Do you like to help people? Volunteering is a great way to do just that! On Friday, March 15, and Saturday, March 16, people all over the Dutch Kingdom will join forces to do lots of great projects, as part of a huge volunteer event.
Some 400,000 volunteers throughout the Netherlands and the Dutch Caribbean islands will be taking part in almost 11,000 projects – now that’s what you call “taking action”!
Many of these projects are focused on helping kids, but that doesn’t mean it should be left to the adults only! Many of the projects are family-friendly, and it’s a fun way to spend time with mom or dad.
Volunteering isn’t only about helping others… when you volunteer, you can feel proud of an accomplishment. You learn teamwork, make new friends, get to be creative, and can practice some handy skills!
In college, and even in high school, you’ll be expected to volunteer and do other activities, besides school, that benefit the community and help you to develop skills and character. It helps the community, and shows that you are a team player. Many companies also encourage their employees to volunteer, especially in groups – for these same reasons.
There are so many projects to choose from, so you can find something that you like doing, like painting walls and benches, making and decorating recycling bins, planting, or helping animals.
Many schools and other facilities that kids use have signed up to benefit from the DOET project, so you can really benefit from your own hard work in making the classrooms, common areas, playgrounds and basketball courts a nicer place to be!
The Project Management Team had this to say: “The response to SXM DOET has been amazing. Last year with the help of our many collaborating organisations, volunteers and business partners, we completed 108 community-orientated projects within the two SXM DOET days.”
The DOET project was initiated and funded by the Oranje Fonds in the Netherlands, with NLdoet, which started more than 15 years ago and later expanded to Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire, Statia, St. Maarten and Saba.
This year, there are around 124 projects to choose from in St. Maarten, 14 projects in Saba, and 52 in Statia! This will be the first year that Saba is formally participating, although smaller projects were done before, informally. Welcome, Saba, we hope you have as much fun as we have had in St. Maarten and Statia! It will be the fifth anniversary this year in these two places.
Interested in signing up? Ask a grown-up to visit the websites listed below. There, you can read all about the different projects, and you and your parents can see which one you like best.
For St. Maarten: www.sxmdoet.com
For Statia: www.statiadoet.com
For Saba: www.sabadoet.com
