Zoë about her internship

Hi! My name is Zoë and I am 19 years old. I am currently following the marketing and communications specialist course. During my training, I did an internship for 6 months in the marketing department at Nlvoorelkaar.

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Marie about her internship

Hi, my name is Marie and I did an internship at NLvoorelkaar in the marketing communications department. My goal was to learn a lot, in all areas of marketing and communication, but also how things work in the workplace.

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Helping refugee children

Kirsten (33 years old) has been a volunteer at TeamUp for more than 4 years. Every week, together with a team of other volunteers, she facilitates an afternoon full of sports, games and exercise for refugee children at an asylum seekers' centre. And the enthusiasm is splashing!

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Jeandra helps math

Since last year I have been a budget buddy at Budgetmaatjes 010. As a budget buddy I help people map out their finances. This makes the situation clear again and they can move forward. For example, I help people with their debts or administration. The goal is to make them self-reliant again. That gives me great satisfaction.

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André digitises

I have been teaching digital skills at the Rotterdam Library for almost 10 years. I help people use their laptop, computer or telephone. Whether it's installing apps, filling out digital forms or making video calls, I teach them all about it!

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José is building for the future

I recently became a volunteer at the Dona Daria foundation. We organize projects for different groups in society. I am here with someone who leads projects in different departments and locations. That's how I find out what suits me well.

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Sandra goes shopping

I have been volunteering from an early age. I am currently a volunteer at the grocery service through the Union of Volunteers. I pick up groceries for clients who are unable to do their own shopping. With a lot of personal attention I go to the food bank for them. It is a huge source of appreciation.

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Peter continues to help

As a volunteer in the general services of Victim Support, I support victims emotionally and practically. I help victims with professionalism, attention, calmness and a listening ear. It's great if they regain control over their lives and are back in their own strength. You notice that this volunteer work really matters.

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Marjolein on autism

As a mother of a son with autism, I have the necessary knowledge and experience. Last year I started as a volunteer at the Dutch Association for Autism. I am coordinator of the Rijnmond region, where I also organize discussion groups. I think it's important that people with autism and people who have someone in their environment with autism find each other. That creates strength and recognition.

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a connecting passion

Zihao has been playing the violin since he was 7 years old and wanted to give something back to the music community. Because being part of a community is the most important thing for him. That is why he decided to become a volunteer at Music School Plus, a music school where everyone is welcome.

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Nour had nothing left

Nour (22) was in the prime of her life. Until she had to flee from Syria a year ago. Angelina (left) helps her feel at home in NL as quickly as possible. But behind her smile is also a tear..

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Jet brings fun

Two days a week I volunteer in the living room of nursing home de Sonneburgh. It gives me a very nice feeling to be able to do something for the elderly. I assist with central activities, play fun games, prepare coffee and tea, pick people up from their rooms and help them with their shopping. I'm having a great time!

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Peter makes better

Despite his brain damage, Peter has been volunteering for 50(!) years. Because when he was rejected for regular work 10 years ago, he did not let himself be beaten out of the volunteer field.

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Malou gives support

Almost 8 years ago I started as a volunteer at Villa Pinedo. This is a foundation for and by children with divorced parents. As an expert by experience, I am linked to one or more children as an Online Buddy. I like being there for them. Furthermore, I speak from my own experiences as a child of divorced parents with parents who are in divorce. It is important to make the child's perspective clear.

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Music in hospital

It was during his dark period that Koerts noticed a foundation that wants children in care institutions to make music: Muziekids. As a chronic patient, he knows all too well how things work in a hospital. 'You're bored half the time, how must that be for children? Music is so important. When children have access to music, they forget for a moment that they are a patient, just like me.'

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Do stage well

This story previously appeared on the doing good platform of de Volksbank x NLvoorelkaar

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Just try it

This story previously appeared on the doing good platform of de Volksbank x NLvoorelkaar

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Birthday box

This story previously appeared on the doing good platform of de Volksbank x NLvoorelkaar

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A listening ear

This story previously appeared on the doing good platform of de Volksbank x NLvoorelkaar

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Not complicated

This story previously appeared on the doing good platform of de Volksbank x NLvoorelkaar

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Much appreciation

This story previously appeared on the doing good platform of de Volksbank x NLvoorelkaar

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robin at the gymnastics club

Robin is 25 years old and has been volunteering for 9 years as a trainer at the local gymnastics club. Meanwhile, she is the head coach of two groups of girls between 5 and 11 years old,

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give 10 times an hour

An hour is nothing special. There are 24 in a day. 8760 and a little in a year. But getting help for an hour is very special. You can really make a difference in someone else's life. So: do you also have an hour? Give it to someone else!

