Polonia Foundation of Ohio to present Heritage Award

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YOUNGSTOWN

Aundrea Cika Heschmeyer, director of Polish Youngstown Inc., received the prestigious Heritage Award by the Polonia Foundation of Ohio for distinguished community service Oct. 4 in Cleveland.

The Liberty resident has been a member of the Polish American community her entire lifetime.

In her professional life, she is regional director of the Autism Society of Ohio.

She returned to the Valley in 2005 and was the driving force behind the founding of Polish Youngstown, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to invigorating the Polish-American community of the Mahoning Valley.

“The foundation was created to support the potential of young people, so it only makes sense for us to recognize those community members who share that mission through action in their own communities,” said Francis Rutkowski, foundation president.

“Aundr a, and the other awardees, reflect their pride in their Polish heritage in all of their work and make time to share this spirit through a variety of community endeavors. It is because of efforts like these that even third and fourth generation Polish-Americans can understand their families’ immigrant experience and be proud to be of their Polish extraction.”

Highlights of Polish Youngstown activities include weekly Polish language classes, a monthly happy hour for adults, children’s workshops, history and cooking classes and film screenings, as well as seasonal folk art and traditions workshops.

Annual Ostatki and Paczki Day celebrations have become traditions of many who are not Polish. Every August, the group hosts Polish-American Heritage Day, a citywide summer festival of Polish food, music and heritage that has grown in attendance from 300 to more than 1,200 annually.

The Polonia Foundation of Ohio is headquartered in Cleveland and is a nonprofit organization.