REDDITCH came together on Sunday to help the town’s Polish community celebrate their ‘Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity’ (Wosp) fund raising day.
Held at the Railway Inn on Hewell Road together they raised close to £4,000 – smashing a provisional target of £2,500 set by the organisers.
A delighted Monika Sedlak, who headed up a team of dedicated helpers, said: “We’d like to thank everyone who came along, all the volunteers and the Railway Inn. We’ve had a lot of positive feedback and aim to make it even bigger and better next year.”
Among the guests were Police and Crime Commissioner for West Mercia Police John Campion, the leader of Redditch borough council Councillor Bill Hartnett and borough Mayor Coun Joe Baker.
The event, now in its 25th year in Poland, aims to raise money for medical services in the East European country which, despite its current woes, are nowhere near as comprehensive as the UK’s National Health Service.
It will help pay for incubators for premature babies as well as providing extra care for the elderly.
Council leader Councillor Bill Hartnett said: “The Poliah community are an integral part of Redditch and Wosp is a great charity fund raising event, I suppose it’s like a Polish version of Children in Need.”
Mayor Joe Baker said: “It’s great to have the Polish community with us in Redditch and here they are raising funds for children and the elderly in their own country.
“It makes you realise how lucky we are to be able to go to hospital and take advantage of the services they provide while in other countries they do not have this luxury.
“It highlights that we need to be investing more in our own health services because we have an NHS to be proud of.”
The Redditch celebration only went ahead thanks to a number of sponsors including Mettis Aerospace and Primafruit of Evesham who contributed 150 kilos of satsuma oranges.
