From helping families access essential baby items, to creating lasting connections between volunteers and residents, to supporting newcomers with information and opportunities, the month showed the many ways bridges can be built.
Behind each initiative is the same idea: there are people who want to contribute, organisations that identify needs, and communities looking for support. Our role is to bring these pieces together and create connections that last.
Alongside our work in the Netherlands, we continued strengthening partnerships with businesses, professionals and organisations internationally. We also welcomed new volunteers who are ready to contribute to upcoming projects, with more People for People Days and collaborations planned for the months ahead.
Sometimes meaningful impact starts with recognising where support can make the biggest difference.
Following our update about collecting prams through our network, we continued connecting these donations with families across the Netherlands. One of those places was the Leiden and Oegstgeest region, where healthcare professionals support families living in nearby reception centres.
When Annemijn, a freelance midwife, shared the challenges families faced in accessing essential baby items, it highlighted the importance of getting practical support to the right place at the right time.
By connecting healthcare professionals with businesses including Bugaboo, Easywalker and BabyPark, quality prams are now reaching families through the people who support them during pregnancy and after birth.
It’s a beautiful example of what happens when existing resources, professional expertise and real needs are connected.
Throughout July, we continued visiting COA locations to understand where support can add value and strengthen connections with residents, staff and local organisations.
At COA Dronten, we visited a clothing shop where residents can access donated items through a small contribution system. The proceeds are then used to organise activities for the wider community later this year.
Through donations from partners including Otrium and Bamboo Basics, we were able to contribute practical items such as baby socks and other everyday essentials – small products that help fill important gaps identified on the ground.
We are also continuing conversations with local organisations around new locations, including Doetinchem and Scheveningen, helping strengthen the network around these communities and exploring where collaboration can create additional value.
This month, we organised two People for People Days at a COA girls location in Amsterdam.
Together with the location, we focused on creating something that continues beyond one activity day: connecting residents with volunteers who can become familiar and trusted faces over time.
Through activities chosen by the girls themselves – from braiding hair and making bracelets to music and creative workshops – space is created for friendship, trust and conversation.
As one of the COA activity supervisors shared:
“For many of the girls, it’s important to see familiar faces returning. Over time, trust grows and conversations become easier. It’s wonderful to see volunteers becoming part of their weekly routine.”
Our role is often simply to create the connection. From there, relationships can grow naturally.
During two Young Impact school events, our volunteers shared personal stories about displacement and rebuilding your life in a new country.
Inspired by these conversations, more than 1,100 students wrote personal messages through our Brievenbus vol Liefde initiative for peers living in reception centres and crisis-affected communities.
It was another example of how awareness becomes even more meaningful when people are given a practical way to contribute.
This month, volunteers came together at our office for a World Café co-creation session to help shape the future of our People for People Days, and discuss our international work and upcoming projects.
Bringing together new volunteers, experienced volunteers and volunteers with refugee backgrounds created space for new ideas, honest conversations and practical solutions.
We are grateful for the many new volunteers who joined our community this month and look forward to involving them in upcoming activities across the Netherlands.
As our community grows, continuing to learn from each other remains just as important as the projects themselves.
Some of the most important work we do depends on something surprisingly practical: getting people and supplies where they need to be.
Every month, our van helps transport emergency aid, donated products and materials for People for People Days across the country. After years of intensive use, it’s reaching the end of its journey, and we’re still looking for an electric replacement.
Whether through a donation, partnership, loan vehicle or demonstration model, every contribution helps us continue delivering support where it’s needed most while reducing our environmental impact.
The demand for People for People Days continues to grow, and we will keep expanding these activities as we discover where connections can create value.
In the coming months, we are preparing new activities in locations including Doetinchem and Scheveningen, while continuing conversations with local organisations to strengthen the network around each community.
Alongside this, we are building new partnerships nationally and internationally – connecting expertise, resources and people who want to contribute. We have various international projects currently kick-starting, keep an eye on our next recaps for more information!
