For Michael Ostrowski being an American of Polish descent isn’t all polkas, perogies and paczkis.
The Oxford resident believes he has a responsibility to help his family’s native land as the former communist country still struggles to prosper and thrive as a free market society.
‘The economy’s a lot poorer (than here),? explained Ostrowski, who serves as president of the American Polish Assistance Association (APAA). ‘Unemployment is slowly coming down. It was between 18 and 20 percent just a couple years ago. Now, it’s down to about 16-17 percent.?
Based in Eastpointe, the APAA is an all-volunteer humanitarian organization founded in the 1960s that collects new and gently used clothing, toys, games, school supplies, backpacks, blankets, baby items, toiletries, linens, bicycles, wheelchairs, rehabilitation equipment, sporting goods, musical instruments and more.
‘That covers 98 percent of what we send,? said Ostrowski, who became inbut volved with the group about five years ago after answering an ad in the Michigan Catholic Newspaper. ‘We try to mix it up a little bit based on need, who needs what.?
‘We’ve got some members who just check out garage sales throughout the year or go to second-hand stores. When they see a good deal, they’ll buy it, fix it up, and deliver it to us.?
Once the group has about 700 to 800 boxes full of donations, volunteers pack it all into a 40-foot shipping container to make its transatlantic voyage aboard a cargo ship to a distribution center in Lublin, Poland where it’s all given to organizations that help those in need, primarily children and teens.
‘Things are bad here in Michigan without a doubt, but they could be a lot worse when you look at other parts of the world,? Ostrowski said.
AAPA has sent four 40-foot containers to Poland since 2004. The most recent got there in October.
Although orphanages are the main recipients of APAA’s good works, other places like community centers, shelters for adults, social services that help those with alcohol and drug problems, even an institute for blind children have all received donations.
‘There are a lot of good hearts over there,? Ostrowski said. ‘A lot of people who are hard working and really give a lot of their time to help make these people’s poor lives a little bit better.?
Ostrowski had a real eye-opening experience the first time he visited Poland about 10 years ago. Upon returning home, he mailed $70 as a thank you to a distant relative he had stayed with for less than a day.
‘She wrote back this long letter expressing her extreme gratitude,? Ostrowski said. ‘She said it was like a gift from heaven. She used it to buy a load of coal for the winter.?
‘That really helped me realize how good we have it in comparison,? he noted.
Experiences such as this along with his Catholic faith and the teachings of Pope John Paul II eventually led Ostrowski to his work with the APAA.
‘I just feel it’s part of my calling as a Catholic to try to think of others,? he said. ‘Pope John Paul II always reminded us to think of those who are poor ? not to forget them. He set a great example for me and my generation.?
‘God gives us blessings. When he makes us strong, we should use that opportunity not just to build up ourselves, but to help others,? explained Ostrowski, who’s a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Lake Orion. ‘There’s no reason why I couldn’t have been born in a different part of the world or with a handicap. That could happen to anybody through no fault of their own.?
During his most recent trip to Poland in October 2006, Ostrowski visited six of the places which receive donations from APAA to see if ‘all this is paying off??
From the ‘sincere heartfelt appreciation? shown by the workers and volunteers who help those in need to the ‘smiles? on the children’s faces, Ostrowski has no doubt ‘there’s still a big need over there.?
‘I asked each of them, ‘Is there still a need?? They all said yes, it’s really needed.?
APAA’s donations ‘give them some hope that there’s people out there who are thinking of them,? Ostrowski said. ‘It gives them some joy, something warm to wear. It relieves some of the stress in their already hard lives. Decent clothes are one less thing for them to worry about.?
Although Poland’s economy is ‘definitely better than when communism fell? and ‘there’s a lot more opportunity now,? Ostrowski said ‘there’s a wide disparity? in how the country’s wealth is distributed based on geography.
People in Warsaw, Krakow and the country’s western cities are doing much better than people in the more rural southern and eastern parts where ‘there’s not a whole lot of opportunity for jobs.?
‘A lot of the children and families are quite a bit poorer there,? Ostrowski said.
The fall of the Iron Curtain particularly hit older people the hardest because they ‘can’t assimilate into this capitalist society? like the younger generation.
‘They don’t have the mindset where they can go out and try to be entrepreneurs,? Ostrowski explained.
So it looks like APAA’s help is going to be needed for a while longer, which means more work for the volunteers here in Michigan.
‘There’s a lot of people involved. I’m certainly not capable of handling it all by myself,? Ostrowski said. ‘It’s a lot of effort. We’re always looking for more volunteers.?
Although APAA has around 300 members scattered throughout the metro Detroit area, there are currently about 10 to 15 people who regularly volunteer at the group’s office and gift shop located in Eastpointe on Gratiot near 9 Mile Road.
Proceeds from the gift shop ? though not very much ? help the group finance its packing supplies and shipping costs, which are considerable.
It costs roughly $4,000, according to Ostrowski, to send that 40-foot container by train to New York City, then by cargo ship to Poland.
To help offset that cost, the little gift shop sells Polish cookbooks, amber, crystal, Easter eggs, vests, Christmas items, scarves, pottery, dolls and folk art.
The store also carries dolls, folk art and wood carvings from Romania, Ukraine, Russia, Greece, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Macedonia and Egypt to name a few.
‘It’s not just Polish items,? Ostrowski said.
The gift shop and APAA office are open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. For more information call (586) 778-9766 or visit www.apaa.us.