More and more people who cannot pay the contribution of their club or association are turning to aid organizations. These organizations notice a sharp increase in the number of applications, especially now that sports clubs are inclined to increase the contribution due to the high energy prices. This is apparent from a tour of Omroep Brabant.
When the expensive groceries and high energy bills become too much, membership of an association is an easy expense item that can be eliminated. But it is still possible to keep your child playing sports, because there are aid organizations you can turn to.
Shame
In addition to asking for help at school or at the association where your child would like to become a member, parents can also submit a request for help to the Youth Fund Sport & Culture via Kieseenclub.nl. The Youth Fund then links the parents to an intermediary. This is a professional who is involved with the family, such as a teacher or employee of the neighborhood team. He then contacts the parents. “They often know the family and can estimate why they can no longer pay the contribution,” says a spokesperson.
At the Youth Fund they notice that this works well: “There is often shame to approach someone.”
The impact of the help is great and extends beyond the child itself. For example, an internal counselor at a primary school tells the Youth Fund: “A while ago I arranged for a student to be able to play football at the football club. Shortly afterwards, his mother called me happy. She was asked to run a canteen shift. Another reason to go out.”
The Youth Fund notices that more people are knocking on the door for help. They see a significant increase in the number of applications. “September is in any case the time of year in which parents register their children for associations, so most applications come in. We do not yet have the exact national figures, but we do see an increase compared to 2019,” said a spokesperson.
Stichting Leergeld
If the Youth Fund is not active in a municipality, the parents are referred to local schemes or organizations. In many Brabant municipalities, for example, Stichting Leergeld is active.
Frans Heutinck is coordinator at Stichting Leergeld Veldhoven and the Kempen. They provide many children with school supplies, laptops and bicycles and pay for swimming lessons and membership fees for sports clubs. They also see an increase in applications there: “At the moment we think that we will help ten to fifteen percent more children this year than last year.”
In 2022 they have helped 964 children from 574 families in Veldhoven and the Kempen. It is expected that the number of children will rise to about 1200 to 1300. By way of comparison: in 2020 they helped 891 children in 487 families and in 2021 1190 children in 574 families.
Impact
At Stichting Leergeld Veldhoven en de Kempen, the focus is on customization. “We don’t just look at what children are entitled to, but what a child really needs. If a child needs something extra, even if it is above the amount we can actually spend per child, we just do that.” , says Heutinck.
Adults who are unable to pay the contribution can also contact the Adult Fund for Sport & Culture.
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