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Be wise: voluntourism

It is the dream of many young people: volunteering at a children's home or orphanage abroad. Before the pandemic, an estimated 10,000 Dutch volunteers and trainees traveled annually to help. With the best intentions, but unfortunately harmful to the six million children growing up in orphanages worldwide. In this article we tell you how it works and you discover how close to home you can make an impact on others, the world and yourself.

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Giving is more beautiful

These are the words of Monique Mentjox of SNS. SNS is part of de Volksbank together with ASN, Regiobank and BLG Wonen. This story comes from de Volksbank's doing good platform. Here you can read the impact stories of other Volksbank colleagues.

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kenya childcare

With a lot of passion, a great love for Kenya and the dream to start something for children and women or children when she grew up, Linda tells me on a Thursday morning about her wonderful initiative Kenya Child Care. The energy she gets from this can be felt through the screen and immediately makes me enthusiastic. We want to share this story with everyone, because this is the proof that helping makes you really happy.

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tips screening

Reading time: 6 minutes

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Summer do-good

Ready for a day of sun, sea, beach with impact? Be cool this summer by doing something good for the world. Without goat wool socks content - it is really too hot for that. With these 8 wonderful summer volunteer activities you can make all the difference in an hour. Together with your fam, colleagues or friends, or meet new friends. For someone else, the world and also a little bit for yourself, because helping makes you proven happy (hello lucky fabrics!).

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Flooding Limburg

Sven, a volunteer at the South Limburg fire brigade, experienced the flooding up close. This story was created in collaboration with our partners de Volksbank and BLG Wonen. “When the weather forecasts came in, I was asked to clear my agenda to be available to the fire brigade. I stood ready with a charged pager.

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Student and senior match

Esmeralda and Bas have been a match since the end of November. It clicked right from day one. They see each other every Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Then they go for a walk, cycle together or Esmeralda explains things on the tablet. Bas: "I always want her to be home before dark. Of course we are a bit careful with her!"

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Information officer at War Child

I never knew a group could be so deafeningly quiet. Telling about children at war and the work we do at War Child makes an impression. Always.

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help with your story

Jolanda from Rotterdam has been an experience expert at MEE Rotterdam Rijnmond for 10 years. Her first reaction when she was asked about this: 'I thought to myself, that's way too scary'.

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25 gifts in December

Have you made a difference for someone else or the world in the past year? Or do you want to thank someone who has done something for you? Or would you like to thank your volunteer team? Give the December calendar and unwrap a nice present every day!

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10 Giving Tuesday ideas

Not all 'holidays' that come over from America are focused on buying. After Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the Netherlands is also embracing Giving Tuesday, the day on which we give . And that's what really makes you happy... so below are 10 surprising Giving Tuesday ideas.

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Marcel and Sabina

Home-start is a very nice organization where volunteers support parents in raising their children. Every parent has questions about parenting or about everyday things that you encounter. The volunteers at Home-start are there to lend a hand.

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John helps them on their way

John worked within the prison walls for 15 years. His biggest pain point; the number of ex-prisoners who return within the walls after being free. '1 of the 2 prisoners who are allowed to go out, come back through the other door' John says. The ex-prisoners end up on the street without guidance, financial means or a prospect. What they do get when they leave prison is a very big stamp on their head. 'I believe that everyone who is there certainly deserves to be there, but they also certainly deserve to come back into society.'

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Organize corona proof

Is your volunteer activity and associated vacancy already corona proof? How do you actually keep volunteers engaged during this time? And how do you ensure that your organization is ready for the 1,5 meter society? We don't have THE answer, but we do have a lot of practical tips from the field that we would like to share with you.

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Paula's Story

Paula comes up with something nice for Kiki every week. Sometimes they play with clay, other times they bake pancakes or go to the playground, the forest or the ball pit. Or she puts a bowl of foam on the table. “The latter was a less good idea: the whole living room was covered with foam from blowing around and clapping hands,” laughs Paula.

