Holiday Heroes was launched in Bulgaria in 2012. It was initiated by Michael Straumietis, owner of Advanced Nutrients company. Charity campaigns take place at Christmas and Easter each year. The aim of the initiative is to support socially disadvantaged families, elderly people, single parents and persons with disabilities with the help of celebrities and big companies. It also addresses people living outside Bulgaria. The association's slogan is "Love in Action".
Holiday Heroes was established in Bulgaria as a response to the relatively underdeveloped corporate culture of donation. The major part of the financial and in-kind aid to the initiative is provided exactly by companies operating in Bulgaria. Holiday Heroes campaigns included large corporations such as Nestle, Coca-Cola, Great Wall, Carrefour, Pepsi, Metro, Sony, and many smaller businesses and individual donors.
Holiday campaigns
List of campaigns and number of families included:
Christmas 2012 – 1,000 families
Easter 2013 – 2,000 families
Christmas 2013 – 5,000 families
Easter 2014
Volunteering
Volunteers sign up on the Holiday Heroes website or directly get in touch via Facebook. Then they are assigned to one or more of the phases of the campaign – promotion in the supermarkets, packaging holiday boxes or their distribution to the homes of the people in need.
Representatives
Sports people: The nationalrhythmic gymnastics team, CSKA volleyball club, Ivan Zarev; Musicians: Ruth Koleva, Orlin Pavlov, Billy the Kid, Mihaela Fileva, Bobo, Vicky Terziyska, Yoko Zahariev, Yoana Dragneva, Ice Cream, Kuts & Klets, Spens, D-Flow, Tony, Svetlin Kaslev, Santra, Redman, Veselin Marinov, Anelia, Tedi Katsarova, Vyara Atova; Actors: Antoni Argirov, Kalin Vrachanski, Ani Mihaylova, Sasho Kadiev, Koyna Ruseva, Bashar Rahal, Stefan А. Shterev, Alexander 'Silver' Sano, Deyan Donkov, Nevena Bozukova-Neve, Milica Gladnishka, Ivaylo Zahariev, Katya Evro, Yoanna Temelkova; Others: Georgi Milkov, Yana Grudeva, Dilyana Popova, Yuliyan Kostov, Thomas Lafchis, Mira Dobreva, Mihail Dyuzev, Irina Tencheva, Borisa Tyutyundzhieva, Mira Dobreva, Martina Vachkova, Asya Metodieva, etc.
Supporting events
Holiday Heroes organize a series of supporting events. Those range from holiday workshops, art bazaars, and charity auctions of items and personal belongings of local celebrities to sports tournaments, high profile charity gala dinners and concerts.