The highest bidder gets to play tennis with the Mayor of Wroclaw

Jacek Sutryk will also cook meatballs for whomever offers the most, all for charity

Poland is gearing up for the 30^th final of its largest charity event – the Grand Finale Fundraiser of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity. Taking place on 30 January, it raises donations to improve diagnosis and treatment of eyesight in children with the provision of state-of-the-art medical devices for public hospitals across the entire country and with the establishment of a high-tech training centre for medical personnel.

As noble as it is, this endeavour requires a lot of funds and a great public mobilization to collect them. One of the ways to do this is through auctions. Luckily, many public figures in Poland have embraced the idea by offering their time or collector’s items to the highest bidder.

Polish Mayors have also risen to the occasion, with some particularly interesting offers. Read further to see what is available.

Spend some quality time with your political representative for a good cause

The auction contributing to the 30^th Grand Finale is organised on the popular vending platform Allegro and has an extensive choice of over 30 thousand offers. Here are some of them, which we believe you will find interesting.

• Treat yourself to a dinner cooked by the Mayor of Wroclaw - Jacek Sutryk, who has been actively supporting the activities of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity for many years, has provided personally prepared meatballs for the auction. What is more, the meal will be delivered to the winner personally by the cook himself. By the time of writing this publication, the biding offer is close to 700 euros. Sutryk also offers culinary workshops as part of the charity.
• Play a tennis match against the Mayor of Wroclaw – if you are more into sports, why not enjoy a game of tennis and talk local politics? If this sounds like fun, prepare some 900 euros for it.
• Acquire the iconic blue tram of Wroclaw – another interesting proposal comes from the public transport company MPK Wroclaw, which offers a tram from 1979. It has become a local icon with a mileage of over 3 million kilometres and is currently one of the most-wanted items on the auction, standing at almost 20 thousand euros.
• Drink a cup of coffee with the Mayor of Płock – having a conversation with Andrzej Nowakowski, Mayor of Plock is also up for grabs, while if you rather have something more tangible, you might wish to go to the next item on the list.
• Purchase an item of clothing, signed by the Mayor of Warsaw – Warsaw President Rafał Trzaskowski also joined the auction with several items to chose from. One of them is a sweatshirt with Campus Poland of the Future logo.
• An afternoon with Radosław Sikorski – for those of you who take interest in European politics, spending an afternoon with the Polish Member of the European Parliament might be the best deal.
• Get a scooter with an autograph from Donald Tusk – expanding on the EU dimension of the auction, why not move around sustainably European-style?

There is so much to choose from – from valuable collectables, to experiences that last for a lifetime. Simply browse the list and find what suits your flavour: you are certain to enjoy the feeling of donating.

One of the most wanted items at the auction. Image: MPK Wroclaw

The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity: 30 years of fundraising experience

The Grand finale fundraiser is a mass event, managed by 1700 local collection centres, with the help of 120 000 volunteers. The day of the fundraiser is jampacked with events of all sorts, such as concerts, sports challenges, community gatherings, light shows. The event concludes with auctioning some of the most precious items, through bidding wars and the announcement of the preliminary results at midnight.

Ever since the foundation of the Charity in 1993, the Grand Finale has been targeting a different medical objective (with the exception of 2020, when there was a break due to the pandemic). In the last Finale, they reportedly collected the spectacular amount of PLN 186,133,610.66 (41,171,335.00 euros) and in total, for the past three decades they have raised over 330 000 000 euros and donated over 67 300 pieces of medical equipment, as their website points out.