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David and the "Superboys"

Actually, David prefers not to participate in interviews about volunteering. He doesn't need to be applauded for it. He just does it because he wants to. Nevertheless, he agreed, because there is always room for more enthusiastic volunteers. And volunteering is so enriching that after five awkward minutes he talks about it with gusto.

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Leo's story

A year after Leo retired, he started looking for volunteer work. He had worked full-time as a legal adviser at a bank for forty years and suddenly had plenty of time. “I was 58, still young and healthy. I wanted to spend my time doing something useful. With my knowledge and experience I could have sat on some board of an association, but I was looking for something more personal. I just wanted direct contact with people.”

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Fishing waste

It's Sunday morning and a ray of sunshine is shining into my bedroom. That is good news, because today the Canal Cleanup is on the program. After breakfast, my husband and I and our 3 children set off on a bicycle to Huszar, the cafe where we meet in the center of Delft: the children put on their boots and are ready for a fun adventure.

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Ineke on stage

Her environment sometimes asks: 'Are you going to the theater again?' On Mondays and Thursdays Ineke (71) practices with the theater groups Trivelino and Doe Maar. 'I like theatre. It's my hobby!' she yells happily back. In the busiest weeks, the retired Ineke sometimes spends 24 hours a week on volunteer work for VTV. “You do it for each other and especially with each other.”

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Prinsjes festival

We all know Prinsjesdag from the Budget Memorandum, speech from the throne and crazy hats. But did you know that there was also a Prinsjesfestival ? From 9 to 15 September there will be debates, cabaret, concerts and workshops in The Hague. This year's theme is stay free. Gerhard van Roon (50) and Joyce Van der Burg (28) do surprising volunteer work for the festival: organizing marketing activities and a photo prize. How did they get here?

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Tiny Restaurant On Tour

In 2017, the MIEP Foundation already started research into: 'how can you connect people'? And how do you do that in the world of tomorrow? They came to the conclusion: food connects and started providing nutritional education in schools. In this way she combined health, education and local connections. They drummed up farmers from the area and quickly set things up with the help of a lot of volunteers from the neighborhood. Nutrition education was delivered in their Tiny Restaurant, a mobile space used as a restaurant. This Tiny Restaurant was originally supposed to ensure that children learned where food comes from in a playful way.

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Student house vs. village

At the beginning of last year I moved from my student house with 11 men in the always pleasant Utrecht to a tiny village near Gouda. It was a very big decision for me and my boyfriend to buy, but we bought a beautiful house that had so much added value compared to the prices in the city.

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Peter's story

Pieter, a very helpful 57-year-old man from Roosendaal, unfortunately ended up without a job after 30 years and fell into a big hole. With his seas of time he decided to do something useful and through a buddy project he found a very nice match with an 88-year-old gentleman who was also looking for some company. This is his story:

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Els overcomes loneliness

Els, a strong 47-year-old woman from Haarlemmermeer, had a rough week. The social worker was on vacation and she was in the middle of a move. Yet she thought it was so important that she made time to share her story with us. She talks about how she has tackled it to stop feeling lonely and advises everyone to do the same. This is her story:

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Help on horseback

Doing volunteer work, something I had often thought about but never really got around to. Why not? I actually have no idea. I love being able to help others, enjoyed spending time with grandparents but I didn't really get any further than that. Perhaps it was the fear of making an 'obligation' that held me back. Because did this fit in with my busy life, could I make time for this?

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Doing good on your resume

For the umpteenth time in a row you scroll through a job site. But this time your eye suddenly falls on a very nice vacancy. This could be your dream job.. What do you want then? Stand out of course!

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Walking with Corrie

Corrie retired from work three years ago, at the age of 63. Sitting still was out of the question for her. Walking in nature, power walk, yoga and fitness, Corrie enjoys being in motion!

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Zeliha paints

Zeliha, a sweet 48-year-old woman from Haarlem who is currently very positive in life, talks candidly about the difficult path she took after her psychosis. She would like to advise everyone to do volunteer work because that has been what has brought her a lot and helped her in the time she really needed it. She is the example of rethinking and solves her own loneliness by being there for other people. This is her story:

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Aunt Joke tells..

