Tomorrow thrift shop Boelhuys in Den Helder will open the doors of the new accommodation. Within the same business premises at the Drs. F. Bijlweg the store has been given a new, larger space. With the money that is earned there, people in the city who are in difficulties can be helped in all kinds of ways.
“At the moment we still have eight or nine severely neglected houses on the list that we need to get started with. If I add up all the applications, I even arrive at 35 projects,” says general coordinator Herman Dubbeldam of Stichting Present. “We help people and with our volunteers we can save just 6,000 man-hours for Den Helder.”
Dubbeldam also runs the Kringloopwinkel which, in addition to other income, is the financial engine of all projects that Stichting Present in Den Helder can carry out. “We have a hard core of 25 to 30 volunteers who go out to clean homes, help with moving, and refurbish gardens. We see a lot of poverty in the city and people with psychological problems. With that we score relatively well in Den Helder. high compared to the rest of the province.”
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The foundation works on projects together with other organizations such as the GGZ or elderly care. “You notice that sometimes there is no money to do things in or around the house. That sometimes causes shame and that in turn leads to isolation. For example: children’s rooms cannot be adapted when the children get older. They do not dare to friends. We recently renovated a girl’s room. She screamed with joy when it was finished,” says Dubbeldam.
But it’s not always just about money problems. “We also do other social projects. We once took a walk with young people, together with their parents, with the elderly from the care home. A gentleman was then crying and told that he, an old bulb farmer, was in the house in September. had ended up and hadn’t been outside for seven months.”
“People are in the world to help each other.”
Dubbeldam does not do the job alone. Together with his colleague Anneke Bais and all the volunteers, they keep the business going. New volunteers are very welcome. “For Stichting Present we are looking for groups, families, associations or companies that say come on, we are committed to someone else one day a year. If we then have 50 such teams, we will come a long way. “
The past few years have not made work any easier. Due to corona, care questions have become more complex, Dubbeldam notes: “I also don’t think everyone in the city realizes what problems there are around poverty. People are in the world to help each other. We are very individualized and busy with ourselves. seeing each other should return to normal.”
The renovated Boelhuys will be festively opened tomorrow at 11 a.m. Everyone is welcome.
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