On the day of the Grand Finale, January the 15th, the sun did not set on the Collection Centres. We received joyful messages from Japan, snapshots from China, reports from the first ever Grand Finale taking place in Wellington, New Zealand, and news from the volunteers fundraising on the slopes of the Caucasus in Georgia. Then came the outporing of pictures and enthusiastic messages from the Collection Centres in Poland - both from towns big and small and those located in Europe - Norway to France. As we were closing the day in Poland, the activites across the pond have just begun.
Volunteers raised funds at local community centres, in theatres, restaurants, schools, libraries - and on mountain tops, like the action shown in the clip below. Andrzej Bargiel took his Collection Box to one of the most iconic peaks in the Polish Tatra mountains - Giewont.
Another mountain-themed fundraiser took place on the slopes of Caucasus, where the volunteers met up in Georgian mountains to fundraise and have fun in the same time. Just see how beautifully our Collection Box looked perched on the top of Gudauri!
We also were super excited to receive pictures documenting the Grand Finale in China - it is so amazing to think that there are people supporting us and sharing our ideas of altruism and good fun in such remote locations. We hope that the volunteers from our Collection Centres were able to explain the idea behind the fundraiser, and based on the pictures we share with you, we are certain they made a very good job out of it!
We would also like to share a video made by our volunteers in Japan. The Grand Finale organized in Tokio was the first one on the list of the events connected with the fundraiser. The team behind the charity event in Japan even made sure to send their own message of love and joy in the shape of 'Light to heavens'. Was their event succesful? You be the judge!
Another fantastic 'first' took place in Wellington, New Zealand. The members of the Polish community decided to host an event for the first time, and judging by their enthusiastic feedback it was a success and the first Grand Finale of many more to come! There was a movie night, a Polish-themed bake-off and a lot of activities for the little ones - what more can you need for an fabulous charity bash?
Taking you back to Poland, we have received missives full of excitement from different places in the country. We have heard from the enthusiasts in Ludomy. Ludomy is a small village in central Poland. But their fervour is by no means small - the community rallies around the fundraiser, each year coming up with new activities. The safety of volunteers was ensured by a team of firefighters from a local station.
Meanwhile - or if you'd prefer to be exact - a couple of hours after the Ludomy team has their hot tea and cakes and went to bed, in Vancouver, the crew at the Canadian Collection Centre visited the local radio station to explain the idea behind the fundraiser and to invite people willing to get involved to join in the fun. The highlight of their radio appearance was a radio auction.
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!
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 merry tunes of the Great Orchestra reach the world's ends! Our melody of solidarity and friendship will once again play across the globe thanks to our amazing volunteers. What are the colours of the wind coming from both the poles?
