Welfare organization Pluspunt in Zandvoort has a serious shortage of volunteers. They notice this both in the activities they organize and in providing help to people at home. At the Belbus, which is also part of Pluspunt, the shortage of volunteer drivers is even so problematic that a service was recently cancelled.
“We try not to drop anything from the activities we offer and to answer the requests for help we receive from people at home as best as possible. But that does mean that the pressure on the existing volunteers increases,” says Luciana van de Manakker, volunteer coOrdinator at Pluspunt. “The new influx of volunteers is simply too short. And the demand for help is greater than the help we can provide.”
“At one point we really didn’t have anyone to drive and we had to disappoint people”
The shortage of volunteers has also increased enormously with the Belbus, a bus that allows residents of Zandvoort to travel back and forth for a low rate. “Unfortunately, we recently had to cancel a service. We have a very nice permanent team who like to solve it with each other, who run each other’s shifts and exchange with each other so that the Belbus can continue to drive. And at a certain point we really didn’t have anyone who could drive and we had to disappoint people.” And that is the last thing they want at Pluspunt. “It is so important to keep that bus running,” says Van de Manakker.
For Belbus driver Nico Disseldorp, canceling a service is actually unacceptable. He has been driving the bus for years and even changes his private agenda to keep the bus running.
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Nico gets a lot of satisfaction from his work as a Belbus driver – NH Nieuws
Luciana van de Manakker does not have an explanation for the shortage of volunteers. She notices that it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit volunteers and she fears that if nothing is done about the volunteer shortage, it will happen more often in the future that the Belbus cannot drive on certain parts of the day.
“Something has to be done for sure! The work is so much fun and what I hear from volunteers is that they get so much energy out of it. I would like to say to people that if they have ever considered volunteering, come and join us. Then we can see what suits them best. It’s a very nice community here and the volunteers also have a lot of fun with each other.”