Welcome Home!

Welcome Home is a program of the Polish American Foundation of Connecticut and also an invitation for Americans of Polish descent to reconnect with their Polish heritage. The program includes the Polish Language School for Adults, folk art classes, genealogy and trips to Poland.  Our annual Pisanki (decorated Easter eggs) classes have become a new Easter tradition for many people.  Our trips to Poland are about exploring the culture and traditions of Poland unlike any other Poland trips.  Recently, we have expanded into genealogy.  In 2019, we sponsored a genealogy conference in Poland and we are adding genealogy indexes not found on other websites. Our Polish Language School for Adults is in its eighth year and offers several levels of Polish language classes.

Welcome Home to your Polish roots.     

Our Program Officers

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Dorena Wasik, Director

Dorena Wasik, a second generation American, is well known in the New Britain, Connecticut Polish community.  She is involved with several Polish-American organizations, including volunteer director for the Polish American Foundation’s Polish Language School for Adults.  She is also an avid genealogist, focusing on Polish genealogy for both Americans looking for their Polish roots and Polish genealogists looking for their American family. She spoke at the Genealogy Society of Poland Conference in Brzeg and the Kurpie, Genealogia, Historia I Tradycje Conference in Kadzidło, Poland. She also contributes articles about local Polish- American events and Polish genealogy to the New Britain Herald, Polish-American Journal, and Pathways and Passages. She recently completed her first book, “From Chudek to America,” a bilingual study of the villagers of Chudek who immigrated to the United States in the early 1900’s.
Ms. Wasik is a frequent visitor to Poland, both on her own and with trips organized by her with the Polish American Foundation to reconnect Americans with their Polish roots. She received Polish citizenship in 2018 and was made an honorary citizen of Kadzidło, Poland in 2019.

 

Michael Gwara

Michael Gwara has been working with the Polish-American community in Hartford, Connecticut for most of his life.  While a student at UCONN, he was a board member for the UCONN Polish Cultural Club.  He serves on the parish council for Saint Cyril & Methodius Church in Hartford and frequently helps out at social events and fund raisers for the Church.  Mr. Gwara also volunteered at the Hartford Saturday Polish school for eight years and helped to transition it to non-profit status.  He is a long-standing member of the Polish American Foundation of CT.
Mr. Gwara is also an amateur photographer/historian and has captured many Polish related sites and events in the Hartford area.