Dear Friends,
The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation was ready to play in Poland and all over the world on Sunday, January 10th. Despite the pandemic, 1 362 Collection Centres and multitudes of people were ready to play with us. We overcame many challenges on our road to hold this fundraiser. We are ready to play for charity; we are ready to raise money to save the lives and health of people in Poland.
Right now, as I am speaking to you, we have already raised over PLN 1 174 000, and we are still weeks away from the planned date of the Grand Finale fundraiser. We were looking forward to playing all over the world, together with 80 international Collection Centres, based all over the world. We play across the globe!
I want to take this opportunity to inform you that we decided to change the date of our Grand Finale - it will be held on the last day of January, on Sunday the 31st.
I recall that a couple of years ago we were forced to change the date of the festival. As it happened, the change did our festival plenty of good.
That's how we operate - we face all challenges head-first, and we immediately look for solutions. We are delighted that there is a massive, 120 000 strong group of volunteers who want to play with us and to be together with us, and to do whatever is in their power to make this year's motto - WE ARE WINNING - into an emblem of hope that we will overcome the virus. It will also be a message of unity and that we will be all right because we are together and we create a vibrant and active civil society.
We must join other countries in accepting strict restrictions imposed over our daily lives.
I personally understand the need for restrictions. Other countries acted sooner, so if we want to gain an advantage over the virus, we must act now. Let's grin and bear it. And when it's done and over with let's come together again on that last day of January.
Actually, we are together already. You can find our Collection Boxes in your local shops. Our volunteers are ready to fundraise. We raised PLN 1.3 billion and used it to buy medical equipment and run medical initiatives. It's proof that we'll make it. It's also proof that the pandemic, which crept up on us at the beginning fo the year brought us together - as citizens we sprung into action. We united to fight the virus and support each other. Let's be as effective now as we were then. Let's be together; let's support each other now as well. Let's do our best to show that our motto unites us all. We are good people, people who look upon our country with optimism; we are people who want our homeland to be respected all over the world. So far, playing with the Orchestra all over the world, we have only met with optimism and positivity. That's us - that's the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation.
I want to send you my warmest greetings. Thank you for your support and understanding. Join us on January 31st, 2021.
We will keep playing because we play until the end of time - and one day longer!
We will win because we play from the heart!
Less than 60 days before the 32nd Grand Finale fundraiser, the Collection Boxes were presented during a press conference. Just this year, there were 226,000 boxes produced.
Here is the most important information about the 32nd Grand Finale of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity. We are all in tune!
Jurek Owsiak, conductor of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity, gave the signal and the 32nd Grand Finale officially began.
