in organizing events during the school year. The change also commemorated the first Polish settlers to Jamestown, Virginia – October 1,1608, as well as the deaths of General Kazimierz Pulaski and Tadeusz Kosciuszko, military leaders who fought in the American Revolution.
 
Several landmarks depict the major influence of Poles in Hamtramck: St. Florian Roman Catholic Church with Masses said in Polish, St. Ladislaus Chapel, the statue of St. John Paul II to the city, and  the Kosciuszko Middle School perpetuate the legacy. The Hamtramck Historical Museum pays tribute to Polish heritage and culture with eye-catching exhibits of bygone eras, including a Polish Hamtramck-themed mural, created by muralist Dennis Orlowski, alongside those of other nationalities.
 
To reflect the change in the city’s demographics over the years, the city’s motto has been transformed. From “Hamtramck, A Touch of Europe in America,” the transition has been made to “Hamtramck, The World in Two Square Miles.” Let’s all celebrate Polish Heritage Month.

Quality Improvement Committee Meetings are scheduled at Piast Institute (11633 Jos. Campau, Hamtramck) at 2:00p.m. EST. 
They will be on the following dates:
Wed. October 11, 2023
Wed. January 10, 2024
Wed. April 10, 2024
Wed. August 14, 2024

On Sunday, October 22, 2023 Piast Institute will be honored at the Central Citizens Award Banquet. It has been nominated as one of the Organizational Honorees for the Pulaski Medal of Honor. Below is the list of all 2023 Honorees. 

2023 Honorees
Organizations
Friends of Polish Art
Polish Alliance Dancers
Gen. Pulaski Language Course
Polanie Song and Dance Ensemble
Piast Institute

Individuals
Teresa Jedruszko
Rev. Bogdan Milosz
Police Chief Anne Moise
Christopher Ozog
Christine Wilk

HAMTRAMCK, Mich. – Odds are you’ve heard of Narcan before, but if you haven’t, it’s the life-saving medication that can reverse an overdose of opioids, including heroin, fentanyl, and prescription medications.
You can find Narcan in every school within the Hamtramck School District, including middle and elementary schools.
At Hamtramck High School, all seniors have been trained on how to use it, as officials say one person overdoses each month in Hamtramck.
Narcan, the overdose reversal medication, is used 4 times a month.
“In a small community like this, that’s pretty large, and if it’s your child, sibling, parent, grandparent, then it becomes a real statistic,” said Virginia Skrzyniarz of Piast Institute.
It was those statistics that got Skrzyniarz thinking.
“It can happen anywhere, and it can certainly happen in schools,” Skrzyniarz said.
Skrzyniarz’s idea is to get Narcan boxes in every school within the district because sometimes seconds matter.
Hamtramck High School Principal Lawrence Stroughter is approaching the new school year, knowing they have yet another life-saving tool within reach should they need it.
“It’s just the days and times that we live in, so we have to be prepared for the unthinkable,” said Stroughter.
They are prepared as thousands of boxes have been distributed district-wide, and school staff, teachers, and high school seniors have been trained on how to use them.
It’s all free, thanks to the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network.
“I think about all of the families that could’ve been affected in negative ways, but as a result of this amazing tool here, we’ve been able to save lives, and that’s extraordinary,” said CEO President Detroit Wayne Integrated Heath Network Eric Doeh.
Doeh says he’s happy to extend that opportunity to save lives to even more young people.
“If the only thing that’s preventing us from doing it are a few more dollars, then let’s find the dollars because those dollars are not equivalent to saving lives,” said Doeh.
Thursday (Aug. 31) is Overdose Awareness Day. Hamtramck public schools superintendent also weighed in on the situation, noting that overdose deaths went up nearly 50% in two years.
Copyright 2023 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

Link to News Article: Click Here
​

​https://www.piastinstitute.org/polish-language-classes.html

Hamtramck, Mich. – Piast Institute will be offering the Polish language as second language classes for adults who want to converse in Polish with those in their circle, or are thinking of taking a trip to Poland in the future. Classes are offered online via ZOOM.

The instructor, Benita Wojciechowski of the Piast Institute, encourages individuals to join the new beginner’s class, which will start up on Tuesday evenings, June 6, 2023, as an intensive Polish vacation course. This class may be, upon the students’ request, extended into the fall.

If a person has some knowledge of Polish and would like to expand on their skills, please contact the instructor for information on the ongoing intermediate and advanced classes. Individuals are allowed to attend two classes the first week, so that the student and the instructor can decide which group fits the person’s skills and needs the best. There is a possibility of taking a few individual classes, prior to joining the group, in order to catch up with the program.

The fee for the class is $25 for a 90-minute session, with a commitment for one session a week for the duration of the school year, paid monthly. A special offer is available to those who want to participate in more than one class per week –  the second class fee is $10. All materials are provided with the class fees.
 
For registration and more information, please contact the instructor, Benita Wojciechowski, at [email protected], or by phone at 586-354-8296 or fill out the Google form at https://tinyurl.com/PolishClasses.  Mrs. Wojciechowski teaches at the Father Dabrowski Polish Language Center in Orchard Lake. She has 10 years of teaching experience both in Poland and the United States and has taught Polish and English to individuals and groups.

Polish classes for children and the youths from the Detroit Metro area are offered at four Polish schools. The schools in Hamtramck and Orchard Lake offer a special Early Start class for 2- to 4-year-old students.

St. John Paul II Polish Language School in Hamtramck
https://www.stflorianparish.org/polish-language-school/
Adam Mickiewicz School of Polish Language in Sterling Heights
szkolamickiewicza.org/
Polish Language Center of Ann Arbor
https://polskaszkola.weebly.com/
Father Dabrowski Polish Language Center in Orchard Lake
The website is under construction. To register, please follow the link:
https://polishschoolorchardlake.wordpress.com/registration