Annual Polish fundraiser collects money for pediatric care
Poland's biggest annual fundraiser known as the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (WOSP) held its 34th Finale on Sunday with volunteers countrywide and abroad gathering funds to help children with gastrointestinal diseases.
The money collection on the streets across Poland and in 25 countries abroad was accompanied by a large number of events, including concerts, sports competitions, outdoor performances, as well as online charity auctions related to the campaign.
The theme of this year's charity drive, involving more than 120,000 volunteers was "Healthy tummies of our children", with donations set to support Polish hospitals' purchases of medical equipment for the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases in the youngest patients.
Donors were rewarded with the popular WOSP red heart emblem to wear on their outer clothing as a sign of support for the organisation.
By midnight on Sunday more than PLN 183 million (EUR 43.5 million) had been raised to support this year's WOSP campaign.
Tens of thousands of online auctions were also being held to benefit WOSP. A meeting with Rafal Brzoska, CEO of Poland's biggest parcel locker company InPost and his wife Omena Mensah, scored over PLN 201,000 (EUR 47,780) in the account on Sunday evening. Over PLN 110,000 (EUR 26,160) was offered for Iga Swiatek's tennis racket and towel from the 2025 Wimbledon she championed
The bidding for Prime Minister Donald Tusk's 'golden football boots,' with an invitation to a meeting with the head of the government, exceeded the PLN 115,000 (EUR 27,330) mark and was still rising on Sunday evening.
Charity events were also taking place in the USA, South America, Canada, Asia, Europe's Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, France, Germany and reaching Antarctica, among other places.
Across 34 years of its activity, WOSP has raised close to PLN 2.6 billion (EUR 618 mln) used to purchase over 81,000 pieces of top-class equipment for public hospitals across Poland.
The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity, founded in 1993 by Jerzy Owsiak and others, is Poland's largest non-governmental, non-profit charity organisation. It raises funds primarily for paediatric and elderly care. (PAP)
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