Organisation Stories

Several years ago, Anita Muschner founded the NAHst foundation together with colleagues Sweedy and Hanneke. This foundation was founded by and for people with non-congenital brain injury (NAH). As project leader, Anita works closely with the business community to secure work assignments and recruit volunteers needed for the activities the foundation organizes. "These collaborations are a lot of fun," Anita says. "I often get back from volunteers that it gives them a better sense of what is going on in society." NAHst Foundation is there for people with noncongenital brain injury (NAH). Anita explains, "We try to offer people a safe environment. We do this, for example, by organizing NAH cafes. Here people can talk to each other over a snack and a drink and share their daily worries. We also try to obtain work assignments. These are assignments that match the capabilities of people with NAH. They love it: by doing these assignments they have the feeling that they matter and that they are part of society. With the income the foundation generates from the work assignments, it organizes fun activities. "Last year we rented a bus and went to De Orchideeën Hoeve," she says. Some of our guests are in wheelchairs and some are not. It's nice to be able to do something like this because many of our guests don't get out very often anymore." A beautiful collaboration For a while now, the NAHst Foundation has also had a partnership with the SOOZ Foundation. This is a welfare organization dedicated to helping vulnerable local residents in the Amsterdam Oud-Zuid region. "Because of this cooperation, the events we organize more often target both vulnerable neighborhood residents and people with NAH. That somehow works very well, both for our guests and our volunteers. Besides NAH cafes, we also organize weekly dinner tables where vulnerable local residents and people with NAH can go for a healthy meal at a low price." Business Involved Amsterdam Volunteers are indispensable to the NAHst foundation. From the board to help with activities: the entire foundation runs entirely on volunteers. "Often these are people with NAH who can still do quite a bit," says Anita. "In addition, there are volunteers from the business community, who offer themselves through Business Involved to help with activities." Business Involved is a platform that matches businesses with organizations in the area of volunteering. "Through VCA, I have registered NAHst Foundation and lately I have also been approached by large companies through Business Involved. Sometimes very nice collaborations come out of that. Think for example of TMF Group or Liberty Global who offer to help organize parties for people who don't have it so easy. The tasks vary enormously, from serving drinks to preparing food or offering a listening ear." Volunteers from the business community "Liberty Global helped with one of our activities for the first time last summer. I thought at the time that this was a one-time action. But they keep asking me if they can do something, for example also to help with activities we organized in the month of December. I hear back from the business community that they really enjoy volunteering. Three weeks ago TMF Group was with us. There were ten of them, and they were wide-eyed with 'wow, it's great to be able to participate in something like that'. Those collaborations are a lot of fun, so of course I hope for more great collaborations like that. People with good steady jobs sometimes don't really realize what's going on in the social realm. I think that doing volunteer work raises awareness and it makes them see that the activities are really needed for this vulnerable target group." The future When Anita looks to the future, she mainly hopes for one thing. "I hope we can continue to offer the dining tables and the NAH cafes, because for many it's really important to be able to sit and eat together in this way. And that the family caregivers also have their hands free for a while and can do something else. This will also be the biggest challenge next year. Because you have to have the financial resources for this and that is and remains difficult. Long-term relationships with companies help with this, so I hope for continued collaborations with the business community. I also hope that NAH will become more discussable. People with NAH are sometimes a forgotten group; I want to put them on the map. That is still my goal and I will continue with that."

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The Business Involved mission is to put companies that want to make a positive contribution in touch with local groups who need support. Working with the City of Amsterdam and the Volunteer Centre Amsterdam, we support partnerships that make a difference to the well-being of the city. Recently, volunteers from Ernst & Young joined families supported by Moedernetwerk for a day out at the ARTIS Zoo. Despite the rainy weather, it was a great day for all involved. Moedernetwerk (“Mothers’ Network”) is a volunteer organisation based in Amsterdam West. Their primary goal is to ensure that children and young people with disabilities have the chance to develop and take part in society. To achieve this, they support the mothers (and other family members) of such children, providing information, facilitating peer support groups and meetings, and organising activities that help the development of both the disabled children and their siblings. Leila Badaou is the founder and driving force behind the network, has many years’ experience working with young people with special needs, and is passionate about the importance of participation and inclusion for children with disabilities, whether physical or mental. “We are the community” “We don't want these children to get pushed aside or into a corner,” she says. “Why should they go to a special place to play football? We just want to see all children playing football together. Children with autism or Down’s syndrome maybe get sent to a special school – they arrive in a bus; they leave in a bus, and they don’t connect with the community. I always say why, why? We are a part of the community. And that’s why I support the families.” “Building a better working world” EY , previously known as Ernst & Young, is a global consultancy organisation with 13 locations in the Netherlands, including one in Amsterdam. EY is dedicated to building a better working world, and the company has a strong commitment to sustainability, human rights, diversity, equality and inclusion. Nobilé Ligthart is an intern at EY Amsterdam and was tasked with organising volunteering activities. The Volunteer Centre Amsterdam (Vrijwilligers Centrale Amsterdam, VCA) put her in touch with Badaou and Moedernetwerk and, says Ligthart, “we just clicked.” Ligthart herself has experience volunteering, but other colleagues who joined the outing to Artis did not. And it was an eye-opener for them, she says: “They were sending me emails afterwards saying thank you for showing me this. It was so nice; we want to do it again.” Next time, bigger and better There were some issues on the day – heavy rain for one thing, and a lower-than-expected turnout. But the day was still a hit with children and volunteers alike. Ligthart and the new intern, who will be replacing her at EY, are keen to build on the relationship with Moedernetwork and to ensure that future joint activities are as beneficial as possible. “Next time, we would like to do something bigger,” says Ligthart. “I talked to Leila about everything that went well and what could be better, and how we’re going to make it happen – by having a meeting with all the mothers in advance, for example, so we can make it a better and bigger event.” Communication and respect Badaou agrees that it was a great day for the children who took part, with many of the mothers contacting her afterwards to say how much their families had enjoyed it. But it was the first time Moedernetwerk had taken part in a day like this with volunteers from outside the organisation and, she says, there are some lessons to be learned for the next time. “We’re a small network and it’s especially important that if we have an agreement that you’re going to bring 15 volunteers, then that’s what you do. Not having that on the day is a bit stressful.” The key – as in any relationship – is effective communication and mutual respect between the parties involved. “It’s important that volunteers take things seriously. Next time we do something like this, we’ll meet first and plan, so we have solutions if anything unexpected happens.” Fostering relationships Business Involved understands that need for commitment and clear communication and works to ensure that the expectations of both companies and local initiatives are met. Alongside connecting companies with volunteering opportunities, Business Involved provides information and resources on implementing them and fostering meaningful, long-lasting relationships that benefit both the individuals involved and society at large. Visit the Business Involved website to discover how companies can maximise their social involvement, how individuals can volunteer for a cause they believe in, and how social initiatives can showcase their cause and attract support.