Joke, a funny and optimistic 71-year-old widow from Breda, was always there for everyone, despite the fact that she became ill at the age of 32 and had to stop working. She used to be busy day in and day out volunteering or babysitting lots of kids in the neighborhood. Now that she can no longer do this and needs help herself, she has to admit that she feels very lonely. This is her story:

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Hannah & computers

Hanna is 18 years old and comes from Alphen. For the people who do not know this small village, it is located between Breda and Tilburg. Hanna is studying Health Technology, when her first internship was cancelled, Hanna was left with a mountain of time. This can of course be filled in much better in times of Corona.

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Chat buddy Jouke

Jouke has worked for years at 'Betaald Voetbal Organisatie VVV-Venlo', 15 years to be exact. Club love, of course, doesn't just disappear. For example, Jouke saw that VVV-Venlo paid attention to the platform eredivisievoorelkaar.nl via their Social Media channels. This piqued Jouke's interest. She crawled behind her computer to look at the platform eredivisievoorelkaar.nl and the rest is history.

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Corona post

And then the nursing homes will also be closed. Lindy is a volunteer at Thebe Lucia in Breda and goes for a walk with demented elderly every Friday morning when the weather is nice. When the weather is not so nice, they sit around the piano for a coffee concert. But strict corona measures have also been taken here. The activities have been canceled and visitors are no longer allowed. Everyone stays in their own department. Residents with dementia notice that something is not right. They don't know exactly what's going on, but the atmosphere is tense. They want to go out; drinking nice cups of coffee, going out with friends and family, getting your nails painted, doing crafts, listening to live music, etc. Why is that suddenly no longer possible? It feels so restless. The employees do their best to make their days run as normal as possible. But that is not so easy when you are so limited in resources.

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René's meals

Many people are rolling up their sleeves, especially in this special time. Also René from Zwijndrecht. He does many voluntary jobs, one of which is delivering meals to the elderly. What a great way to talk to the elderly and do something for them. Of course at an appropriate distance and taking into account other measures regarding corona.

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Corona help queen Angelina

On Monday she brings 165 self-written cards to a nursing home in Utrecht. On Tuesday she supports her colleagues who are hard at work. On Wednesday she packs groceries at the food bank and on Thursday she helps with an activity for the elderly. On Fridays she works on a new idea (movement bingo) and on Saturdays she does the shopping for a lady in a town further down the road: “It's only a fifteen minute drive, so come by practically”. Just a week during Angelina's corona quarantine. The coronavirus brings a lot of misery. But it also brings out the best in us as humans. Angelina works in daily life at a large casino. "Entertaining is my profession, I earn my money with it. At the moment I use it to make others happy during this difficult time."

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Doing good - corona proof

We don't have to tell you that the world is currently upside down due to the coronavirus. The intelligent quarantine results in fewer infections, but it does have many social consequences such as loneliness and overloaded care heroes.

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Ward for Göksan

I've wanted to do volunteer work for some time, but found it difficult to find something. First of all, that had to do with the fact that I don't have the same amount of time every week. Secondly, I wasn't sure in which area I could best contribute. At that moment I received a message from my sister, Loes. She had seen a call from Göksan on NLvoorelkaar. Göksan is following a college education and has to write a lot of reports for that. Those reports were always checked for Dutch by his girlfriend, but when that went out, Göksan found out that he didn't really understand his own mistakes perfectly.

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buddies

Fleur and Fenne have been a Buddy couple since September. It was very exciting to meet each other, but we clicked right away. And they already know for sure: after Fenne's internship, they will remain each other's [Buddies].

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Corona post for the elderly

It is Friday afternoon and the children are coming home from school. The atmosphere changes when they hear that their dance class, athletics training and the theater performance (my daughter's birthday present) are canceled because of corona. I explain that that is very annoying but that there are people who are hit harder. Like the elderly who are now alone because their visitors have a cold at home.

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Sports buddy Jeffrey

Do you know that? You want to exercise, but: what suits you? How do you start? And going alone is so boring… we get it! Starting is always difficult! But you are not alone, in fact: there are many people who, just like you, prefer to go to the gym together. Below you can read how you can easily find your ideal sports buddy.

