Never before have so many children been on the waiting list of the National Fund for Children’s Aid for Action Pepernoot, intended to give children from poor families a Sinterklaas gift. The fund says it has been flooded with applications this year.
At noon on Tuesday, 18,684 children were still on the waiting list. “That’s a lot. It is unrealistic to think that we can make them all happy,” said a spokeswoman.
To prevent the waiting list from increasing further, the application system has been closed early. “We’ve never had to do that before.” Jacqueline Kremer of the fund calls it “a sad record for Children’s Aid” that so many children are on the waiting list this time. “Such a long waiting list, and stopping applications early. That has never happened in all these years. We think it’s terrible that families with financial worries are still experiencing stress about Christmas Eve.”
70,000 children
The National Children’s Aid Fund cannot say whether the many applications are because more people are having financial difficulties or because the fund is now well known. This year, at least more than 70,000 children will receive a gift through the fund.
Support action
Action Pepernoot has been held since 2000. Parents cannot register their children themselves; applications are submitted through, for example, a youth care provider, school, administrator or social worker. The parents or guardians of the children who participate will receive a gift voucher of 25 euros to help them find something out. Employees hope that people “with a bag of money” will still consider it and support the campaign via kinderhulp.nl. “Every euro makes a difference.”