John Krakowiak

Youth Committee Coordinator

Polish American Congress Youth Committee

Eastern Pennsylvania District

On Tuesday, March 19th, 1996 representatives of the Polish American Congress, EPD Youth Committee met at the Polish American Cultural Center, 308 Walnut Street in Philadelphia. The Youth Committee serves as a focal point to facilitate the exchange of ideas and unite the Polish American youth groups in the Philadelphia area.

There are currently eight groups that participate with the PAC's Youth Committee including:

- Adam Mickiewicz Polish Language School;
- Polish Beneficial Association;
- Polish National Alliance; Polish Scouts of America;
- Sacred Heart Polish Language Program;
- Saint Adalbert's Polish Language School;
- Saint John Cantius Polish Language School.

One of the items discussed at the March 19th meeting was the importance of making certain that parents know that these youth programs are available to the boys and girls in our area. The Polish American Congress will continue to publicize the activities and programs of these groups throughout the year and parents are encouraged to have their children participate in these youth programs.

We also discussed the PAC's annual efforts to highlight youth program activities at events such as Polish Constitution Day in May, the Pulaski Day Parade and Polish American Heritage Month in October, Polish Christmas activities in December and Kosciuszko Day in February. These are just a few of the joint efforts which continue to unite these youth groups for public events and keep them involved in cultural and patriotic activities.

This year, all youth groups and their families are asked to attend Polish American Youth and Family Day on Saturday, June 1st at Clementon Amusement Park in Clementon, New Jersey. This will be a day set aside for the young Polish Americans and their families to enjoy the amusements, entertainment and each other�s company at Clementon Park, so please mark your calendar and plan to attend. For an information flyer, call the Polish American Congress office in Philadelphia at (215) 739-3408.

Parents are also encouraged to enroll their grammar-school-aged chiidren in one of the area Polish American youth programs which generally meet once a week in the Philadelphia and Delaware County areas. They offer a yariety of programs in-cluding Polish language, musie, dance, folk traditions and other recreational activities.

From: Polish American News, April 1996