WOŚP

If I was to come up with the most renowned, but also the most controversial charity initiative in Poland, without hesitation I would point at Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy. Those who’d wish to translate its name into English could scratch their heads to figure out what Świąteczna stands for. The most common explanation is that it pertains to Christmas, as its first event was held in early January, shortly past the Christmas tide.

Beginnings of the initiative could be traced back to January 1993. Poland was in the state of flux past the downfall of communism. The nascent private sector was booming, but on the other hand several industries were on its knees. The public purse was not chock full of money, especially to fund growing needs of the health service, which has not moved ahead from the bygone era. From its beginnings, WOŚP was a fundraising, with proceeds aimed at purchasing medical equipment and donating them to public hospitals.

With time WOŚP collected more and more money, but also mobilised an army of enemies from the right wing of the political scene. Ample reasons could have been quoted, starting from outrage at Jerzy Owsiak, the initiative founder and leader, for espousing social views far from conservatism, through envy somebody recurringly mobilises an army of hearts, an achievement no one on the right side of the Polish political arena cannot boast of, to Mr Owsiak’s political involvement, unhidden since the very chap is hot-tempered.

Finances of WOŚP have been x-rayed by his enemies, claiming a far too small fraction of the money collected goes to purchases of medical equipment. I have analysed publicly available financial statements of the foundation and found no irregularities. Money raised from donators and bank account interest off it finance purchases of medical equipment (over a two-year observation period), while running costs of the foundation and its non-charity activities are covered by payments from sponsors and partners. Mr Owsiak and his life do live off running it, yet the founder’s salary is lower than mine, while his contribution to quality of life in Poland is a thousand times higher than mine, hence I see no point it in nitpicking.

If you compare annual proceeds from WOŚP to annual outlays on health service in Poland, you will find out WOŚP finances our health service for one day in a year. Two or three decades ago, deficiency of medial equipment was the major problem of the Polish healthcare system. Today, it is the shortage of doctors in combination with ageing society which brings the health service (not only in Poland) into imbalance. This problem is unlikely to be solved by any charity since it is a structural one, as supply of medical stuff is highly inelastic.

In 2026 WOŚP brings people together country-wide and has become an integral element of January (since 2021 the final day is on the last Sunday of January, being one of few Sundays in a year when shops are allowed to be open in Poland).

As in case of any charity, contributions to it ought to be voluntary. If you dislike it, for any reason, just do not donate. It is fine. But do not spread hatred. This year, as everyone noted, the range of loathing towards WOŚP in the public discourse was record-low. Maybe those not fond of the initiative have come to their senses and realised their outrage only boosts the funding for WOŚP.

With respect to me share in this magnificent pie, I can proudly boast of:
1) my home-made apple pie and cheesecake auctioned off for PLN 1,014
2) items I received as gifts as families under my care in Szlachetna Paczka in 2025 auctioned off in total for PLN 64,
3) I won auctions for:
- a handmade woollen cap and a scarf – bid of PLN 107,
- a voucher for bowling in Arena Ursynów – bid of PLN 160,
- a voucher for snooker in Arena Ursynów – bid of PLN 62,
4) besides I donated PLN 50 to a traditional can and PLN 30 to an online can.
The contribution above totals to PLN 1,487, which sets an ambitious target to be beaten in January 2027. Keep warm!

Szlachetna Paczka 2025 before the dust has settled

To be precise, it has not fully settled. One of families under my care stills awaits a sofa bed (delivery delayed), another one I have looked after waits for bedside lamps and a chair assembly which I will do myself. Four families' donators have buggered up and we (volunteers from Ursynów area) will need to fix up money from an "emergency fund" to meet their needs. Yesterday I belatedly purchased and delivered a shower booth for a family I picked up as a donator on 8 December. Well, the Yuletide celebration has not yet commenced.

