The Foundation for the Support of Development JA ALSO invites you to the III EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES BALL, organized as part of the social campaign #jestem21 in partnership with the City of Gdańsk and the Olivia Centre. On February 11, 2023 at the Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre. We will sum up 10 YEARS OF THE ROAD for a better future for people with Down syndrome.
We will have fun together while raising funds for new activities: support for inclusive education and supported housing. The musical star of the evening will be Natalia Kukulska , and the main auction will be hosted by Przemek Kossakowski, and not alone. And that’s just part of the attractions.
At the very beginning of the ball , the guests will be invited to listen to a short story about the mission for which the I TOO Foundation exists and operates. There will also be thanks to the sponsors and the presentation of a few snapshots from the activities of the educational and rehabilitation center, which was created thanks to auctions and the support of the participants of the two previous charity balls.
THE STAR OF THE EVENING will be NATALIA KUKULSKA, one of the most famous and respected Polish vocalists, author of lyrics and co-author of music. At the ball, he will perform in a unique duet with a guitarist and sing atmospheric versions of his greatest hits. The concert will last approx. 30 minutes plus encores at the request of the audience.
In 2021, the singer celebrated 25 years of artistic work, which she celebrated with a unique release “Unanimous”, as well as participation in the “MTV Unplugged” format. She has over 400,000 followers on social media. Her clips on YouTube have been viewed tens of millions of times, and her concerts sell out. No wonder, since Natalia constantly surprises the audience with new scenes: although she has been faithful to electronic music for years, this does not prevent her from having a love affair with acoustic and even symphonic forms.
Natalia is a laureate of the Telekamera award, the award of the Polish Television for the Individuality of the Year, repeatedly recognized as the Vocalist of the Year by radio stations and trade magazines. Viewers could also watch her in the seventh edition of “The Voice of Poland”, where she was the coach of Ania Karwan, who was the star of our previous ball in 2020.
A very important part of Natalia’s career is her charity work, and the singer herself has been recognized with the “Charity Star” statuette. We are very pleased that now she will present this big heart and wonderful voice at our ball.
The MAIN AUCTION WITH AUCTION will be hosted by PRZEMEK KOSSAKOWSKI, an unconventional journalist, documentary filmmaker and traveller. For over 8 years, he surprised with his programs on TTV and TVN (“Kossakowski. The Sixth Sense”, Kossakowski. To be like…”, “Kossakowski. Initiation”, “Kossakowski. Initiation”, “Kossakowski. Not obvious”). For us, the program “Down The Road. Band on the Road”, which was a huge hit and won the hearts of viewers all over Poland. Its three editions have unbelievably demystified the subject of Down syndrome and broken many stereotypes. For this program, he received the Icebreakers 2020 award in the “Journalist Without Barriers” category and the Telekamera 2021 award in the “TV Personality” category. Przemek will be accompanied by JANEK SKIBA, a participant of the second edition of the DTR program . So it will be very unconventional, spontaneous, true and from the heart.
Of course, as always, there will also be a SILENT AUCTION and a RAFFLE. More information about the planned auctions will be provided by the Foundation closer to the event. At the first ball, the items in the auctions were auctioned for over PLN 52,000, and the lottery brought an additional PLN 5,000. At the second ball, a total of almost 70,000 PLN and 3000 PLN from the lottery were collected in the auctions. So the bar is set very high.
THE CELEBRATION BAND, which consists of experienced and educated musicians from the Tri-City, will play for dancing. Each song is played 100 times live, and the meticulously prepared arrangements often surprise. The band has already played for us at the second edition of the ball and did a great job, warming up the atmosphere on the dance floor and this time they could not miss them either.
BALLROOM DANCE SHOW will be presented by sports couples from the Creative Dance Sports Club taking part in tournaments in Poland and abroad.
We will listen to the song “JA TOO” – the anthem of the Foundation – performed by Żaneta Proma from the band SPARK, against the background of a music video recorded in the interiors of the Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre. The vocalist will sing this song live for the guests of the ball for the first time. Artur Gadowski from the band IRA will accompany her in the recorded music video. The main character of the recording is Michał Milka, the first person with Down syndrome working in the Gdańsk City Hall, one of the participants of the first edition of the “Down the Road. Band on the road” and for several years an ambassador of the JA TOO Foundation.
For the third time, the ball will be hosted by a person with a big heart and extraordinary lightness of words, i.e. BEATA SZEWCZYK, a journalist of Radio Gdańsk, and in the past also of Radio Kolor and Radio ZET.
The MENU during the evening will be taken care of by BANGLOB: welcome drink, 2-course dinner served, cold and sweet buffets, hot snack, hot and cold soft drinks and unlimited wine. Other alcohols additionally payable – can be purchased on the spot.
All the details in the links below:
The mission of the Foundation for Development Support is all activities for the development, education and social integration of children, adolescents and adults with developmental and functioning disorders, in particular people with Down syndrome. The Foundation was established on 6 December 2012 in Gdańsk. It is celebrating its 10th anniversary. They have a lot of work behind them, many struggles for a better life for people with Down syndrome and extraordinary achievements. There are more and more opportunities ahead of them and the sun is getting brighter. “We are glad to be in Gdansk, where you can truly see the sea of opportunities.” Since 2017, the foundation has had the status of a Public Benefit Organization (PBO). He is a member of EDSA (European Down Syndrome Association) and DSI (Down Syndrome International).
