PAA Monthly Newsletter - December, 2014/January 2015

PAA MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

December 2014/January 2015

Programs/Staff News

Henryka Blusiewicz and Jack Zurowski have been named the Outstanding Employees of 2014. Henryka was awarded for “Enormous Compassion, Commitment and Exceptional Support extended to Clients and Co-workers”.

Jack was awarded for “ Exemplary Loyalty and Commitment to PAA and his wonderful creativity in Beautifying our Workplace”.

Congratulations to Henia and Jacek on this great and well deserved honor!

See below for Henia and Jacek’s comments upon receiving the award.

I would like to extend my gratitude to all my wonderful coworkers for choosing me for the Outstanding Employee Award. Working at the PAA is for me a great privilege and honor. I learn from my coworkers every day how to be kinder and more understanding for the people who need my help. (Henryka Blusiewicz)

To my friends and co-workers,

I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the wonderful award you gave to me at our Christmas party.  I was very honored that you had given me such an award  and  I was touched by your expressions of kindness and affection. It means a lot to me as many years ago I came to the PAA as a client and through your programs and with your help I was able to build a new life. Since then, the PAA has been my home and you my co-workers have been a family. Knowing the good that you do, it is an honor for me to be able to help your work in many way I can. Thank you. (Jacek Zurowski)

The free FAFSA Completion Session will take place on Tuesday, January 27 from 5 to 9 pm in the Computer Resource Room of the Polish American Association at 3815 N Cicero. Representatives of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) will provide assistance with filing FAFSA online. For more information about this event please call Kasia Rachwal.

The registration for our ESL classes is ongoing. The classes are held on the Northwest and Southwest side of Chicago. For registration and information please call Kasia Koptilin, Mira Krolikowska or Agnieszka Sobczyk (Northside) and Malgosia Bodyziak (South side).

The new citizenship classes will be starting in January and February. To register or for more information please call Janina.

We are recruiting students for the free of charge and tuition CNA classes which will start in February. If you are interested, please contact Basia Gawronska or Jagoda.

Registration for paid Intermediate MS Word and Basic Excel class continues. This class is scheduled to open on Sunday, January 18 and will meet on Sundays from 10 am to 1 pm. For information or to register please call Bianka at ext. 418.

Registration for winter FREE basic computer literacy classes is now open. The classes will meet at our North and South side locations in the mornings, evenings and on the weekends. For information or to register please call Bianka at ext. 418.

The CDBG employment program for job seekers who are Chicago residents begins on January 1. In order to register a person needs to bring the following documents: proof of a Chicago address, social security card, alien resident card, birth certificate or US passport and a proof of income. Men born after December 31, 1959 need to bring a proof of Selective Service registration. For more information please call: Barbara at ext. 421, Marzena at ext. 420 or Agata at ext. 419.

Cook County residents receiving Unemployment Insurance benefits are now eligible to enroll in WIA program to take advantage of our job placement assistance or to apply for funding for vocational training programs. Individuals interested in enrolling in WIA program should attend the program orientation. The orientations are held every Tuesday from 11am to 12 noon in Polish and from 1 to 2 pm in English. For more information please call Mirella at ext. 412.

New American Initiative Program invites all eligible Permanent Residents to a free CITIZENSHIP WORKSHOP on Saturday, January 24. It will take place at the Oakton Community Center located at 4701 Oakton Street in Skokie. Registration will be held as usual from 9-10.30 am. For complete information please go to our website or call Grazyna, Teresa or Basia.

The clients who need to prepare/update their resumes and learn/refresh their interviewing skills are encouraged to attend our job readiness workshops. The workshops are held every Tuesday at 12 - 1 pm in Polish and 2-3 pm in English. For more information please call Kasia Rachwal at ext. 414.

We will be offering job placement assistance services at our South Side location on Thursday, January 15. The staff person will be present in the office from 10 am to 2 pm to provide program information and to register clients. For more information please call Bianka at ext. 418. To reach the employment program staff please call 773 767-7773 ext. 209.

We have currently serving FOUR clients in our private pay program but we are ALWAYS looking for new clients. We are asking for your help with spreading the word and we will reward you for referring a client to PAA.  The reward schedule is set up as follows: if the referred client stays with us for a month the reward is $25, it doubles to $50 if the client is being served for 3 months and finally it becomes $100 after 6 months of service provided. If you know of anybody in need of home care service, please ask them to call Bogusia.

Staff Birthdates and Anniversaries

Happy Birthday and Sto lat to all who are having their birthday in December and January:

Alexandra Antonik, Malgorzata Batog, Wieslawa Bieniewska, Malgorzata Bodyziak, Zofia Chowaniec, Elzbieta Chrzanowska, Agnieszka Dabrowiecka, Marianna Dzis, Andrzej Felker, Mary Gembicki, Maria Jaworska, Ewa Klepaczko, Wanda Klimecka, Ewa Koziol, Adam Kusz, Ewa Lisiewicz, Elzbieta Makowiecka, Olena Malanii, Maria Marusarz, Ewa Mikolajewska, Teresa Palac, Barbara Pietrowski, Urszula Piekarska, Teresa Poznanski, Astryda Reiter, Bozena Sajdak, Katarzyna Swigon, Paulina Szwarc, Renata Teper, Maria Trzmielewska, Elzbieta Wierzchon, Maria Zebrowski, Jack Zurowski

CONGRATULATIONS to the PAA employees who are celebrating their anniversaries in January:

Elzbieta Chrzanowska - 20 years of service

We thank you for your ongoing commitment to the PAA mission and compassion toward our clients! Happy Anniversary!

Development News

PAA was awarded a grant of $25,000 from the Bank of America Foundation for supportive services and $1,000 from the Knights of Malta for the purchase of shoes for our homeless clients . Both grants will be used in FY’15.
PAA received a grant of $2,000 from the Kochton Foundation to support the general operations of the agency in FY’15.

Reminders & Other

The earth has grown old with its burden of care
But at Christmas it always is young,
The heart of the jewel burns lustrous and fair
And its soul full of music breaks the air,
When the song of angels is sung.

O Little Town of Bethlehem, Phillips Brooks

Christmas Angel 2014sm

 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

 

Days off:

  • December 24 and 25 (Christmas)
  • January 1 (New Year)

10 paid holidays in 2015:

January 1, New Year
March 2, Pulaski Day
April 3, Good Friday
May 25, Memorial Day
July 3, in observance of Independence Day
September 7, Labor Day
November 26 and 27, Thanksgiving and Day after Thanksgiving
December 24, Christmas Eve
December 25, Christmas

All December travel vouchers must be accompanied by a copy of valid Driver’s License and unexpired Insurance Card and submitted to Bob by January 10.

Be prompt in signing your timesheets! They need to be turned in to Sonji NO LATER than by the 5th of the following month.

Be inspired

At Christmas, all roads lead home. (Marjorie Holmes)