All you need is love
December holidays and lots of holly jolly Christmas fun with family & friends, food and gifts are coming up. Make it an extraordinary Christmas this year by doing something good for someone else. There are plenty of great initiatives to choose from and contribute to. It is often a small effort for you and a big gesture for someone else. Because no one should feel alone at Christmas!
The big Christmas card action
Like every year, the National Fund for the Elderly asks everyone to write Christmas wishes for lonely elderly people. For many elderly people, Christmas time is a difficult period. Choose a beautiful card or make one (or more) yourself and write a sweet message on it. Send the card(s) to the Elderly Fund before December 11th: Het Nationaal Ouderenfonds, PO Box 115, 3800 AC Amersfoort. December 11th already passed? You can also put your card(s) into the mailbox of an elderly neighbor or residential care center yourself. From Student Experience we are bringing cards to the Vreugdehof nursing home this year. Send a sweet message to communications@studentexperience.nl.
A(h)ll you need is a loving Christmas
Who do you wish a loving Christmas this year? Albert Heijn will surprise 2000 customers with a surprise package including an AH gift card worth €100 for a delicious Christmas dinner. You can participate in stores and online until December 17th - 5 p.m.
Donation for the food bank
The food bank provides food for people who, temporarily, cannot afford it. Due to the corona crisis, the food banks in the Netherlands have more and more people knocking on their door. In Amsterdam, about 1900 households are now provided with a food package every week. You can help by making a donation. With 5 euros you can give one family food for an entire week. But there are also other ways to support the food bank. Everyone deserves to enjoy a Christmas dinner, right?
Digital support at the Cyberbank
The first Cyberbank of the Netherlands has been opened in Amsterdam East. From January it is possible for residents of Amsterdam to pick up a laptop against the minimal amount of of 20 euros. They can keep these or return them after use. People can also drop their questions about the laptop or its use. The Cyberbank is actually a food bank for laptops and digital support. Do you have a laptop for the Cyberbank? Check the website for more information about submitting.
Christmas gift box for someone else
Serve the City is a volunteer movement that wants to surprise 500 undocumented Amsterdam families with a Christmas gift box. That is why they started the Reversed Advent campaign in December. Instead of taking a chocolate out of the calendar every day, you now give something away every day. How? Take a big empty box and put in an article every day from the list they have compiled. You can hand in your package in Nieuw-West on December 16th and 17th. Would you rather help in a different way? On the website you can find various actions for which you can sign up, such as helping at the homeless shelter, baking cakes for the elderly and much more.
*Most websites mentioned in this article are in Dutch. Ask a friend, family member or the duty manager to help you translate.