Who We Are...

The Polish Orphans Charity (POC) was founded in the year 2000. Under the dynamic leadership of Dr. Richarda D. Russ, Bart Pasowski P. Eng. and Arleta Holak M.A., a team of dedicated and organized volunteers works tirelessly ever since to help needy children worldwide. While our fund-raising activities originally focused on the Polish Canadian community, we have since sought to extend it to all Canadians from all diverse ethnic backgrounds to benefit orphans and underprivileged children worldwide.

Dr. Richarda Russ, the beloved founder of the Polish Orphans Charity, peacefully passed away on January 8, 2024. Dr. Russ's passion and dedication was fundamental to the creation of the Polish Orphans Charity and its operation for more than 20 years. During this time, Dr. Russ's distinguished efforts have enabled the Polish Orphans Charity to raise and distribute significant funds for needy children worldwide.


Since expanding the mandate of POC to include helping orphaned children throughout the world, we aimed to build bridges between Canadians and the concerned citizens of other backgrounds and countries. In 2009, POC took a major step by directing its fundraising efforts towards helping the children of Afghanistan. In previous years we raised funds and helped orphans in Mexico, Italy, Argentina and Greece.

Dr. Russ and her colleagues founded the Polish Orphans Charity because they were moved by the plight of Polish children who had lost family guardianship. Many of these children suffer from serious physical and psychological problems and are not considered suitable for adoption or placement in foster homes. As a result, orphanages are the only homes many of them will ever know.

Reaching Out

In its early years, the purpose of the Polish Orphans Charity was to bring happiness into the lives of these orphaned children by constructing well-equipped playgrounds for their play time. We hoped that these recreational facilities would bring laughter and joy into their hearts. The evidence of our success can be found in orphanages throughout Poland. Our continuing mission is to provide scholarships (see here & here) to specially talented orphans so that they may further develop their skills

Moving forward as we grow, our goal is to expand our efforts beyond the borders of Poland to reach out to children across the world.

The Polish Orphans Charity is registered with the Canadian federal government and is recognized by the Canada Revenue Agency. All of our financial information is published on the CRA web site. We are governed by a Board of Directors, whose members are drawn from all walks of Canadian society. Our administration is handled by volunteers and our administrative costs are close to zero.

As a non-profit organization, we depend upon the generosity of many individuals and corporations to continue to expand our outreach and efforts for the needs of orphans. Contributions in the form of annual pledges are especially welcome!
Please donate.