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Job Plus

Due to the brain injury that Adje sustained, she has not been in the kitchen for a long time, afraid of letting something burn when she was alone. Through the Klusplus project of the Humanitas Rotterdam Foundation, she was linked by job coach Sophie to Borrel BV, a company that makes luxury filled serving boards for companies and organizations. Adje is happy to help founder Rozemarijn with cooking when there is another order.

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Jeannette's Angel Table

''For a number of years after every Christmas I had the feeling of, is this it? Then I would have had a really nice Christmas with family and friends, but I still missed meaning. In addition, I myself had a period in which I had just been divorced and had moments when it was not obvious that you were invited just like that when you actually would like to, especially at Christmas. Then the idea of the Angel Table was born. My husband and I both love to cook and enjoy having people over. With that in mind, we started inviting people for Christmas for whom celebrating Christmas together is not obvious. Thus the Angel Table was born.”

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Event manager Petra

Last February, Petra was out of work. During a conversation with her career coach, she was tipped off about DeBroekriem*. ' I had never heard of the organization and decided to take a quick look at the website. I thought it was a really nice concept. I also saw that they had vacancies open for event managers (+/- 8h p/w). That immediately appealed to me. Bringing people together and helping and inspiring each other, that made me happy. I was given the opportunity to organize workshops for job seekers myself, as a job seeker, and to determine the subject myself.”

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Happy with her garden again!

Yvonne was so happy with the help she received from Jan and Rachel that she sent us a message. We are only too happy to share this!

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About us

We think that everyone can and wants to make an impact. Impact on the world, others and themselves. Because helping makes you happy! By inspiring and smart matching, we convert time and talent into social impact. This is how we realize the society of the future together. Together we will move forward. Together we help everyone!

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Loes and her heroes

Loes was very well helped through GOvoorelkaar with the jobs in her house. "Treasures of men they are!", she says.

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Zehra and Anne

"There I was, looking for half an hour between the children's books in the library. What would she like? What in God's name does a 4-year-old read? Would she like animals? I really didn't know and finally decided to I finally burst out with an overflowing bag, ready to begin my first reading session with Zehra.

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Classic connects

"Through NLvoorelkaar I got in touch with Salwa, a Syrian lady. She wanted to do volunteer work to get to know more Dutch people.

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Handler Jan

"It was spoon-fed, I got infected with it and I've never stopped." Jan has been doing voluntary work all his life, for him it is a big part of his life. He really hopes that other people will also have the opportunity to volunteer because it is so important.

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Naomi likes to get involved

The fact that it only takes very little time to make someone else happy motivates Naomi time and again to volunteer. She has been helping scout in her area for years. Recently she did a great job as a volunteer at VIPvoorelkaar.

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Vianne and Willemien

5 months ago I decided to do something I've wanted to do for a long time, but didn't have the time for. Or maybe not for me. Through NLvoorelkaar I came into contact with Willemien.

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Volunteers for Efie

"Together you are stronger than alone", this story is a good example of this. By keeping ears and eyes open and addressing the network, four volunteers were suddenly found who were willing to help Efie.

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Aniek against loneliness

Eighteen months ago, during my minor, I started to delve into the social problem: loneliness. 'Loneliness' is something that really touches me personally. The feeling of being lonely is just not nice and could be remedied with more attention to each other.

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A leap into the deep

Milan (19) found out through voluntary work that Informatica did not make him happy at all. He found his passion and joy in helping children. He even changed his study choice at the last minute, and now he is doing something that really makes him happy.

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We are there for each other

"We are there for each other", that is Hans' attitude to life. Where he can, he helps others, and he also helps himself.

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Peter helps

After Peter discovered the importance of the Burn Foundation through an event in his area, he decided to become a volunteer there. This was already 20 years ago, but he still does it with great pleasure. "It's so rewarding, and you get to know your environment in a really fun way!" he says.

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Friends for life

A friendship for life, never to be forgotten. A story about volunteering that leads to friendship, an inspiration for everyone. Paul Iwan delivers food in a nursing home. A year and a half ago, he was linked in this nursing home to Mr A., who was looking for someone who could undertake activities with him. There was a nice contact.

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Date something good..

Together with dating site Pepper, we are taking action this week to prevent loneliness in the Netherlands. We help by connecting and matching ♥. Because the right connection can change your life and that of others!

