Good news at the "Saulutė" charity concert

January 31, 2026 publication date https://www.draugas.org/

English translation

Good news at the "Saulutė" charity concert

At the traditional annual concert of the "Saulutė" charity organization, applause resounded more than once. Spectators applauded the newly assembled men's ensemble "Vējūnas", expressed joy with applause when General Consul of Chicago Regimantas Jablonskas presented "Saulute" with the medal of honor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania "For services of the Lithuanians of the world to Lithuania". But the real ovation came when another piece of news was announced. Read on...

 by RASA KORLAITĖ

On a winter Sunday afternoon, the charity organization "Sunlight Children's Aid" ("Saulutė") invited the Lithuanian community to a charity event and gave a concert of the newly formed ensemble "Vėjūnas". This is not the first time that the volunteers of "Saulutė" have organized a musical charity event in the area of Blessed Jurgis Matulaitis Mission (PJMM), but this afternoon was really different.  

“Saulute” has Lithuania’s appreciation

After the end of mass at the Blessed Jurgis Matulaitis mission, most people did not leave but stayed to listen to the concert. Even before the first chords were played, Vaiva Marchertienė, who is the initiator and main organizer of "Saulutė" concerts at PJMM, briefly introduced the organization's activities. 

Since 2020, the "Saulutė" organization has been equipping classrooms for children with special needs in Lithuania with funds donated by benefactors. In the past five years, 16 classrooms have been equipped in various schools in small towns. 

Thanks to the funds raised during this charity event, a class for children with special needs will be installed in Šakių "Žiburio" school. We are glad that this project was joined by the Devbridge foundation, which will cover half of the total costs. 

The work done by "Salutė" did not go unnoticed. During the event, the General of the Republic of Lithuania gave a speech of welcome consul in Chicago, Regimantas Jablonskas, solemnly announced that by the order of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Kęstutis Budris, "Sunlight Children's Aid" is awarded the badge of honor "For the Lithuanians merits to Lithuania" award and, amid applause, presented the medal to the head of this organization, Daina Siliūniene.

The new men's ensemble "Vėjūnas" performed

After the official speeches ended, the audience immersed themselves in the sounds of music, which were presented by "Vėjūnas". The recently established men's ensemble prepared a three-part program. The first part featured arrangements of Lithuanian folk songs, the second part consisted of religious songs, and the third part of the concert featured cheerful Lithuanian songs.

All the men of "Vėjūnas" - brothers Kęstutis, Šarūnas and Mykolas Daugirdai, Vytas Polikaitis, Mantas Kisielius, and Vytautas Staniškis - sing in the Lithuanian art ensemble "Dainava" (led by Darius Polikaitis). Having prepared several pieces for the PLC charity evening held last year, these vocal men received great admiration from the audience and an invitation to not limit themselves to a one-time performance and to continue their musical activities. It is good that the voices were heard and today in the Lithuanian community abroad we can listen to the songs performed by this wonderful sextet. The concert was truly impressive, and the spaces of the Blessed Jurgis Matulaitis mission gave it even greater sacredness.

Linda Burba's impressive gift to her father's former school

However, it was not only the wonderful music that captivated the audience, but the prestigious award presented.

After the ensemble performed several pieces, Linda Burba was invited to speak. She shared her memories of her recent trip to Lithuania. Together with Daina Siliūnienė and Artūras Žilis, she visited Lithuanian schools, participated in meetings and conversations with school principals. Linda said that she had seen how responsibly schools are selected where classes for children with special needs will be set up in the future.

This is a multi-stage process that involves not only members of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, school management, teachers, but also the entire community, so it can be safely said that the "Saulutė" projects not only contribute to the creation of the future of children with special needs, but also unite local residents.

Not hiding her admiration for the responsibility of the project organizers, Linda announced that she wanted to donate $100,000 to the upcoming “Sunlight Children’s Aid Project” – Utena “Saulės” Gymnasium, where Linda Burba’s father studied. This decision was met with a sea of ovations, people stood up from their seats to express their respect to the donors. We have no doubt that after the event, all of us who participated in it returned home with warmth in our hearts. From the special songs, the joy that good deeds do not go unnoticed, and the kindness and generosity of people.

Everyone contributes to the activities of “Saulutė” in the best way they can.

In fact, after the concert, no one was in a hurry to disperse, because all the guests were invited to gather in the PJMM lobby, where the banquet tables prepared by Saulutė’s volunteer, Ramunė Kazlauskienė, were waiting for everyone. All “Saulutė” members contributed to the event in one way or another – some helped organize it, volunteered during it, others prepared snacks for the banquet table. The “Saulutė” members thank the owners of small businesses – “Virginijos šakočiai” for the donated šakočiai, Dmitrijs Borovojs for the donated cheese, Kristina Stirbyte (Bee House) for the cake “Skruzdėlynas”. The organization is also grateful to the café "Smilga", the restaurant "Kunigaikščių užeiga", "Bravo Bites", Racine Bakery, Celina's Fresh Market and Lithuania Plaza Deli for the food prepared for the event. The guests enjoyed these dishes with pleasure. The organizers of the event would like to express their sincere "Thank You" to everyone who came to the concert and thus supported the goals of the organization. It was truly a special Sunday afternoon. The "Saulute" organization does not stop doing good deeds for Lithuanian children, so if you are looking for a responsible organization that you would like to support, we invite you to donate to " Saulute ": www.SunlightChildrensAid.org  

And those who are looking for a place where they can use their time and energy meaningfully, we invite you to register as a volunteer by writing an email to  SunlightChildrensAid@gmail.com​