My sixth edition is the first one when I am not in a relationship. The other person close to me used to be a counterbalance and kept by involvement at bay. This year I had decided to dedicate more energy to Szlachetna Paczka and now feel drained of it, yet not on account if my relationship status, but due to organisational errors made all along.

The recruitment process has been screwed up. Far too many people on managerial positions and as rank-and-file volunteers should have never found themselves in their roles. The absence of black lists (of people with negative feedback from previous editions) has definitely contributed to this.

In the very area of Ursynów we onboarded 64 families to receive aid (vs. previous record of 54) and had around 35 volunteers (10 more than in previous years on average). Quantity of staff has not translated into quality. Although we have had some outstanding newcomers, the number of insufficiently involved (or disappearing along the way) volunteers was appallingly high. Needless to say duties they had undertaken had to be taken over.

In the run-up to the final weekend there has been a massive problem of families not picked by any donators. Volumes could be spoken of reasons why it happened like this, but since there is no proof any of my theories is right, I will keep them for myself. In social media the most common notion was putting it down to some families' sky-high needs, which even if justified, are hard to be fulfilled by ordinary people (may a costly leaking roof repair serve as an example).

No reliable statistics will show how many Paczkas (neither "box" nor "parcel" renders well what a Paczka in Szlachetna context is) have eventually been prepared by the volunteers and their companions. In Ursynów area 4 out of 64 families have been picked by us. Additional time and money spent on saving families from being left out in the cold are the biggest cost hidden in joyful celebration of the recent edition.

I would hazard a guess Szlachetna Paczka is one of the most demanding forms of volunteering which can be taken up in Poland. It is not just about coping with horrific stories of o people's penury, but also about time dedicated to do it properly and having to arrange a lot on one's, frequently making extensive use of one's multiple resources.

I believe past this edition Szlachetna Paczka's relationship with donators and volunteers will be under strain and lots of effort will have to be put to rebuild them.

Will Stowarzyszenie Wiosna face criticism it ought receive? Each year it seems those in charge of the initiative are learning from mistakes made in a previous years. But once a new edition kicks off for good, it turns out history repeats itself, but the price paid by the most responsible volunteers goes up.

Szlachetna Paczka – my sixth participation

My track record of volunteering in Szlachetna Paczka is getting longer, though not broader. I have deliberately chosen not to go beyond what affects the area of Ursynów, but while aiding some locals in need, I have gone through roles of area leader, deputy leader and logistics co-ordinator. This year I am one of two deputy leaders and again, I am in charge of logistics.

I keep recalling the 2024 edition as a moderate cock-up, not as massive as in 2020, but proving a mediocre, conceited leader can screw it up all the way. Fortunately, the ex-post evaluation procedure worked properly and the guy has been ousted from the charity, but what has been squandered last year needs to be restored and lessons from what went wrong must be learnt.

This year, as I am single (over the last five editions, I was in relationships), I have decided to devote more of my time to undertakings which matter and where my deeds have impact. For work-related reasons, I have not filed my candidacy for the position of the area leader, which I definitely not regret. This position carries so many development opportunities that it ought to “change hands” each year. This year’s leader is a reasonable guy, yet badly lacks self-confidence and drive to move things forward, skills which are essential in this role. I try to buoy him up as much as possible and hope he spreads his wings by mid-December.

My first visits to a family being a potential beneficiary this year was on 16 September, a record-early onset. So far, I have been in process of visiting six families and my plan is to see the back of it by the end of October. The reality will likely put paid to my plans. A crucial element of my role of an experienced volunteer is onboarding newcomers and sharing tricks of the trade with them. This year we have a record-high number of volunteers in the area, with some of the freshmen being outstanding, while with some might give a rough ride.

Histories of hardships our potential beneficiaries encounter seem tougher this year. As a seasoned volunteer I know how to tackle them, but I also spot sings of burnout. The primary reason for this is being confronted with my parents senescence. This means I prefer to work with younger families, whose stories do not prevail in the circle of households we reach.  