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Busy at Renske

Hey, I'm Renske, 32 years old and full-time working in the IT sector. Officially I come from the East of the country, but I moved six months ago.

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Volunteer Charmaine

Hi, I am Charmaine 31 years old and of Chinese descent. When I was 22 I moved to the Netherlands for my studies. After my studies I found a job as an accountant in Rotterdam. She had worked there for several years. Last year I decided to take a break. I wanted to take the time to think quietly and orientate myself on what I really wanted to do. During this period, I didn't want to sit still and started looking for volunteer work.

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A musical bingo

In general, students are not so much involved in voluntary work. Still, I always thought it was something very noble, that's why I registered myself via the platform to give it a try.

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Impact day

A special and impactful team outing for the employees of the Homefashion Group (Kwantum) on June 7, 2018. After a warm welcome by the supervisors of day care 't Haeghje, the employees of the HFG were given a tour of this day care location. Afterwards, the clients were introduced during lunch. At 13.00 the 'Rolerisuit' bus left for camping Hof van Overveld in Prinsenbeek.

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Buddies Lisa and Marlinda

Two years ago there was a commercial on TV about a buddy program. I myself had never actually done anything like this and I didn't know anyone in my circle of friends who did volunteer work. Through some online research I came across Buddies from HandicapNL.

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Staff day with impact

A great and impactful day for the employees of Avans Hogeschool Den Bosch. Through the mediation of NLvoorelkaar, 8 social organizations in Den Bosch were visited on Tuesday 22 May with almost 90 employees.

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Welcome home

Imagine you have just fled Syria and after a long search you end up in an asylum seekers' center. All day long you live with people who, like you, are new to the Netherlands, who have been through a lot and who do not understand the language either. Of course this doesn't work. Nevertheless, we expect that these people will participate in our society and integrate.

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Marjolein dares to ask

Marjolein (64) asks for help to walk her amazing labrador. Govert is her service dog, which unfortunately she cannot always walk due to her chronic illness. For this she asks for help on NLvoorelkaar and hopes that she can find a volunteer who can help her with this.

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Fiona dares to ask

The 25-year-old Fiona came to NLvoorelkaar through an acquaintance and after many years finally dared to ask her question. She sometimes has 30 epileptic seizures in a day, which makes the small everyday things very difficult. She posted her request for help and received a lot of positive, sweet reactions. "There were so many people who wanted to help me. It's so nice that you can!" says Fiona gratefully.

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Coby dares to ask

I asked my question on your website and quickly received a response which unfortunately turned out to be nothing. Then I received an email from you with other people who might be able to do something for me. This is where I found Marry and we quickly arranged to get acquainted. As soon as she walked through my door I knew: Yes, this is it! We clicked right away and she kept chatting from 3 to 5. We told each other about our lives and I thought to myself: how nice that I did this

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Reading makes you happy!

Did you always read a lot? Was there always time for a bedtime story? Unfortunately, this is not self-evident for every family in the Netherlands. Many children leave primary school with the reading level of a group 6 child. That is why it is very important that children come into contact with books and reading a lot and give this a permanent place at home. The Voorleesexpress helps children who have difficulty with the Dutch language and lets them discover how much fun language is. A family is paired for 20 weeks with a reader who comes home to read together. Eveline is responsible for families and partners of the Noordoever and tells us about this beautiful project.

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a house full of volunteers

In the place where the saxophone used to reverberate through the swinging jazz tent, different worlds now stand side by side to renovate and refurbish the story house into the meeting place, source of inspiration and historical experience that the building deserves and should be. From hiding place to wrestling club, Belvédère in Rotterdam Katendrecht has always been a house with an illustrious history. It was saved from demolition by hard-working volunteers and has become a home base of the best stories for and by Rotterdammers.

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A good deed every day!

Last year Floor participated in a friend's project and did something good every day for a month. This time she takes on the challenge with herself and now wants to keep it up for a year. She started her #project365 on January 1 and tries to make the world a little bit more beautiful every day. "It's actually fairly easy. You can make someone happy so quickly," says Floor. From cleaning up the mess she encountered in a nature park to registering with NLvoorelkaar, Floor offers her help, every day. Floor says that after she registered she quickly had 2 responses, now she already has 5 in her inbox! "I have already made an appointment with a 63-year-old man. We chatted, which I normally find really terrible, but it was quite fun with him," she says with a laugh. Floor indicated that the gentleman was very lonely and really appreciated that she had come by. "The next morning I received a message that he really liked it very much, then you know what you're doing it for," says Floor. This man has been the highlight of the #project365 for Floor so far.

