WOŚP 35th Finale on 31 January 2027: How Expats Can Join
The essentials: The 35th Finale of WOSP, Poland's Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity, is on Sunday 31 January 2027, raising money for newborn intensive-care equipment. Around 120,000 volunteers collect in roughly 1,700 Sztabs; for the first time volunteer registration is online-only at iwolontariusz.wosp.org.pl.
On one Sunday every January, Poland turns red. Volunteers with cardboard collection boxes and red heart stickers appear on nearly every street corner, concerts fill market squares, and in the evening the country's tallest buildings light up. This is the Finale of WOŚP - Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy, the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity - the biggest one-day public fundraiser in Poland. The 35th Finale plays on Sunday 31 January 2027, and it is one of the easiest big Polish events for a foreigner to join.
What is WOŚP?
WOŚP is a charitable foundation founded by Jurek Owsiak, best known for its annual Grand Finale (Wielki Finał): a one-day public collection held on a January Sunday, traditionally with a different medical theme each year. According to the foundation, over the first 34 Finales it collected close to 2.8 billion zł and bought more than 82,500 medical devices for Polish hospitals. On Finale day around 120,000 volunteers collect donations into traditional cardboard boxes in almost 1,700 Sztabs (local organizing centres) in Poland and abroad, while hundreds of online collections and auctions run in parallel. The 34th Finale played on 25 January 2026, with its studio and concert stage on the grounds of PGE Narodowy in Warsaw.
The 35th Finale: date and theme
The 35th Finale takes place on Sunday 31 January 2027. On 16 October 2026 the foundation announced the theme: "Dzisiaj?! Zdrowie noworodka najważniejsze!" ("Today?! A newborn's health matters most!"). The money will buy equipment for the intensive care of newborns, especially premature babies - about 20,000 are born early in Poland each year - as perinatal care concentrates in larger, level-III reference hospitals. The shopping list includes newborn resuscitation tables, respiratory monitors, videolaryngoscopes, modern neonatal ventilators, impedance tomography devices, NIRS monitors, HeRO heart-rhythm analysis systems, incubators that allow safe kangaroo care for the smallest preemies, and neonatal ambulances.
How to volunteer as an expat
Volunteering on Finale day means spending a few hours on the street with a sealed collection box, handing a red heart sticker to everyone who drops in money. It is genuinely open to foreigners - the collection itself needs almost no Polish, and Sztabs exist in every big city as well as abroad.
There is one major change for the 35th Finale: for the first time, volunteer registration is fully online. Paper questionnaires are gone; the whole application goes through the iWolontariusz portal at iwolontariusz.wosp.org.pl.
- Adults register themselves on the portal, choosing a specific Sztab. The Sztab then contacts you to confirm the details in your form.
- Minors cannot self-register. A legal guardian must create a "Wolontariusz's guardian" account and register the child as their dependent.
- Some Sztabs use tokens - special codes handed out by the Sztab or a coordinator. If you receive one, you enter it in the Sztab search on iWolontariusz after logging in; minors pass the token to their guardian.
- Spots are limited. The head of each Sztab decides who they work with, and popular Sztabs fill up. The foundation recommends applying early and only if you are sure you can collect on Finale day; if not, you can sign up as a volunteer helping with the Sztab's organizational work instead.
- Sztabs themselves register between 16 October and 18 November 2026, so the list of Sztabs on the WOŚP site grows through the autumn.
For the general rules of volunteering in Poland - agreements, insurance and the 30-day rule - see our guide: volunteering in Poland: rules for foreigners.
What you get and how the day works
Once a Sztab accepts you, you receive three things: an identyfikator (volunteer ID badge), a puszka (collection box sealed with security stickers) and a supply of serduszko heart stickers - one for every donor. On Finale day:
- You collect for as long as you like. If you are tired, the box is soaked through or full, you can stop and take it back to the Sztab.
- Your box is counted in your presence, and the amount goes onto the collective volunteer list. You sign it yourself (or confirm online on iWolontariusz) - that signature is your approval of the counted sum.
- If you gave a phone number, the foundation texts you a confirmation of the amount your box collected after your Sztab is settled.
- After all formalities you receive a printed settlement - both proof of your collection and a thank-you. The foundation does not issue separate volunteering certificates.
