Poland in US

Embassy Series and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland Collaborate to Host Benefit Concert to Help Ukrainian Children Refugees in Poland

The concert features an award-winning Polish-American Soprano Alexandra Nowakowski; all proceeds will go to a nonprofit that helps Ukrainian refugee children in Poland

Washington, DC – The Embassy Series and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington, DC are co-organizing a landmark concert on Oct. 14 at the Polish Ambassador’s residence. The event will benefit Ukrainian children who fled the Russian aggression against their homeland and now live in Poland.

“Support to Ukraine and to the Ukrainian refugees – our guests – in Poland is our priority. Helping children in need, especially in the need of education and emotional support, is a cause we stand for in the spirit of solidarity and devotion to freedom. When Ukraine wins the war, these children will rebuild the country and we wish them to have the best possible skills to do that.” said H.E. Marek Magierowski, Poland’s Ambassador to the United States.

All proceeds from the concert will be provided to SOK Foundation, a Warsaw-based nonprofit organization that offers specialized training to Polish educators, who then help Ukrainian children transition to their new Polish schools (and a new life and language), as well as cope with the emotional and psychological upheaval they have experienced.

“There are more than 200,000 Ukrainian children now in Polish schools, and SOK is providing needed training to more than 20,000 of them. We do this by training over 600 teachers who then train the Ukrainian children in two critical areas: stress reduction techniques through ‘trauma informed workshops’ and teaching the children Polish as a foreign language because of the need to help them feel more secure as they are coming to Poland with trauma and in distress from being in a war zone, helping them to better adapt to Polish society,” said Katia Roman-Trzaska, Co-founder of the SOK Foundation/Fundacja SOK. 

The concert will feature the award-winning performer, Alexandra Nowakowski, a Polish American-born Soprano, who has performed for the Washington National Opera, and has sung locally at the Kennedy Center, Wolf Trap, and the Phillips Collection, before joining the Metropolitan Opera. Alexandra Nowakowski is the recipient of the Beebe Fund fellowship which helped her record her debut album of Polish music, KRAINA. At the concert, Alexandra Nowakowski will perform Stanisław Moniuszko’s music on the occasion of the year commemorating the great Polish composer.

“The Embassy Series is grateful to the SOK Foundation in Poland for providing trauma-informed programs, care, psychosocial well-being and support for many of the 20,000 Ukrainian children traumatized by loss of family, war and famine and their way of life,” said Jerome Barry, Founder of The Embassy Series. “The directors of SOK are fulfilling a moral obligation that typifies the compassionate way Polish citizens have responded to the vital needs of Ukrainians.”

Note: Tickets to the concert are $250, which is a minimum tax-exempt donation to benefit Ukrainian orphans and school children in Poland. To make a Donation, we ask those who want to buy tickets to do so at www.embassyseries.org or mail a check with your contribution, made out to “Embassy Series.”  No part of the admission fee is related in any way to the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington, DC or the Embassy staff.