“A volunteer is a person who performs a task without waiting for something in return. Voluntarism is a collection of activities in which you can get much more valuable experiences than money in exchange for what you do.”
There are many non-profit organisations in Eindhoven where you can work voluntarily, you can learn anything new or use your skills. Volunteering means “vrijwilligerswerk” in Dutch. The Dutch for non-profit organisation is called “stichting”.
My name is Ayşenur and I am a journalist, specialised in social media. As a volunteer, I have been managing the social media channels of Eindhoven News for almost a year. As a volunteer for this newspaper, I can clearly say that I have learned a lot of things which are more valuable than money. I met lots of friends from different cultures and learned a lot from them about life. I participated in several workshops such as photography and effective video making. Weekly meetings bring me back to social life. For example, now we are planning a celebration party for the 10th anniversary of the newspaper and I am in the PR team, learning a lot of new things. You can get information about the details of the anniversary party from our website.
If you want to work as a volunteer in Eindhoven, you can find a job that suits your interests at https://eindhovendoetforvolunteers.nl/home. There you can see jobs in the library, cafe, elderly home or in a farm. In addition to that, the Samen voor Eindhoven association publishes volunteer jobs on several social media accounts of their organisation.
You can gain experience in different fields, learn Dutch and get to know new people, in addition to fulfilling your leisure time and feeling the satisfaction of volunteering. My only advice is that you leave your ego at home while you work as a volunteer :). There is a quote which I like very much, “When you create a space for allowing yourself to grow, learn and rest, you can achieve balance in your life, you feed your soul.” And to me, doing something useful for someone else makes my life meaningful.
Being an immigrant sometimes messes your psychology. On sunny days, you can think “Wonderful country! How lucky we are here! “and right after that you feel like ”Ahhh my dear! I miss hometown“. Two things that are good for dismissing these feelings are socialising and doing something useful. I can’t tell you how good it is for the human soul to do something for people you don’t know without any interest.
If you want to join the tribe of volunteers, you can have a look at the links above and see if there are any jobs for you. If you find a ‘stichting’ close to your home that matches your interests, how lucky you are!
Ayşenur