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Rotterdam video

“There is an answer to every question. You just have to ask it.' 'From I can't get any further, to hoppa and on. City poet Derek Otte puts it in sober, typically Rotterdam words: When you help each other, it will all work out.

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Birthday Job Foundation

You don't expect it when you enter the site of the Van Nelle Factory. The factory is surrounded by sheds and one of them is full of toys, giant lollipops, huge cabinets of candy, and also Starwars Stormtroopers. The Jarig Job Foundation operates from here and has a clear mission: in the Netherlands there are 61,000 children who cannot celebrate their birthday due to lack of money. Research has shown that these children often call in sick from school on their birthday. The foundation found this unacceptable and started with the Birthday Box Birthday Box. This box contains everything needed for a real birthday at home and at school such as decoration, ingredients for a cake, presents and the treat. The Food Bank or other aid agencies request a birthday box for their client from the foundation and then an anonymous box is given to the parents of the children. Only new toys are given deliberately. The child must get the feeling that it is his birthday and that the gift is really intended for the child. For the parents, this means preserving their dignity, because they can give their child a real birthday with a little help from Birthday Job.

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Helping Makes You Happy

Slightly less than half of Dutch people aged 15 and older committed themselves to volunteering at least once in 2015, according to Statistics Netherlands . This extensive form of aid deserves attention. December 7 is Volunteer Day. Then municipalities and organizations all over the country organize 'thank you' moments and put volunteers in the spotlight.

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Help for Ivo and Eline

I live in Rotterdam with my son Ivo. He is 35 years old and has a disability. I only take care of him and I myself had a tumor in the face, which makes me tired faster. Yes, that's heavy. But you have to stay optimistic, hope is alive!

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Joyce for Joke

"On Sunday morning, I went to the pharmacy at the hospital, not because I needed anything, but to get laid and feel less lonely." said Joke.

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Dating with a purpose

To date. It's exciting, sometimes fun, sometimes terrible and sometimes fantastic. But whether you've just swept up a new Tinder flame or your date has been around for years; you would like to do something original.

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Brigitte for everyone

Everyone needs a listening ear sometimes. Brigitte knows all about it. She is a volunteer at Sensoor in Tilburg. The organization has a number of telephone numbers where volunteers are available 24 hours a day to listen to anyone who needs it.

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Slogan for NLvoorelkaar

At NLvoorelkaar we are very happy with our slogan: Helping makes you happy! But this slogan didn't just come out of the blue. Natasja Draer of Friends for Brands was closely involved in the process and says:

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Rianne for birds

Our bird sanctuary has been around since 1963, when it was run by a married couple. However, they got older and older, at a certain point the number of animals was too great for what they could handle. Then in 2012 it was taken over by our current chairman and the organization has completely changed. Everything is completely professionalized, totally different from how it used to be. However, the love for animals has always remained.

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growth hack

We are NLvoorelkaar, a volunteer network which collects all volunteerwork, good causes and individual questions for help in the Netherlands.

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Amy-sophie for the elderly

Amy-Sophie, age 18, decided after seeing a TV program to look for volunteer work with older people in her neighborhood via NLvoorelkaar.nl.

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Am for chores

Ben from Sommelsdijk registered six months ago on the GOvoorelkaar website. Due to his retirement, he has time left to help others. He placed a call in which he offers jobs in the field of gardening, painting and other odd jobs. Ben receives many responses to his call and regularly picks out a few that he is interested in. "I could have work for the whole week. There really is a lot going on."

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John for everyone

Jan, 37 years old, living in Cromvoirt and completely unfamiliar with volunteering before Vughtvoorelkaar found six matches via this website. "It works so well that I now have to disappoint people," says Jan. "I work full-time, with great pleasure. But I saw that many problems arise in society due to the cutbacks. Then you have to take responsibility, I think. This website was the trigger for me to really take action and do something I came into contact with 3 individuals and 3 organizations very easily. It works so well that I now sometimes have to disappoint people because I am 'full'.

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