The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation was officially registered exactly 28 years ago - on March 2nd, 1993. Paperwork was filed two months after the resounding success of the first-ever Grand Finale fundraiser. The brunt of the official paperwork related to the disbursement of funds, purchase of medical equipment was initially undertaken by the staff at the Memorial Children's Hospital in Warsaw.
The first Grand Finale was supposed to be a one-time event, a fundraiser which was held to collect money to finance the purchase of just one single piece of equipment used to carry out heart surgeries. The result of the fundraiser surpassed our expectations. We collected PLN 1 535 440, 68, which was used to buy not one, not three, and not four - but many more medical devices. Our charity bought cardiopulmonary bypass, heart monitors, incubators, AED, syringe pumps, pulse-oximeters, CPAP therapy devices, medical ventilators.
Casting our thoughts back to the first days of our charitable works, we worked with a really small team of co-workers, who quickly became friends. As our charity grew, and our work became more challenging, our team grew, and now we employ nearly 50 people. Founders of the Foundation, Jurek Owsiak, Lidia Niedźwiedzka-Owsiak, Bohdan Maruszewski, and Piotr Burczyński are on the Board of the Foundation.
Lidia Niedźwiedzka-Owsiak, who is the director of the medical division of the GOCC Foundation, was awarded an Honoris Causa at the Poznań University of Medical Sciences. This recognition was given in appreciation of her commitment to upholding the highest standards in healthcare.
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!
The 32nd Grand Finale concert will start playing in less than 60 days! Jurek Owsiak revealed the latest additions to the lineup for the event taking place on January 28, 2024 at PGE Narodowy meadows!
