Pol’and’Rock Festival organisers launch online platform to assist vulnerable citizens

Photo credit: Bartek Muracki

POLAND: To offer assistance to some of Poland’s most vulnerable citizens during the COVID-19 outbreak, the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation — organisers of Pol’and’Rock Festival — have launched an online platform that will connect people seeking support with volunteers and activists.

The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation relies on the work and commitment of hundreds of thousands volunteers and activists, who are eager to offer their support to those most vulnerable to the coronavirus. The errands the volunteers are prepared to take up include shopping, dog walking, and other essential chores, which would require breaking self-isolation.
Volunteers can submit requests for help and offers of support via the online platform. After the messages have been verified, the locations of volunteers are displayed on the interactive map.
The initiative was launched on March 17, and since then the organisation has received information from 669 people who are ready to help. One hundred and nineteen tasks have been completed, while the average time between the request for help and the response is 35 minutes.

“Our coronavirus response initiative aims to help people with their day-to-day lives while the entire country is struggling to suppress the coronavirus outbreak,” said Jurek Owsiak, chairman of the board of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity. “I count on your creativity, and I believe that kindness and friendliness are fundamental in this tasking time. All hands on deck! I think that the virus will not break us. I would like to thank everyone who will give even one minute of their time to help.”

The board members of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation reached out to the Minister of Health to offer their resources. The charity, which buys medical equipment for paediatric hospitals across the country, will donate hospital beds for intensive care units where patients struggling with COVID-19 are being treated.

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