A larger-than-life snowman looks down from the balcony window onto the recently renovated yard below in anticipation of the Dar tal-Providenza Open Day on January 1.

The home for the disabled, whose name is synonymous with the care it gives, runs at a cost of €13,000 every day, adding up to the frightening sum of €3.5 million a year.

This has not discouraged the centre’s managers who are holding a massive fundraiser on New Year’s Day.

The event starts with Mass at 9 a.m., with doors officially opening at 10 a.m.

Meticulously organised, the Open Day includes an auction where various items, including a wooden sculpture by Anton Aguis, football shirts signed by stars Pippo Inzaghi, Roberto Baggio, Zinedine Zidane, Franz Beckenbaur and Fernando Torres, footballs signed by Italy’s 1982 World Cup winning team and another by England, among many other items.

The event, organised in conjunction with RTK and sponsored by APS Bank, will feature live shows by Ira Losco, Freddie Portelli, Eleonor Cassar and other personalities.

Guided tours will be organised from 3 p.m. and various public figures will be attending, including Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, President George Abela and Archbishop Paul Cremona.

A park-and-ride service will be operating between St Nicholas Street in Siġġiewi and the village’s main square to Dar tal-Providenza, to reduce traffic on the day.

Speaking at a press conference, Dar tal-Providenza director Martin Micallef said the Open Day was organised with three aims in mind: for the public to meet the residents; for them to see the special projects carried out this year, like the purchasing of a tail lift coach; and to raise funds.

Dar tal-Providenza has 104 residents and this year alone has given respite to families of another 45 disabled people.