There are moments I would opt for sticking to logistics-related tasks and giving up on family visits. I perish such thoughts, since working with the disadvantaged directly is the essence of Szlachetna Paczka. Besides, if am to be a team member, I must not be out of touch by not experiencing what fellows volunteers face up to.

Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy - 2025

Contributing to Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy has become an annual tradition. 2 years ago I put out a picture made by me during a wine-fuelled painting workshop and it sold for PLN 810. This year I put out my flagship cakes - a cheesecake (sernik) and an apple cake (szarlotka), they sold for PLN 500. Both biddings were won by my workmates, so last Thursday I delivered what I had baked to auction winners. Twenty minutes later both cakes were already in my workmates' stomachs.

This year I went on a bidding spree myself. I have won: oil and filters change for my Megane before it changes hands, a cycling trip around Ursynów with a guide and with the mayor of Ursynów, a set of four hand-made woollen caps.

The most foolhardy expense made by me was a hearing aid purchased to a 74-year-old man who I am looking after as a Szlachetna Paczka volunteer. I took a risk of charging my credit card with PLN 7,620 and then began looking out for co-founders. The response and generosity of people around, mostly my workmates, was astoundingly superb and I ended up with a three-digit contribution to the purchase.

Year after year, WOŚP collectsmore and more money and receives more and more hatred from right-wing media and electorate. Sadly, approach to this big charity spurt has become a yet another divide line in the Polish society and the very initiative has been strongly politicised. I could moan about imperfections of Szlachetna Paczka, but I can definitely assert it is politically neutral. May it stay so.

Szlachetna Paczka - edition 2024

A thing of the past is becoming my fifth edition of Szlachetna Paczka as a volunteer. Sadly, it was the second-worst after 2020, when spreading benevolence was harshly hampered by Covid-19.

You could put it down to some sort of burnout. Ahead of the final weekend I also hatched such idea, but with hindsight I realised this has not been the case. Many things have gone wrong from scratch, with knock-on effect only worsening the final outcome.

I blame the most the leader, in charge of our area in 2024 edition. Having the experience from 2022 in mind, I refused to repeat a stint in that role and to be consistent with my decision, I strived not to be a back seat driver. Frankly speaking there has been no chemistry between us, but so was the case with all experienced volunteers. The guy lacked balls, lacked charisma, lacked drive and such spark that brings a circle of people together. 

Volunteers were not motivated properly; as a result we found far fewer families to be visited than in previous years. This year 65 families were visited and 42 onboarded (proportions from previous years: 2023 - 85/54, 2022 - 84/53, 2021 - 73/46). 

Visits to families started out with a two-week delay. Consequently, instead of 20 families published on the directory opening day, we had merely 4 to be picked by most precious donators.

Besides, there was a country-wide problem with donators, bigger than 2 years ago, but miraculously it was solved around a week before the final weekend, most likely thanks to a vivid media campaign. When the outlook was really bad, I bended over backwards to find donators, however I felt dreadfully lonesome in my endeavours.

The volunteers in our area also were not doing their best, some of them dropped off along the way. Maybe they were not properly guided or motivated, maybe our line-up was tainted by bad luck.

The final weekend did not go as smoothly as it used to over last 3 previous years. Logistics-wise, it came to a major chaos, like never before. I'm still trying to figure out what combination of factors contributed to that mess. I believe most were beyond my control, with electric lorry's battery down after 80 kilometres - it had to be replaced by a diesel-powered one with half a million kilometres on the clock... I could have planned transports with more headroom, which will be a lesson learnt for next years. But had I been a minister responsible for logistics, after such series of cock-ups, I would have been forced to hand in my resignation (in a civilised country).

The joy of delivering gifts to families wassimilar to experiences from past edition, however it was accompanied by much greater fatigue. Luckily, I got over it quite quickly. Bad memories fade quickly, but the benevolence-induced delight remains for much longer and keeps me company in the period of peace and serenity which commences now.

