I have gotten to know the visitors of this cozy community center well; a group from Philadelphia always comes here on Fridays to do crafts and cook soup.
All stories
This is an abbreviated version of the story that future psychologist Tom Kniesmeijer shared on April 17, 2018, for Volunteer Center Amsterdam.
Visitors from all over the world come to the Van Eesteren Museum in Nieuw West. Linda Ottens-Falkenberg is a volunteer museum guide here. “I welcome them hospitably with coffee and snacks.”
Janine has been leading the Intercultural Women’s Meeting Morning for over twenty years, together with her colleague volunteer Aartje, on Tuesday mornings at the Waterlandplein Community Center.
“At the age of 42, I had a stroke. Instead of being a manager in triple gray on the Zuidas, with a good salary, a new house, and a thick BMW, I spent two years in a rehabilitation clinic.”
In addition to her four-day-a-week job, Annemarie is a volunteer swim coach. She also assists at the athletics club as a judge and first aider, and organizes youth camps for various associations.
Soon I was doing more than just being a coffee lady. I facilitated activities, organized neighborhood meetings, got more involved in community work; there was always something new added.









