Jerzy Owsiak, who founded the charity in the early 1990s, told a news conference that the campaign raised PLN 289.07 million this year, roughly PLN 7 million more than in 2024.
The drive, backed by the media and celebrities, reached its peak in late January, with fundraising efforts across the nation and a host of other countries with Polish communities, including Britain, the United States and Australia.
The money collected will be used to support healthcare and buy modern medical equipment, the organisers said.
This year’s fundraiser, the 33rd of its kind, aimed to aid hospitals in purchasing equipment for pediatric oncology and hematology, with donations going to "18 children's wards, 17 hospices, five oncological neurosurgery centres, six oncological surgery centres, and four pathomorphology departments" nationwide, according to Owsiak.
Showbiz celebrities and sports luminaries, including soccer star Robert Lewandowski and tennis player Iga Świątek, contributed to the effort by putting up some of their personal items for auction.
The foundation behind the drive says it has raised nearly PLN 2.6 billion (EUR 620 million, USD 670 million) for pediatric and elderly healthcare, and bought more than 74,500 pieces of medical equipment, since the annual effort was launched in 1992.
Last year, the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity collected around PLN 282 million for equipment to help diagnose and prevent lung diseases, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
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Source: IAR, PAP, polskieradio24.pl