The equipment we have donated today is worth 1.5 million PLN. We have invited teams representing 178 volunteer fire departments to take part in the ceremony. The recipients of this equipment have been involved in removing the effects of disastrous storms which have wrecked havoc in northern and central regions of the country. Volunteer firefighters are not only involved in the life of their communities and are first responders on site of fires, accidents, and other natural disasters.
Firefighters deserve the utmost respect and highest praise for their courage and commitment. Volunteer firefighters, who help their communities as volunteers are real local heroes, first to respond to any distress call. They give their time and often endanger their lives in order to help others. We have been following their involvement in the recovery efforts in the areas struck by natural disaster late this summer. The work they did to ensure that their communities can get back to normal impressed and amazed us. As soon as we heard about their needs and received first appeals for help, we decided to purchase equipment for departments from the areas affected by the storm. - said Jurek Owsiak, chairman of the board of the Foundation.
The Foundation has helped fire departments before. All in all, we have donated various pieces of equipment worth 6 million PLN. The gear we have purchased included medical equipment and search and rescue equipment as well as power tools and other firefighting equipment. After floods, which devasted southern Poland in 2010 we have donated equipment to 444 volunteer fire departments. After a collapse of Katowice International Fair hall in 2006, we decided to support firefighters by purchasing specialized search and rescue gear. In the previous year, we have donated emergency and rescue gear.
Five days before the 32nd Grand Finale of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity, we visited the 'Pomnik - Centrum Zdrowia Dziecka' (Children's Memorial Health Institute) to ceremoniously inaugurate the first Ophthalmic Simulation Laboratory in Europe dedicated exclusively to the field of peadiatric ophthalmology.
41 days before the 32nd Grand Finale and our annual collection is already peaking! PLN 1,108,427 has already powered our fundraiser held in aid of respiratory units across Poland!
Hundreds of participants wearing our original orange T-shirts? It's a signature feature of our "Get Even with Diabetes" Run! We will hold the 18th stationary edition of the run in the streets of Warsaw on 28 January. However, the virtual run starts today! You can still register online and add your time to the pool!
