I am sending this email to you on behalf of The Polish Mission which is part of the Orchard Lake Schools...please feel free to advance this unique opportunity to those who will find it of interest. With warmest regards, Caryn Noel Library Director Adam Cardinal Maida Alumni Library Dear friends, My name is JJ Przewozniak, and I'm Curator of Collections here at The Polish Mission of the Orchard Lake Schools. We're the third department of the OLS alongside St. Mary's Prep and Ss. Cyril and Methodius Seminary. We claim the honor of being the oldest Polish-American cultural and educational institution in the United States (founded 1885). Now, exactly 130 years later, 2015 has really been a landmark year for our community of students, faculty, and staff-let me tell you why. For the last few years, we've been the exclusive North American partner with the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum of Poland. To honor the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in 1945, it was our privilege to host the prestigious and massive Forbidden Art exhibition at the United Nations, in support of an international session on global prevention of genocide. In addition, this February we embarked upon a special partnership with the Stanislawa Moniuszki National Music Academy in Poland-through this, we guided the entire St. Mary's Prep Jazz Ensemble through Poland, where they performed at the LOTOS Jazz Festival to standing-room only audiences! The Polish Mission worked with the Wikiera Foundation to keep the students' cost of this trip very low, and made all the necessary connections to ensure that our St. Mary's group had the experience of their lives. Beyond the trip to Poland, over the past two years, the Polish Mission has assisted the Prep in bringing Polish language back as an on-campus offering. We've orchestrated various displays in the library, the existing Galeria, and other venues that have been visited by Prep classes. We pride ourselves on our unending program of cultural activities that enrich not only our local community, but audiences across the globe. For this and for our multitude of continued cultural work (which you can read about in The Mission, the Orchard Lake Good News, and www.polishmission.com<http://www.polishmission.com>) it is our highest honor to be awarded the Gloria Artis (gold), which is the highest form of recognition awarded by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Poland. We are the only institution in North America that bears this honor, and in July, the Minister herself, Professor Małgorzata Omilanowska, visited us to bestow it in person! For comparison, the short list of recipients of this award includes renowned historian Norman Davies, legend of the Polish stage Adam Hanuszkiewicz, and the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. I'm sending you this monumental news today, in hopes that you'll consider supporting the truly "Polish Mission" of the OLS. On October 29th, 2015, the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland, his Excellency Ryszard Schnepf will formally present the Gloria Artis to us, at a gala dinner at Pine Lake Country Club. By placing an ad in our program book, attending, or by any financial support you'd consider pledging, you'd be supporting the construction of a new Polish art gallery on our historic campus; the first construction project of its type in America in decades. Our plan is to restore the existing Galeria to its original beauty, while also constructing a subtle addition for the collections, built to modern museum standards. You might not know it, but we're home to North America's best collection of Polish art, museum, and archives collections. With a new and fitting place to showcase it all, our community of students, family, faculty, and staff will have a new place for learning, studying, and praying. It is our hope that a new building will allow us to expand the support that we can provide the various language, social studies, and art classes, and enrich the learning environment for all Prep students. We're requesting help from everyone in the Orchard Lake Schools family, because we know that you are committed to the future of our St. Mary's men and our legacy. This project is more than a building; it's an investment in our future, and those who contribute to it can rest knowing they've contributed to a most prestigious and unique element of the "Polish" mission of the Orchard Lake Schools. See you on October 29th. Thank you in advance for your support. Sincerely, [JJ sig] [Polish Mission Logo 2015_EMAIL] JJ Przewozniak The Polish Mission of the Orchard Lake Schools Polish-American Art and Cultural Research Foundation 3535 Commerce Rd. Orchard Lake, Michigan 48324 (248) 738-6720 - office jjprzewozniak@orchardlakeschools.com<mailto:mchumiecki@orchardlakeschools.com> www.polishmission.com<http://www.polishmission.com/> Caryn Noel Library Director Adam Cardinal Maida Alumni Library 248-706-4212 (phone) 248-683-0526 (fax) cnoel@sscms.edu http://www.orchardlakelibrary.com/
