The Foundation has conducted a Citizenship Education program since 2000 in collaboration with the Connecticut Immigrant and Refugee Coalition (CIRC), also a 501(c)3 organization. CIRC received a grant from the State of Connecticut for this purpose, and subcontracted our Foundation to run the program for the Polish immigrant community.

From 2000 to 2003, we conducted 8 citizenship training classes with an average attendance of between 25 and 40 per class (approximately 300 in total). Each course was between 8-10 weeks with approximately 2 hour classes for approximately 16-20 hours of instruction.

The curriculum consisted of general instruction in the naturalization process, help in completing the application, drills in citizenship questions, interview role-playing, and concluded with a discussion of responsibilities associated with citizenship. Also some after class one-on-one assistance with individual issues was provided, as well as translation at interviews for individuals who qualified for Polish language testing.

The location of these classes was the Community Room in the New Britain Public Library. This location was chosen primarily because it has adequate capacity to hold even a large number of people. Some of our outreach sessions brought in up to 80 people. It is also within easy walking distance from the Polish section of New Britain, and the library has a large Polish-speaking clientele drawn by a significant Polish-language collection.

Of the class participants who contacted us following completion of the course, we are aware of 138 people from 19 different towns who passed the test and were sworn in as American citizens. This number is most likely greatly understated as we depended on people to contact us upon completion of the process and did not independently follow-up with those who did not contact us.

Additionally, we funded 6 new immigration-related titles for the New Britain Public Library, and hosted several Outreach Sessions for the Polish Community dealing with Legal Immigration and Family Equity Act (LIFE Act), Immigration Changes as a result of the Patriot Act, Citizenship Training for Service Providers and Immigration and Citizenship Forums.