PHILIPSBURG:--- On the 10th and 11th of March 2017, the DOET initiatives will take place once again. This initiative of Oranje Fonds started in the Netherlands with NLdoet. In partnership with local organizations on all the islands, BON DOET, ARUBA DOET, CURA DOET, SXM DOET and STATIA DOET have also been successfully organized in these past years. Volunteers are the beating hearts of many social initiatives. Oranje Fonds wants to show with the DOET campaign how important active citizens are for the community. For foundations and associations, it is also a wonderful opportunity to complete projects and engage new volunteers with their organisation. And of course it underscores how much fun volunteering can be!
Hundreds of projects are implemented during two days at foundations, health institutions and associations in the Netherlands and on the 5 Caribbean islands. Everyone is invited to participate! In 2016, there were more than 500 projects registered and more than 6000 people volunteered. The organizations hope that in 2017, there will be even more projects and volunteers than in previous years. Foundations and associations still have the time to register a project; from painting the community centre and fixing the playground to organizing a fun day out for the elderly, everything is possible! Visit the websites of the different islands to confirm registration deadlines and all other information.
Everyone who wants to be part of the biggest volunteer initiative in the Kingdom and is willing to lend a hand for (part) of a day at a foundation, health institution or association can register to volunteer. By participating you get introduced to volunteer work in a fun and exciting way and you help an organisation to get projects done. Volunteers can sign up for a project starting January 2017. With the slogan “many hands make light work”, the DOET initiative encourages people to also join forces together and sign up to volunteer together with family members, colleagues, classmates or members of a sport club.
Every year there are hundreds of organisations and volunteers who speak highly of the initiative of het Oranje Fonds. Volunteers who participated with BON DOET stated that “it was an effective way to help and a lot of fun” and that “families can also make it a fun family day out”. The volunteers and organisations that participated with CURA DOET also were very positive about their experience: “Our activity was great. Much more fun than we expected”, “it was so nice to see our clients and colleagues working together in the same uniform” and “the seniors of Ser’i Otrobanda were so happy with their excursion to Banda Abou, many of them had not visited in a while”.
Supported by Nationale Postcode Lotterij, Nederlandse lotterij, and gifts from donors and companies, Oranje Fonds spends about €30 million annually in direct financial contributions to 9000 social initiatives in the Netherlands and in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom.
