Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity

The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (GOCC, Polish Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy, WOŚP) is one of the biggest, non-governmental, non-profit, charity organizations in Poland. The GOCC Foundation has American Heart Association certification for providing courses in CPR and ECC, and for the use of high technology for medical lifesaving.

History

It was founded in 1993 by Jerzy Owsiak, Lidia Niedźwiedzka-Owsiak, Bohdan Maruszewski, and Piotr Burczyński. The main objective, at that time, was "Protecting Health and Saving Children's Lives by Providing Medical Equipment to Public Hospitals" (as stated in the deed of foundation). During the first Finale (for the benefit of pediatric cardio-surgery) in the same year, the Foundation collected a total of USD 1,535,440.68.

Every year, millions of Poles donate to the Foundation and through 24 Grand Finales, the Foundation collected over $130 million for cardio-surgery, neonatology, paediatric oncology, kidney diseases, congenital defects, newborns and children under 5 years of age in public hospitals.^[1]

Apart from The Grand Finale, the Foundation also organizes one of the biggest rock concerts in Poland, the Woodstock Festival Poland, and it started the Peace Patrol, a group of young volunteers trained in first aid by the GOCC, the Polish Red Cross and the Szadowo town police. In 2010, the Charity paid to be the sponsor of Ruch Chorzów, one of Poland's top football teams.

The Grand Finale

As of 2002, The Grand Finale takes place on the second Sunday of every new year. Sponsored by many Polish and worldwide companies, it is a one-day long, nationwide, money-raising event. Volunteers from all around Poland go out on the street and collect money in special cans which are labeled with a red heart and text: "Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy" (Polish for The Grand Orchestra of Christmas Charity). They also have identification cards, thanks to which anyone can report suspicious-looking people collecting money to the police without any such proof of authorization. Everyone who gives the volunteers any amount of money, gets a red heart sticker in return.

On the day, huge parties are thrown around the country (and at other places where Polish people live). These are organized by volunteers, except for the biggest event which takes place at the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, and is managed by the GOCC itself. At 8 p.m. a firework show takes place in every city as the so-called 'light to heaven'.

Finale	Date	Project objectives	Funds raised
			(in USD)	(in 2016 USD)
I	January 3, 1993	Children's cardio-surgery	1,535,440.68	2,515,208.17
II	January 2, 1994	Neonatology	1,930,726.93	3,082,487.47
III	January 8, 1995	Pediatric oncology	2,816,465.36	4,373,855.68
IV	January 7, 1996	Rescue of accident victims	2,543,413.59	3,837,516.24
V	January 5, 1997	Children's cardio-surgery	3,062,067.29	4,513,756.32
VI	January 4, 1998	Rescue of accident victims	3,543,276.74	5,144,189.65
VII	January 10, 1999	Neonatology	4,515,020.82	6,413,566.33
VIII	January 9, 2000	Children's kidney diseases	6,089,390.91	8,367,470.29
IX	January 7, 2001	Newborns and children under 5	6,112,642.74	8,168,953.68
X	January 13, 2002	Congenital defects	6,848,998.85	9,010,773.51
XI	January 12, 2003	Newborns and children under 5	7,695,614.16	9,899,332.9
XII	January 11, 2004	Newborns and children under 5	6,923,443.22	8,673,820.43
XIII	January 9, 2005	Progressive methods of diagnostics and treatment in neonatology and pediatrics	9,864,292.87	11,951,778.26
XIV	January 8, 2006	Saving lives of children injured in accidents / teaching CPR and first aid	9,660,691.63	11,339,910.56
XV	January 14, 2007	Saving lives of children injured in accidents / CPR education	10,276,156.07	11,727,450.78
XVI	January 13, 2008	Children with otolaryngological conditions	13,883,627.13	15,259,114.76
XVII	January 11, 2009	Prevention and early diagnosis of cancer in children	13,404,441.27	14,785,013.47
XVIII	January 10, 2010	Prevention and early diagnosis of cancer in children	14,413,466.03	15,640,799.17
n/a	July 4, 2010	Special Finale: "Prevent Flooding!"	805,662.73	874,266.39
XIX	January 9, 2011	Urological and nephrological diseases	16,499,157.81	17,355,844.85
XX	January 8, 2012	The purchase of life-saving equipment for premature and insulin pumps	16,219,987.60	16,718,413.08
XXI	January 13, 2013	Saving the lives of children and providing adequate healthcare for the elderly	16,432,382.15	16,692,952.78
XXII	January 12, 2014	Saving the lives of children and providing adequate healthcare for the elderly	17,224,553.53	17,217,289.87
XXIII	January 11, 2015	Treatment of children in pediatric and oncology wards and treatment of the elderly	14,011,311.90[2]	14,011,311.9
XXIV	January 10, 2016	Treatment of children in pediatric and oncology wards and treatment of the elderly	18,397,947.76[3]	18,397,947.76
TOTAL:	139,224,941.54 USD 255,973,024.3 in 2016 USD

References

1. "'Orchestra' collects millions for kids". Radio Poland (Warsaw: Radio Poland). 2014-01-13. Retrieved 2015-01-10. This year, the main goals were to raise money for equipment on emergency wards for children, as well as to continue last year's bid to create better geriatric care in Poland.
2. "Record donations for WOŚP charity drive". Radio Poland (Warsaw: Radio Poland). 2015-03-09. Retrieved 2015-03-09. Speaking to Polish Radio on Monday morning, WOŚP founder Jurek Owsiak thanked Poles for their generosity, announcing that the exact figure raised amounted to PLN 53,109,172.83.
3. "Podczas 24. Finału WOŚP zebraliśmy 72 696 501,53 PLN!" [24. During the Final WOŚP collected 72 696 501.53 PLN!] (Press release). Poland: Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity. 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2016-03-08. The amount declared at the end of 24. Final WOŚP: 44 047 594 PLN during the 24th Final WOŚP collected: 72 696 501.53 PLN including orchestral auctions collected: 4 449 705.66 PLN

External links

• Polish: Official GOCC site
• English: Official GOCC site