The new year has only just started, but for Pia Bruins from Rolde the month of October is already all about it. As local coordinator of the collection of the Dutch Burns Foundation, she has started preparations for the collection week later this year. And that is not without reason.
The impact of a fire became clear once again during New Year’s Eve in a bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Forty, mostly young people, died in the major fire and 116 people were injured. The disaster was strongly reminiscent of the fire in café ‘t Hemeltje in Volendam, 25 years ago.
According to Bruins, both fires underline how important the work of the Burns Foundation is. “I notice that there is now a lot of attention for the terrible fire in Crans-Montana. But I don’t see that it will lead to more volunteers in the Rolde area,” she says honestly. “But I hope I will get some more collectors.”
Bruins has been organizing the collection for a number of years. “We always raise around 500 euros, which is really worth it. The money is used for research, treatment and prevention. Part of it also goes to aftercare and rehabilitation of victims.”
There are currently fifteen collectors. That is not enough to walk all the streets. “Here and there I hear people say: ‘We haven’t been running.’ No, I don’t have a collector for that,” Bruins explains. Recruiting new people proves difficult. “While I always say: it’s only an hour in your neighborhood.”
It is precisely this accessibility that Bruins tries to emphasize. Collectors do not have to take care of an entire district. “The collectors who are there now don’t really have very many streets. Everything has been taken into account, right? Someone who says: ‘I want one street’, well, that’s fine too.”
What makes Bruins hopeful is the loyalty of her regular group. “I have collectors who have been running for thirty or forty years,” she says proudly. “I can count on them walking.” Every now and then someone drops out due to illness or vacation, but most volunteers have been participating for years. Still, she would like to expand the group. “If I get ten or fifteen people, then I’ll be happy.”
The Burns Foundation’s collection week will take place this year from October 4 to 10. According to Bruins, the best time to go door to door is between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM. “Not too late, because then people won’t open the door anymore,” she says practically. She contacts all collectors a week in advance and brings the collection boxes and leaflets. At the end of the week, the buses are returned and the proceeds go to the Burns Foundation.
People from Rolde and the surrounding area who want to help can contact Bruins directly. “Free time, that’s actually the most important thing,” she knows. “And the willingness to do something good for someone else.”