Polish American Association
Encyclopedia
The Polish American Association (PAA) (Polish
: Zrzeszenie Amerykańsko Polskie) is a non-profit human services agency that serves the diverse needs of the Chicago Polish immigrant community
.
Originally located in Polish Downtown, the PAA was founded as the Polish Welfare Association in 1922 by a group of prominent Polish businessmen and professionals to provide Polish language
social services in Chicago
. Since then, PAA has helped generations of immigrant families adjust to life in America
.
Today, the agency’s bilingual and bicultural services remain critical to meet the growing needs of Chicago’s Polish community. The Polish community constitutes the second largest ethnic group in the greater Chicago area.
in the Chicago metro area by providing resources for changing lives, with emphasis on assisting immigrants.
and employment services, immigrant services, information and advocacy
.
, youth
, battered women, the homeless and those seeking to free themselves of substance abuse
an opportunity for hope and personal growth. PAA staff provides professional support, advice and hands-on assistance in clients’ first and most comfortable language to transform lives and create happier, more stable home environments for immigrants.
Social services include: individual and family counseling; parenting
education; crisis intervention
; domestic violence
program; partner abuse intervention program; senior case management; homemaker
services; youth development and drug prevention program; day center for homeless men; emergency homeless outreach services and case management; intensive outpatient alcohol
treatment; health outreach, food pantry; clothing closet; rent and energy assistance; and outreach and interpretation
services.
, prepare for U.S. Citizenship exams, and gain new skills to enable them to enter careers in healthcare and other professional settings and become active, contributing members of Chicago's communities. The Learning Center offers English as a Second Language and citizenship classes, literacy tutoring, an award-winning vocational training program for certified nursing assistants and physical rehabilitation aide, office skills training, computer and nursing review classes, job placement and counseling and career counseling program.
PAA has successfully provided employment services since 1981, adult education
since 1989, and vocational training since 1992. PAA is approved by the Illinois State Board of Education
as a Private Business and Vocational School.
Through individual case advocacy, governmental and human service systems advocacy and interpretation and translation services, PAA works to address broader issues that prevent its clients from achieving social and economic self-sufficiency.
. Revenues are received in the form of contributions from individuals, businesses, and organizations; grants from foundations and corporations; contracts and grants from federal, state, and local government; and fees for certain program services. Revenues are used to fulfill the organization’s chartered purpose. The voluntary board of directors is responsible for overseeing and charting the organization’s operations, including its financial activities.
At PAA, the clients find comprehensive services provided by a Polish-speaking staff of more than 150 professionals, most of whom are immigrants themselves and experienced in addressing the problems caused by relocation to a new country. For linguistic, cultural and economic reasons, many members of the Polish community could not and would not be served by any other agency.
To promote the organization’s work and to raise funds, PAA holds an Annual Gala in November and a Chairman's Brunch in the spring. In addition, several smaller fundraising events are planned throughout the year, including musical events and a series of fundraising luncheons.
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
: Zrzeszenie Amerykańsko Polskie) is a non-profit human services agency that serves the diverse needs of the Chicago Polish immigrant community
Poles in Chicago
Chicago Polonia, refers to both immigrant Poles and Americans of Polish heritage living in Chicago, Illinois. They are a part of worldwide Polonia, the proper term for the Polish Diaspora outside of Poland. Poles in Chicago have contributed to the economic, social and cultural well-being of Chicago...
.
Originally located in Polish Downtown, the PAA was founded as the Polish Welfare Association in 1922 by a group of prominent Polish businessmen and professionals to provide Polish language
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
social services in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Since then, PAA has helped generations of immigrant families adjust to life in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Today, the agency’s bilingual and bicultural services remain critical to meet the growing needs of Chicago’s Polish community. The Polish community constitutes the second largest ethnic group in the greater Chicago area.
Mission statement
The mission of the Polish American Association, a human service agency, is to serve the diverse needs of the Polish communityPoles in Chicago
Chicago Polonia, refers to both immigrant Poles and Americans of Polish heritage living in Chicago, Illinois. They are a part of worldwide Polonia, the proper term for the Polish Diaspora outside of Poland. Poles in Chicago have contributed to the economic, social and cultural well-being of Chicago...
in the Chicago metro area by providing resources for changing lives, with emphasis on assisting immigrants.
Program Description
PAA contributes to the vitality of Chicago’s communities by serving more than 3,000 clients per month through 30 programs and services. Program areas include social services, educationEducation
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and employment services, immigrant services, information and advocacy
Advocacy
Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...
