THE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

If you're like me, you're a Polish-American. You're proud of your heritage. Proud of Poles on the world stage who have made great contributions to society. People like Pope John Paul II. There are certain days that remain engraved in one's mind and I am sure that, as a Polish-American you know exactly where you were October 16, 1978 when you first heard about our "Polish Pope". I know how proud Polish-Americans are when they think of Solidarity, knowing that the first blow which brought down the Berlin Wall was struck in the shipyards of Gdansk.

Honorary President of PAC NJ Ludwik Wnekowicz Send message to L. Wnekowicz

You are one of a million person with Polish roots living in New Jersey. The Polonian community of the Garden State is a mixed group. There are people of the second and third generations whose grandparents and great-grandparents came from Poland almost a century ago to . nd better lives. They built places like Bayonne, Elizabeth, Linden, Passaic, Perth Amboy and Trenton. There are people of the post-war immigration, Polish soldiers and patriots who could or would not return to a Poland enslaved by communism. There are people of the Solidarity immigration, who left Poland in the 1980s in the bitter years of martial law. There is today’s immigrant who, for economic or other reasons, temporarily or permanantly, has made a home in New Jersey, retracing through Newark Airport the steps earlier generations took through Ellis Island. New Jersey’s Polish-American may be newly arrived or third-generation. They may speak no Polish or only Polish. But they have one thing in common: pride in their Polish roots. They should have another thing in common: membership in the Polish-American Congress. The Congress sponsors programs to maintain pride in our roots while helping others become part of the American Dream. It provides important charitable relief to Poland, having sent over a quarter of a billion dollars in supplies since 1980. It speaks for Polish-American interests. How can YOU show your pride in your Polish roots? By joining the Polish-American Congress. Membership says you’re proud of your roots and that you care about the standing of the Polish-American community in the larger American society. Why not join today?