A sunny outing on a rainy day
On Thursday 20th February volunteers from de Zoncorporatie visited Kadoelerbreek, an assisted living home in Amsterdam Noord, where they helped to paint the corridors and also joined 20 residents on a bus trip through the Dutch countryside. De Zoncorporatie is a relatively young company that provides solar panels and LED lighting to housing corporations, and this marked their first volunteer project. They have arranged fundraisers before, but this time almost the whole company went out to help with only one person staying behind to look after their office. Nik from de Zoncorporatie explained that they chose this project because it was in line with their company ethics.
Kadoelerbreek was in need of a fresh coat of paint; the white walls were clearly marked due to the everyday comings and goings in the home, with the lower parts getting especially scuffed and dirty due to the use of trolleys and wheelchairs. The team who stayed behind to paint worked hard to make everything look new again. In one afternoon they set one coat of paint down, cleaning at they went along. Luckily for Kadoelerbreek, one of the guys was also a plasterer who was able to repair a damaged section of the wall so even that part looked as good as new.
The group of volunteers and residents on the excursion were joined by our team from Adam Helpt and Adri and Natalie from the elderly home. On the bus volunteers and residents sat together chatting and getting to know each other. The volunteers helped the residents in and out of the bus and walked with them or pushed chairs. It was a drizzly day but the driver, Ron, took the scenic route driving through Monnickendam, Volendam and then Edam before eventually arriving at Simonehoeve. At Simonehoeve everyone first sat down for cake and drinks before moving onto the cheese-making room and the clog factory. There the residents and volunteers learned how cheese is made, as well as the history of Dutch clogs. This was followed by a cheese tasting and an opportunity to buy some traditional Dutch products.
Simonehoeve is a family business located about 15 minutes drive north of Amsterdam close to Volendam. Joke from Simonehoeve explained that during peak season they receive parties of tourists every day. But in off-peak times like now, they are very happy and able to look after groups like those from Kadoelerbreek and de Zoncorporatie.
All of the Kadoelerbreek residents looked happy and were enjoying the trip out. Adri explained that in the home itself it can be difficult for them to socialise, especially residents without family. The staff takes great care of them but sometimes residents miss the extra one-on-one attention that the volunteers were able to give them. This was the first time they had worked with such a large group of volunteers and beforehand Adri had concerns it might be too many people but actually it all worked very well. During the year, the staff at Kadoelerbreek arrange other excursions for the residents. One year they took the most mobile on a short holiday in the Ardennes but usually, it is small group trips to the seaside or the Dutch countryside. It is not possible for all the residents to get out or to stay away from the home for longer periods of time.
One of the residents said that she was indeed very happy to be out. She loves going on trips, her favourite would be to play mini-golf. She was definitely enjoying meeting new people and making friends even if only for that afternoon.
It was a very enjoyable afternoon. Everyone was happy with the help the volunteers from de Zoncorporatie, because of their work the halls now look as good as new, and the residents enjoyed a rare fun afternoon out.
We encourage you to read more about Adam Helpt and the CSR movement here.