Speech #840092068

Mr. Speaker. it Is with the greatest honor and pleasure that I present for publication in the RECORD a description of the operation of the Medway Plan Foundation. a charitable organization with its principal office in Woodbury. Conn.. which is currently engaged in securing sponsors for assistance to Polish refugees in Germany. Austria. and France. This very splendid foundation works in cooperation with the Polish Immigration Committee of New York. It has a long and enviable record of achievement in the field of human rehabilitation and world peace. and I commend cooperation with its most worthy work to all persons who may be interested in aiding these people who need our help so desperately. Each year this charitable foundation. with head office in Woodbury. Conn.. concerns itself with a different ethnic group abroad. Its particular interest is with the hardcore refugeesmeaning those who are ineligible to enter the United States because of age. illness. and permanent disability. the most deplorable of all war victims. Last year it was the Rumanian escapees and refugees. this year it is Polish refugees tied down in Germany and Austria and France. Medway works in association with the Polish Refugee Committee of New York. the International Rescue Committee and the Polish Refugee Union overseas. There are over 3.000 such hardcore cases who need food. clothing. or medicine. The Medway Foundation undertakes to secure individual American sponsors for each of these cases: will you. who read this. help? The action has already started. Under the Medway plan. a sponsor sends no money to the foundation. every cent of each dollar he gives for relieving his sponsored refugee is spent by himself for such needed supplies as personal correspondence with the victim develops. Medway is a nooverhead organizationthere is nothing just like it. Thousands of compassionate Americans use it. The foundation makes large shipments of supplies direct to refugee groups as a stopgap pending placement of individual cases with American sponsors on a person to person basis. During a 5year existence. Medway secured the adoption of over 300 wartorn communities abroad by American cities. schools. and groups. Food. tools. clothing. hospital supplieseven motortrucksto the value of more than $3 million was sent to the adopted towns. During 195254 Medway provided special assistance to refugees from Russia and other satellite countries who reached Vienna. giving food. clothing. shelter. and hiding them from the Russian police. thus saving many lives. In 1954 alone Medway secured individual sponsors for 3.934 hardcore cases located in Germany. Austria. and France. of which over 600 were escaped Poles in the hardcore category.