In our Community-Minded posts, we talk to bank employees who make a difference through volunteering. If you’re a regular volunteer or you know a colleague who is, please drop us a line at shorelines@northshorebank.com and we’ll get in touch!

As he gets older, Phil Ostroski finds himself more and more interested in the past — specifically, his Polish heritage, which he honors and celebrates through his volunteer work at the Polish Center of Wisconsin in Franklin.

“Both sets of my grandparents emigrated from Poland, so it’s a vehicle for helping me touch on and connect some family and historical cords,” says Phil, VP, commercial banking, for North Shore Bank.

He has been volunteering at the center for three years and has served as an elected member of its board of directors for two years.

Summer Beer Garden & Patio Party
Enjoy Polish sausage and other delicious food and drink at the Polish Center of Wisconsin!
When: Tuesdays, August 28–September 25, 4-10pm
Where: 6941 S 68th St, Franklin, WI
Full details here (PDF).

“I volunteer at sundry events and activities,” he says. “This year I worked at the Polish Bakery at Polish Fest in June on the Summerfest grounds; a vodka and beer tasting event at the center; and the center’s annual volunteer thank-you luncheon.” He is also a standing member of the center’s facilities committee and does “perpetual fundraising” for the nonprofit center. All told, Phil estimates he puts in eight to 16 hours a month.

He traces his interest in his heritage back to his maternal grandparents’ home in New Castle, Pennsylvania, where he grew up. “Polish was almost the first language, and English the second language,” he says. Noting that he’s now “closer to 70 than to 60,” Phil says, “The older you get, the more you think about what you want to do with the rest of your life. Can you give back? Can you do any good?”

He’s learned much from the center about the history of Poland and of Polish immigrants to America, specifically to Wisconsin. The center hosts presentations — free, or for a modest fee — on those topics. These events are often done in conjunction with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Polish Studies Committee or historians from Chicago, which of course has its own storied Polish population.

He notes that representatives from Lubin, Poland, have also been holding meet-and-greet seminars in Wisconsin to encourage trade between their country and our state.

Phil himself has not been to Poland — he says, “That’s on my bucket list.” In the meantime, the Polish Center will offer a taste of the mother country and other treats at Tuesday-night beer garden events starting next week and running through September.

“Come visit and explore!” he says, adding that the beer garden will be serving more interesting fare than the typical hamburgers and hot dogs. “It’s a beautiful, family-friendly setting on Kopmeier Lake — Milwaukee’s only glacier lake, created over 10,000 years ago. You don’t have to be Polish to become a member or to have a good time visiting and attending events!”