Joey Krop (26) is happy to offer people a helping hand. Since July he has been registered at Buren network Amsterdam and in recent months he has been able to come to the rescue of more than fifteen people. “I am not necessarily taking good care of someone, but of course I can do other things, such as sticking radiator film or hanging curtains.”
Flexible volunteer work
Joey has always been interested in work with a social goal. At work as an application consultant at a care institution, he is a lot behind the computer, so he is happy that he can do something physical in this way. “It’s just great to notice that I make the difference for someone individually.” Thanks to the Neighbor Network, he can choose jobs that he likes, at a time when it fits in his agenda. “I wanted to do volunteer work, but not every Saturday from 9 to 5 in a permanent place,” says De Jonge Amsterdammer. “Now I see new parts of the city every time and I get to know new people.”
Volunteer Joey puts the bowl on the street
Once every two weeks, on Monday, Joey visits Tiny (87) and Cor (89). The couple has been living in their terraced house in Weesp for more than forty years, but lately it has been more difficult to be able to do that completely independently. The garden has since been set up maintenance and someone regularly comes to bring a message. “That does Tom. He always gets bread, so I call him” the baker, “laughs Tiny. Despite the help from different angles, one task remained unfulfilled: the waste bin still had to be put on the street. “It seems something small, but at some point that just doesn’t work anymore.”
Joey sees that these kinds of chores remain more often. “Home care is under enormous pressure. I recently came to a lady who had piled up nine garbage bags in the hallway, because nobody could lift it down.” Why don’t people call ‘just’ at the neighbors? “I sometimes ask myself that. Sometimes contact with the neighbors is less good or they live in a street with many other elderly people, who also have trouble with those chores.”
Cor was able to remember first meeting
Tiny and Cor had a similar experience. An employee of a home care organization referred them to Buren network. They placed a call, Joey responded immediately and in no time he was at the door. Cor can remember the first meeting: “Actually, he only came to put his bowl on the street, but he stepped in smiling and we drank a cup of tea. It was very pleasant.”