Local Resident Earns Ellis Island Medal of Honor

The Ellis Island Medal of Honor has been presented to Connecticut resident Anna Kobylarz, President of Community Help, for her efforts on behalf of children in Ukraine since the start of the war in February 2022. The medal was presented at an annual ceremony on Ellis Island in New York earlier this month.

The Ellis Island Medals of Honor recognize the best of America in their celebration of patriotism, diversity, and the contributions immigrants who continue to advance our nation’s economic and social success. The Medal has been presented since 1986, and is one of the nation’s most prestigious awards, celebrating inspiring Americans. Each year its recipients names are read into the Congressional Record.

Within a week of the Russian invasion, Anna Kobylarz had left her home in Berlin, Connecticut and traveled to Poland, Ukraine’s nearest neighbor, to do what she could to help. She returned to Ukraine ten times during the first year of the war to help children, many of them orphans due to the war, facing tremendous hardship and in many cases life-threatening medical issues.

Kobylarz, who immigrated from Poland to Connecticut 25 years ago, is President of the recently formed Community Help and Director of the Humanitarian Mission of the Polish American Foundation of Connecticut, a nonprofit 501(c)(3). All of her efforts are as a volunteer.

The City of Goodness houses and cares for nearly 200 children who have either been separated from, or orphaned from, their parents during the war. Currently, funds are being raised to support the City of Goodness in Ukraine in constructing a professional rehabilitation center where more children can get professional physical and psychological help. The website is www.mycommunityhelp.org.

The Medal of Honor ceremony is held annually on Ellis Island and attracts world leaders, elected officials, business trailblazers, and philanthropic Americans from all walks of life. The ceremony features a selection of powerful, outspoken leaders addressing various social issues including immigration. This year’s gathering took place on May 13.

“I immediately fell in love with these children, spending my time taking care of them. I fed them, changed their diapers, bathed them, checked their temperature, played with them – and assisted in efforts to provide the children with the medical care they so desperately need. During the first air raid alert while I was at the orphanage, I quickly found out there was no bomb shelter for them. Now a bomb shelter has been built, but the children need so much more, particularly medical care,” Kobylarz said.

Kobylarz said intends to continue traveling to Ukraine to see what is happening first-hand, and to assist in any way she can. Those who make donations to support these efforts are greatly appreciated. [See CBS News story on City of Goodness here.]

The mission of the Ellis Island Honors Society is captured in a single phrase: “Immigration Works for America.” The Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) was founded on the conviction that the diversity of the American people is what makes this nation great. EIHS honors the contributions made by immigrants and their descendants throughout American history. creating scholarships with a focus on immigration, supporting cultural events and programs around the nation, and mobilizing Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipients to raise funds for disaster relief worldwide.

Past Medalists include seven U.S. Presidents, several Nobel Laureates and countless leaders of industry; education; the arts; sports, and government. All whom have made freedom, liberty and compassion a part of their life's work.

Among the 92 Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipients for 2023 honored this month are U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Shumer of New York; New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu; and Major General William H. Seely III, Director of Intelligence, Marine Corps Headquarters; see the full list at https://www.eihonors.org/medalists2023

Criteria considered for the Medal of Honor include integrity, passion, gravitas, humanitarian, and ethnic heritage. Recipients are individuals of integrity who have done, or been the impetus for, an honorable act that exemplifies their character and reputation. Recipients demonstrate a commitment on behalf of humanitarian causes, utilizing their personal time and passion to help move their cause forward.

Earlier this year, fundraising events organized by Anna Kobylarz and other volunteers were held in Hartford at the Ukrainian National Home and in New Britain marking the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine, and fundraising efforts continue.