EWA CIC - European's Welfare Association
European’s Welfare Association (EWA) is a social enterprise CIC which had been called to life under management of Elizabeth Kardynal, Agnes Cyl and Marcin Klein.
Those three people had merged both organisation’s interest and resources together in the name of passion for community work in areas of education, legal advice and support for most vulnerable European immigrants in the UK.
European’s Welfare Association CIC (EWA CIC) is a not for profit organisation set up back in 2013 to provide a wide range of support with a main focus on education to Central & Eastern European community living in Black Country area. We are in charge of one of the largest Polish Supplementary schools in Black Country with more than 300 children aged 3 to 18 currently on our roll.
Our main projects in 2020/2021 are:
- Census 2021
- Hate Crime Reporting Centre i Speak Out
- Szczepionki: Vaccine Up
- Settled Status
- ESOL
By default, we primarily work with the Polish community supporting their education and welfare, as well as responding to their cultural needs in order to raise aspirations and create a better sense of community cohesion. We have a dedicated and qualified team (i.e. teachers, school psychologist, artists, etc.) experienced in delivering community projects and around 60 volunteers tirelessly working with us which makes us best placed organisation in the region to deliver such project to our beneficiaries
Through our Polish Saturday Supplementary School in Walsall (est. in 2009), EWA CIC has been continuously and consistently providing education in Polish from Early Years to Key Stage 5 levels and English for Speakers of other Languages (ESOL), supporting the communication needs of our beneficiaries. Over the last 9 years, we have successfully supported over 5000 families within our community in integrating them into UK life, raising their aspirations and confidence. We achieved this through numerous partnership projects run with organisations such as Walsall and Sandwell Council, Rights and Equality Sandwell (RES), Walsall Adult Community College (WACC), Walsall Housing Group (WHG) and West Midlands Police (WMP) by delivering awareness sessions, employability workshops, focus groups, sport activities and public events.
EWA CIC is running lots of activities for the whole of our community, promoting Polish and European culture and heritage by organising a variety of cultural events such as Polish Picnic in Walsall or Christmas Concerts. By sharing our culture and work ethic we are working against stereotyping to support integration and mutual respect. We are very actively involved in supporting our community in tackling issues around social exclusion, isolation and providing them with on-going support and guidance, particularly around school admissions, reporting hate crime incidents and signposting.
EWA CIC has been trained and approved by WMP as a third party reporting centre for Hate Crime back in 2012- one of the first Polish organisations in the country that obtained this status.
Last year EWA CIC was commissioned to carry out Mapping of ESOL provision for the borough.
EWA CIC proposes simple and effective solution to socio-economic tensions in British society related to EU accession in 2004. We understand and support European migrants’ issues around access to mainstream services, citizenship, language barrier, advice and guidance, unemployment, education, hate crime and domestic violence.
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Walsall’s European’s Welfare Association awarded with the 2017 Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVC)
European’s Welfare Association (EWA CIC), managing among others the Polish Saturday School in Walsall, has been awarded on Friday with Britain’s highest recognition for organisations, the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVC).
Founded in 2009, EWA CIC works with the Polish community in West Midlands, offering wide-ranging support for migrant families who settled in the region following Poland’s accession to the European Union in 2004.
The organisation runs a Saturday supplementary school for the Polish community in Walsall which provides Polish-language education to over 310 kids between the age of 3 and 18 and also offers psychological support and English language training for adults.
EWA CIC is also actively engaged in work with the local authorities, police forces and the NHS, representing the 80,000-strong Polish community in West Midlands.
Elizabeth Kardynał, the EWA CIC founding director, said:
“We are delighted to be recognised by Her Majesty The Queen for our work on helping the Polish community and building bridges between the Poles and the British people of West Midlands”.
“Our motto is - Together we can open more doors. With this award from Her Majesty the Queen, all doors are opening wide for us, giving us a chance to grow further and serve the community even better.”
“This award is a result of unbelievable work of our staff, members and friends, who over the last eight years have built the school, developed their talents and passions, and shared their time, volunteering for the kids and the families we work with.”
“EWA CIC has become much more than a school – a genuine social movement. Thanks to our incredibly talented people, it now serves as a meeting point for friends and local businesses, a place to seek support if needed, and a second home to many.”
In recent weeks, EWA CIC representatives were invited by Lord Chamberlain to take part in a summer party thrown in the gardens of the Buckingham Palace, which was attended by HM the Queen and other senior members of the royal family.
EWA CIC, along with a Polish Saturday School in Ealing, are the first two Polish organisation that have ever been recognised with the QAVC.
QAVC it is the highest award given to local volunteer groups across the UK to recognise outstanding work done in their communities, and it is the equivalent of the MBE for volunteer groups.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Elizabeth Kardynal, EWA CIC founder and director, is available for interviews. She is on 07875258192.
Full list of organisations awarded with the 2017 QAVC is available in London Gazette’s issue published on June 2: https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/61945/data.pdf
Jakub Krupa
m. (44) 74 5009 5021 | @JakubKrupa | LinkedIn