Szlachetna Paczka 2023 - a write-up

This year the Szlachetna Paczka coverage comes up later than usual as the final days (weekend cudów) were staged a week before Christmas, not roughly 10 - 16 days ahead of the festive season, as customarily. The timing in the pre-holiday rush was not the most fortunate and hopefully in 2024 it will be held earlier.

This year's edition in my district was another record-breaking one, with 85 families visited by volunteers (+1 vs. 2022) and 58 taken on (+5 vs. 2022). The latter number meant logistics of collecting the paczki from donators and delivering them to families was a sort of a challenge, yet with proper planning in advance and more than a bit of spontainety in diverging from the plan during the final weekend, we have it without botch-ups (which I deem to be quite an achievement).

I feared 2023 edition in Ursynów would be impacted by high rotation of volunteers. Most of my friends who supported me in 2022 dropped off for several reasons and hence out of 26 volunteers less merely 7 had track record in the area. Nevertheless, the vast majority of newcomers have found their way in the Paczka easily and upon overcoming fears of first meetings with families, they carried on superbly. I am glad to have been a part of such team.

This year we received several applications (which must be submitted by third parties, not potential beneficiaries themselves) to visit families already contacted in previous edition. Not a truly fortunate state of affairs, since as a matter of principle, Szlachetna Paczka ought to be a one-off trigger of positive changes in families' lives. But as most of the recurring families were elderly people living on their own, we eventually have taken many of them on. In 2024 we will need to take a look at the formula of the wise aid and talk over whether to redefine our targets.

In 2023 I was a volunteer, a deputy leader and deputy logistics co-ordinator. My role was much less time-consuming than last year and I know I could carry on with such scope of responsibilities into 2024. I have not talked to the leader, whether she would want to continue her role. I know it is too early to raise the topic, given I realise how exhausted she is now.

The blend of fatigue and happiness which kept me company during the weekend of miracles and past it, is an unforgettable feeling. It sometimes takes to little to bring lots of pure you into someone's life, by delivering them ordinary stuff such as warm jacket for the winter or a brand-new washing machine, stuff we take for granted to have it in place, sadly still unaffordable for many. This year I don't experience the burnout I had a year ago. I feel now is the time to recharge batteries before the next edition, so temporarily do not crave for more, but I am quite sure my adventure with the Paczka is not over.

Next post due on 14 January 2024, once I am back from Wisła.

Szlachetna Paczka - the experience and a summary

022 edition was my third one as a volunteer, but for the first time I have taken up the role of an area leader. Due to influx of refugees and rising costs of living (and actually quite decent management on local level) this year’s Paczka in Ursynów was a record-breaking one. Volunteers from the area visited 84 families and took on 53 of them.

The ending was particularly tough, since the large number of families in need was not matched by a supply of donators. First 40 families found their donators easily, then it went uphill. I had to use my business relationships to find some of the donators and eventually my volunteers ended up compiling gift packages for 2 families from money collected at my girlfriend’s and mine workplaces.

In the run-up to the final weekend and during it, everything ran like a clockwork. Credits for this should go to my volunteers, carefully recruited and with a bunch of core experienced volunteers to whom I could delegate some of my responsibilities.

As the area leader I was closer to the structures of Stowarzyszenie Wiosna, which runs Szlachetna Paczka. Its backstage workings are not as dire as in times when priest Jacek Stryczek was its CEO, but still, it works like a corporation worse than my employer. As a leader I had my KPIs, deadlines and targets and had superiors checking up on my area’s progress in meeting them.

A week past the culmination of the programme, the time to slow it down comes at last. Sadly, a lot of stuff to handle was put back until after the final weekend, so now I am catching up.

