Grand Finale fundraiser might be challenging to explain to people who have never experienced such a massive and unified movement of people. These people decide to be happy, decide to be kind to each other and to give their time, skills, and money to help the most vulnerable children.
The day of the fundraiser passes in a whirlwind of activity, but there is one moment when everyone pauses to gaze, hopefully into the sky. Traditionally, we intend to send a message to the Good Angels to show then that here, on Earth are people who have wings too. We might be raising money to support Polish hospitals, but we are far from being indifferent to the suffering of others. We are opening our hearts to the people of Australia. Their homeland is ravaged by fire, and we wanted to show that we are thinking about them, that we know about their struggle and that we - as humans will be united to help them rebuild.
As a massive Australian flag floated over the heads of the crowds gathered in Warsaw, we saw that there are hundreds of hands itching to help and hundreds of hearts beating in solidarity with the people of Australia.
Thanks to the power of modern technology, we travelled to Gdańsk, where we remembered our friend, Mayor of Gdańsk, Paweł Adamowicz. We thanked all people who, when faced with an atrocious act of hate, decided to respond with acts of kindness, selflessness and support.
"A year ago we stopped - that was the most challenging moment in the history of our charity. Three weeks ago I met up with Magda, Paweł Adamowicz' wife. We decided that we wanted to celebrate the victory of hope, rather than dwell on the tragedy. We wanted to speak about solidarity - how much we need this solidarity" said Jurek Owsiak, Chairman of the Board of the GOCC.
Following the tragic event in Gdańsk, the online community on Facebook raised funds to fill up "President Adamowicz' Last Collection Box". It was the loudest response to the tragedy, and as PLN 16 000 000 was raised, the Board of the GOCC decided to use the funds to buy equipment for hospitals in Adamowicz' native Gdańsk. Four hospitals received equipment purchased by the GOCC.
We would like to thank you for the power of your conviction, support, and the light you bring to the world - with your smiles, joy, and hope.
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.
The 31st Grand Finale is not just about local events or the main concert in Warsaw! Each year we do our best to make it possible for everyone to join our Orchestra from every corner of the Earth!
The fight against sepsis was the main aim of the 31st Grand Finale fundraiser which ended with over PLN 243 million raised. In less than a year, we have organized two Open Tenders to purchase medical equipment for microbiological laboratories across the country.
