From home decoration to singing with the elderly

It brings Aziyme Akgun a lot of joy to give people the opportunity to help others. That’s why she regularly organizes charity events and currently runs the Giveaway Shop at Columbusplein. “Sending something via WhatsApp can already help.”“Twelve years ago, friends invited me to a charity event – an action for a good cause. I enjoyed it so much and found it educational, which inspired me to do the same. It brings so much joy to give people the opportunity to help others. Since that moment, I have been doing a lot of volunteer work. I regularly organize charity events, assist the elderly, and arrange various activities that I see a need for. Such as the Food Bank project and currently the Giveaway Shop (where the photo was taken). This has been running since April 2024 and was made possible by West-Begroot, allowing me to keep it running as a volunteer until the end of this year. Once a month on Sundays, we have a collection day for anyone who wants to give their usable items a second life. We accept anything in good condition, from home decor and kitchenware to toys and clothing. And we are open every Wednesday. Updates can be found on the”social mediaof my foundation Production Lab.”

How do you motivate others to join in as well?

“What I often see is that many people want to help, but they don’t know where to start. What I do is first have a conversation with someone about the target group they want to support and what timeframe suits them. What many people don’t know is that volunteering can also be very invisible. For example, it already helps a lot if a volunteer is willing to share online flyers via WhatsApp. Another thing that I find very important is to create a pleasant, cozy, safe workspace where volunteers can work. If this is not the case, they often leave, and that is of course the opposite of what we want. For me, the satisfaction of the volunteer is just as important, if not more important, than that of people who do paid work.”

Are you interested in volunteering?

Choose something that suits you. Inthe online job boardYou will find 1001 possibilities.Or come by one of our consultations without any obligation.Text: Isabelle Kettner