In January I will take part in workshops held in order to improve the course of the Paczka in the next edition. I wonder whether Stowarzyszenie Wiosna learns from its mistakes or even whether it actually admits them. I have found some practices distasteful, but still believe the mądra pomoc (wise aid) does much more harm than good. And being a charity volunteer is immensely addictive and somehow could not imagine spending last months of the year not participating in it.

Besides, by being in charge of 26 volunteers, I have had a chance to develop my nascent managerial skills. Being a leader is not as horrible as I used to imagine and being a manager in a corporation no longer looms as a nightmare to me.

Szlachetna Paczka - leadership experience

I have pledged to give follow-ups on how I am doing in my new role, being a manager to more than 20 people for the first time in my life.

In mid-July I took part in a two-day workshop where I could hone my skills (such assertion implies I have already had some). Soon later I met with fellow volunteers who had decided to carry on with Szlachetna Paczka to discuss the ideas on how our area should function and how they would support me.

For a long time I had not been fond of managing people, especially I feared dealing with intractable persons. The company of friends who I can count on persuaded me to overcome my premonitions. After all, if I am to move ahead professionally, I might not end up as an expert only, but with time I would need to begin to lead other employees. But since managing a team is a school of hard knocks, it seemed an excellent idea to acquire some competencies outside the ruthless world of a corporation.

As a leader I strive to be a partner for my volunteers, rather than a boss. For the sake of my hygiene and to avert excessive workload, I delegate as many tasks as possible and I trust my team members (i.e. hold my horses in terms of controlling them).

With respect to the time spent handling the Paczka, it turns out to be more time-consuming then I expected. My role involves a lot of conceptual work, being available to volunteers who want to consult me and hundreds of clicks in IT systems, essential to keep the venture going.

Right now, after the first area meeting held this Wednesday and ahead of first meetings with families enrolled, I am glad I have taken up this challenge and happy to be in charge of such wonderful team, though some more attentive members I might require a lot of patience.

I will keep you posted on the developments on the Paczka front in late October.

Szlachetna Paczka - as a leader

I have just realised if I disclose the news, my anonymity I try to ensure might become questionable. Bearing in mind the blog is not easy to reach and low enough in search engines’ algorithms, I consider my identity to be withheld properly, still.

After being a volunteer in 2020 and 2021 I pondered upon development opportunities within the charity. In March 2022, when I co-organised a transit warehouse of goods collected for refugees from Ukraine, I met several folks who had been involved in Szlachetna Paczka for years. We talked a lot about challenges and satisfactions drawn from co-ordinating the venture or being in charge of volunteers. I have found my skills, competencies and familiarity with the Paczka sufficient to take a step forward.

In April the former leader of my area did a pep talk to me to persuade me to take over headship of Ursynów area. I was reluctant, yet could not refute his argument it is an unrepeatable opportunity to learn team leader skills outside a corporation.

In May I found out I had been recommended for a function of logistics co-ordinator in the entire Mazowieckie province. Having learnt what my scope of duties would be, I turned down the offer, without even asking, whether I would be employed or volunteer. It did not matter, as my the function would occupy as much time, as a full-time job does.

Frankly speaking, I have felt under pressure to become the area leader. Fellow volunteers urged me to take it up, regional co-ordinators also insisted I was the right person for the function. None of the local folks wanted to apply for the role, had it not been for my candidacy, someone from the outside would become a leader, or the area would not be formed. As all the alternatives seem sub-optimal, so I have resolved to be in charge.

Before taking the decision I feared I would be a ruthless and demanding perfectionist as a leader, getting fucked up with my volunteers every time they do not deliver what they would promise. I feared my folks and I would get frustrated with my strictness and fondness of order and discipline. Currently I only fear the role would be nastily time-consuming and leave me tired-out for weeks.

I will keep you in the picture of how (un)well I would be doing as a charity manager, also saving the experience for posterity, but next week I'm having a two-day introductory workshop in my new role and will be too short of time to sit down to blogging.