.
Social Services
PAA’s Social Services offer families, seniorsOld age
Old age consists of ages nearing or surpassing the average life span of human beings, and thus the end of the human life cycle...
, youth
Youth
Youth is the time of life between childhood and adulthood . Definitions of the specific age range that constitutes youth vary. An individual's actual maturity may not correspond to their chronological age, as immature individuals could exist at all ages.-Usage:Around the world, the terms "youth",...
, battered women, the homeless and those seeking to free themselves of substance abuse
Substance abuse
A substance-related disorder is an umbrella term used to describe several different conditions associated with several different substances .A substance related disorder is a condition in which an individual uses or abuses a...
an opportunity for hope and personal growth. PAA staff provides professional support, advice and hands-on assistance in clients’ first and most comfortable language to transform lives and create happier, more stable home environments for immigrants.
Social services include: individual and family counseling; parenting
Parenting
Parenting is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood...
education; crisis intervention
Crisis intervention
Crisis Intervention can be defined as emergency psychological care aimed at assisting individuals in a crisis situation to restore equilibrium to their biopsychosocial functioning and to minimise the potential for psychological trauma...
; domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
program; partner abuse intervention program; senior case management; homemaker
Homemaker
Homemaking is a mainly American term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping or household management...
services; youth development and drug prevention program; day center for homeless men; emergency homeless outreach services and case management; intensive outpatient alcohol
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
treatment; health outreach, food pantry; clothing closet; rent and energy assistance; and outreach and interpretation
Interpreting
Language interpretation is the facilitating of oral or sign-language communication, either simultaneously or consecutively, between users of different languages...
services.
Education & Employment Services
PAA’s Learning Center has helped thousands of Polish immigrants and others in Chicago learn EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, prepare for U.S. Citizenship exams, and gain new skills to enable them to enter careers in healthcare and other professional settings and become active, contributing members of Chicago's communities. The Learning Center offers English as a Second Language and citizenship classes, literacy tutoring, an award-winning vocational training program for certified nursing assistants and physical rehabilitation aide, office skills training, computer and nursing review classes, job placement and counseling and career counseling program.
PAA has successfully provided employment services since 1981, adult education
Adult education
Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...
since 1989, and vocational training since 1992. PAA is approved by the Illinois State Board of Education
Illinois State Board of Education
The Illinois State Board of Education administers public education in the state of Illinois. The State Board consists of nine members who are appointed by the Governor with the consent of the...
as a Private Business and Vocational School.
Immigrant Services
PAA’s immigration counselors help clients complete citizenship applications, including fingerprinting, taking photographs, and translating documents, as well as provide information about current immigration policies and procedures.Information and Advocacy
In order to offer its experience and services to a wider audience than those geographically located close to the offices, PAA disseminates information about issues of concern to immigrants through its website, www.polish.org; Polish newsletter, Ogniwo; and English newsletter, The Link. By offering its resources on the Internet, PAA allows linguistically and geographically isolated Polish-speaking individuals throughout the U.S. and the world to receive up-to-date, bilingual information on issues of importance to the community. PAA staff remains in close contact with the local community through regular appearances on Polish radio, television and print media aimed at providing information and resources on relevant issues.Through individual case advocacy, governmental and human service systems advocacy and interpretation and translation services, PAA works to address broader issues that prevent its clients from achieving social and economic self-sufficiency.
Structure of the organization
The Polish American Association is an Illinois not-profit corporation qualifying for tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue CodeInternal Revenue Code
The Internal Revenue Code is the domestic portion of Federal statutory tax law in the United States, published in various volumes of the United States Statutes at Large, and separately as Title 26 of the United States Code...
. Revenues are received in the form of contributions from individuals, businesses, and organizations; grants from foundations and corporations; contracts and grants from federal, state, and local government; and fees for certain program services. Revenues are used to fulfill the organization’s chartered purpose. The voluntary board of directors is responsible for overseeing and charting the organization’s operations, including its financial activities.
At PAA, the clients find comprehensive services provided by a Polish-speaking staff of more than 150 professionals, most of whom are immigrants themselves and experienced in addressing the problems caused by relocation to a new country. For linguistic, cultural and economic reasons, many members of the Polish community could not and would not be served by any other agency.
To promote the organization’s work and to raise funds, PAA holds an Annual Gala in November and a Chairman's Brunch in the spring. In addition, several smaller fundraising events are planned throughout the year, including musical events and a series of fundraising luncheons.