AEGEE with a BIG Heart for Georgia

“Dear volunteers from Poznań! I have just received an excellent message that happily announces the amount of money you had collected there – thank You, thank You so much! On 1st of June 2012 we celebrated Children’s Day and even though most of you are the adults I wish you all the best!”

This is the beginning  of the letter written by the priest Witold Szulczyński, the vice-principal of Caritas Georgia. This initiative makes us feel proud and at the same time encourages us to promote this sort of actions amongst you, dear AEGEEans.

AEGEE-Poznań decided few weeks ago to organise an event which does not resemble any of the previous ones. The idea was born during one of the very first coffee meetings attended by Ligia Szulc, the coordinator of the local initiative “Serce dla Gruzji” (Heart for Georgia) and an ex-AEGEE member. Together, we decided to bring help to those in need in Georgia.

AEGEE with Heart for Georgia took place on 28th May. Although the first idea was  to organise only a concert with the aim of fundraising, our event developed to a much greater one.  The special day began with fundraising at the universities of Poznan. It was commonly named as the “Cookie Action” because of its form – the volunteers from both AEGEE and Serce dla Gruzji were selling cookies which were donated by a local bakery as a charity gift. The Cookie Action lasted five hours – most of the doughnuts, cakes, and buns (all of which are local delicacies) were sold. In the meantime, the charity auction was held on the biggest online auction in Poland Allegro.pl.

Two bands – “Propaganda Dei” from Poland and “Making of a Man” from the United Kingdom came to Poznań to contribute to our initiative. “Georgian Night” was like the cherry on the cake for this event. It consisted in two main parts – we started  with the cultural one – a panel discussion held between volunteers and guests coming from Georgia and a local municipality.  Girls from AEGEE-Poznań had prepared traditional Georgian dishes – cheese chaczapuri and lobiani with beans. I wish you tried them, they were awesome!

That day ended  with two unforgettable concerts. Full of positive energy and happiness we came back home with the feeling that we had managed to reach a milestone with this event. As a result of our collection during the day, we have sent almost 350 Euros to Tbilisi. There’s another thing which confirms that one good deed entails  another one – our action was supported by a young couple who during their marriage asked for  financial support to our action instead of flowers for themselves. They collected almost 130 Euros.

It was worth putting an effort to organise such an event. We got the possibility of promoting Georgian culture in Poznań, to meet other AEGEEans from Georgia and other countries and – what is most important  – we have made a contribution to the great work created by the priest Szulczynski. Owing to our financial support, the orphanage in Tbilisi which is led by Caritas Georgia, will be renovated. A small amount of money will cover the costs of a treatment of a young guy who had a serious accident.

(…) I really appreciate the fact that so many people put their heart to the action and did their best to help the others. I’m so grateful and I’ll always be. AEGEE-Poznań encourages you to make the events with the passion of your heart. The biggest heart you’ve ever had!

Written by Adrian Browarczyk, AEGEE-Poznań