Organiser's profile

The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation was founded in 1993. Its founder, Jerzy Owsiak, was a TV host with his own program for young people. Back then, the Polish hospitals were lacking even basic medical equipment. Jerzy Owsiak wanted to take the opportunity offered by the TV and announced that he would be raising funds to support one of the biggest children's hospitals. The results were incredible. It turned out that despite many years of communism, a system which taught people not to trust each other, Poles still wanted to help others. Jerzy Owsiak realized that this potential should not be wasted, and he started a foundation – The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity. Today, after more than thirty years of work, the GOCC Foundation is one of the best-known and most successful Polish non-profit organizations. We engage in various projects, but still our most important mission is buying medical equipment of Polish children's hospitals. Every year, the Foundation holds a special fundraising event called The Grand Finale. The Grand Finale is a nation-wide event with many open-air concerts, media coverage and a lot of positive energy.