March 2021

International Womens Day

The tradition of the International Women's Day dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. With the industrialization in the 19th century, a working class was created. Women who belonged to this class were used in two ways: as women and as workers who often had to work in factories under inhumane conditions.

Therefore, women began to fight for better working conditions, higher wages, etc. The first international day of women's struggle was held in 1909 in the USA. At that time, women's right to choose was promoted.

A year later, on August 27, at the 2nd International Gathering of Women Socialists in Copenhagen an annual celebration of International Women's Day was established. The first International Women's Day was held on March 19, 1911 in Denmark, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Switzerland and the USA. Millions of women attended this event. The day was also a great success in the following years, even though no specific date was set, and Women's Day was always celebrated in March or April.

It was only in 1921 that the date of March 8 was set. The main demands at that time were the right to choose for women, an eight-hour working day, adequate protection for mother and child, and a minimum wage.

In the interwar period, these demands were modified. The women wanted abortion legalized, as well as protection for mothers and babies. During the Nazi occupation, it was forbidden to celebrate Women's Day in the affected countries. This had negative effects in other countries as well, such as Switzerland. During World War II, the struggle for women's rights lost significantly. For the decades that followed, they, therefore, played a subordinate role.

In the 1970s, with the advent of the new women's movement, it became a day of women's solidarity. In the 1980s, this day was seen as the international day of combat just like before the Second World War.

Today, Women's Day is only a pale reflection of its beginning. Although there are still millions of women on all continents who are being exploited.

Scholarship

We would like to kindly remind you that the deadline for Majer And Lakowski Scholarship application is March 15th, 2021.

Please check what our last year's recipient wrote.

What our Participant is Saying:

“I would like to deeply thank the opportunity given to me by the Polish American Congress Charitable Foundation. The money provided has allowed me to live on campus, which is being used to provide the best possible learning experience through these difficult times while also allowing me to further gain experience through my internship which is normally too far to commute.”

— Marek Niemyjski

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The Polish American Congress Charitable Foundation is formally announcing that it is accepting applications for the Richard Gorecki Scholarship for year 2021

To be eligible the applicant must be a citizen of the United States of America and of Polish ancestry. Applicant must be a full-time student enrolled as a sophomore, junior, senior or post-graduate in an accredited undergraduate or graduate program at a college or university, with a minimum GPA of 3.0 out of 4.0. Applicant must be a member of their local Polish American Congress Division or if none in their area, then a member thru the National PAC.

Applications and more information can be obtained at www.paccf.org, by emailing paccf@paccf.org, or by phone at 773-763-9942. The deadline to apply is April 15, 2021.