What Finale Sunday looks like
The day has a familiar rhythm across the country. From mid-morning, volunteers fan out along main streets, around churches, shopping centres and stations - in big cities you can hardly walk a hundred metres without meeting a box. Sztabs set up information points and stages; schools, fire stations and community centres serve as collection bases. Concerts and family events run through the afternoon, and the whole day is covered live on television, with Jurek Owsiak's customary warm "Siema!" greeting to viewers. In Warsaw the programme in recent years has included the charity run "Policz się z cukrzycą" on the PGE Narodowy grounds and the main concert stage next to it. As darkness falls, cities prepare the finale of the Finale: Światełko do nieba, when landmark buildings - above all Warsaw's Palace of Culture and Science - are lit up and fireworks or light shows close the day at around 20:00. Within hours of the last box being sealed, the foundation publishes the first running total of the collection, and the declared final sum follows in the spring after a full audit.
A small detail worth knowing: the red heart sticker you receive for a donation is a badge of honour in Poland - people wear it on coats and jackets all day, and the slogan "Gramy do końca świata i o jeden dzień dłużej" ("We play until the end of the world and one day longer") is one of the most recognized charity mottos in the country.
Other ways to take part
- Just donate. Any box, any amount - you get a red heart sticker for your coat. Cash is traditional, but many boxes now also carry a code for cashless giving.
- Give online. Hundreds of internet collections and auctions run alongside the street collection.
- Watch the auctions. The televised Licytacja Najbardziej Hojnych Darczyńców (Most Generous Donors' Auction) offers Złote Serduszko gold hearts made from the gold that landed in previous Finales' boxes, plus Złote Karty (Gold Cards) produced for the foundation by PLAY - the duel for card and heart number 1 is a fixed climax of the TV broadcast.
- Join the events. The main studio and concert stage are in Warsaw (in January 2026 on the PGE Narodowy grounds), with big stages in many cities, the charity run "Policz się z cukrzycą" ("Get Counted for Diabetes"), blood-donation points and the evening Światełko do nieba ("A Little Light to the Sky") light show, which in recent years has closed the day around 20:00.
- Give through your taxes later. WOŚP is a public-benefit organization (OPP), so you can also direct 1.5% of your Polish income tax to it - see how to give 1.5% of your tax to charity and charity donation tax deductions in Poland.
Key dates for the 35th Finale
- 16 October 2026 - Sztab registration opened and the Finale theme was announced.
- 18 November 2026 - deadline for Sztab registration.
- From late autumn 2026 - volunteers apply online via iWolontariusz as Sztabs open recruitment.
- 31 January 2027 - the 35th Finale, a Sunday: street collection, concerts and Światełko do nieba.
Cover photo: the "Swiatelko do nieba" light show at the 33rd WOSP Finale on Krakow's Main Market Square in January 2025, by Igor123121 (CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons). Photo below: the heart-shaped WOSP collection point at the 33rd Finale in Krakow in January 2025, by Igor123121 (CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons).
Frequently asked questions
When is the 35th WOŚP Finale?
On Sunday 31 January 2027. The Finale is always held on a January Sunday; the 34th Finale took place on 25 January 2026.
What is the theme of the 35th Finale?
"Dzisiaj?! Zdrowie noworodka najważniejsze!" - newborn health. Announced on 16 October 2026, the collection will fund intensive-care equipment for newborns, from resuscitation tables and neonatal ventilators to kangaroo-care incubators and neonatal ambulances.
Can foreigners volunteer for WOŚP?
Yes. Registration is open to anyone a Sztab accepts, and for the 35th Finale it is fully online at iwolontariusz.wosp.org.pl. Adults register themselves; minors must be registered by a legal guardian. Sztabs have limited spots, so apply early.
Do I need to speak Polish to collect?
The application and your Sztab's communication will usually be in Polish, but the collection itself needs almost none: a smile, a box and "Dziękuję!" (thank you) cover most interactions. Sztabs in big cities and abroad regularly include international volunteers.
How can I donate without cash?
Alongside the cardboard boxes, the Finale includes hundreds of online collections and charity auctions, and the televised Most Generous Donors' Auction offers the famous Złote Serduszko gold hearts. You can also support the foundation by directing 1.5% of your Polish income tax to it as a public-benefit organization.
Is WOŚP a legitimate charity?
WOŚP is a registered Polish charitable foundation and public-benefit organization that has run the Finale since 1993. It reports buying over 82,500 medical devices for Polish hospitals across the first 34 Finales and publishes annual financial reports on its website.
