This is the founder of the very first Volunteer Center

The very first Volunteer Center in the Netherlands was established in 1972 in Amsterdam by Jette de Rooij. This lady is now almost 85 years old; small in stature but still great in character. With warm, expressive eyes, and hands that passionately and decisively support her fluent sentences. She still has many vivid memories. Together, we delve fifty years back in time.Once upon a time, there was an agency in Amsterdam specializing in room and au pair mediation, the MAI (Social Advice Information Bureau). Located at a remarkable and somewhat loaded address: Zeedijk 1 – in a wooden house, the oldest house in Amsterdam. In 1969, Jette de Rooij started as the director of MAI. “I soon noticed that we were seen as an ‘old fashioned’ institution. I wanted to improve that by doing different things.”

On a winter evening in 1972

“I was inspired by an idea: people who came to us sometimes talked about their search for volunteer work; that they would sometimes walk into an organization purely for orientation, but they were immediately so claimed that they almost dared not say ‘no’ anymore.
Then I realized: an intermediary would actually be ideal. Perhaps we could set up something like that? With the goal of creating an overview of all volunteer opportunities in Amsterdam, so that people could choose what made them happy and get in touch with this organization. This way, people could gain experience in a different profession, get to know various aspects of Amsterdam society, make friends, while realizing their ideals. That’s how it came about that on a winter evening in 1972, I came up with the name ‘Volunteer Center’.”Jette de Rooij in 1972[/caption]

A bulletin by mail

“The people I worked with were enthusiastic about the idea. We didn’t have extra money, but decided to do it ‘on the side’. Foundations and social organizations asked us to find volunteers; they provided a clear job description and preferences for volunteers (talents, available time, neighborhood, etc.). We collected all volunteer tasks in card indexes. One with ‘exclusive tasks’ and one with all other tasks. And a gray book with all the people who wanted to do volunteer work: this person can do this very well, that person can do that very well. It wouldn’t work like that now, but back then it worked like a charm. Every two months, we sent out a bulletin by mail with the latest volunteer tasks and tasks that still had no one assigned. But we also called people or wrote a note when something came up that would be perfect for them or that they had asked for.”

From organizing a shuffleboard club to making party hats

“The responses were overwhelming. ‘A temporary employment agency for volunteers,’ wrote Parool. In six months, we had more than 100 volunteer tasks and over 300 responses. Mainly young people, sometimes older individuals. Examples of volunteer tasks included: art teacher, supervising summer camps, giving sports lessons at community centers, administrative tasks, organizing a neighborhood party, giving a speech, making 1000 party hats, helping in the school garden, or organizing a shuffleboard cup.”

Do you do volunteer work for yourself?

“The image of volunteering back then was rather poor. There was a strong belief that you could only do it if you were a pure idealist, a true world improver. I emphasized much more: volunteering is also for yourself. You are allowed to have ulterior motives, desires, or doubts. You choose, you decide, but a deal is a deal. That was quite innovative and somewhat radical at the time. Wasn’t that going too far? But ultimately, it only improved the perception of volunteering. Because of course, you also benefit from it yourself.”(text continues below the photo)

Challenges

“One thing you can be sure of when starting something new: it will get complicated at times. Questions arose. Were you insured during volunteer work? Did you have to pay for travel expenses yourself? Was training not necessary beforehand? Did the unemployed retain their benefits? We did not shy away from a challenge, together we reinvented the wheel. And soon volunteer centers were also set up in other parts of the country. There was even talk on television of a ‘workshop’ – a national point to bring volunteers and those in need together. That idea quickly disappeared, but the volunteer centers have remained to this day. Back then, of course, I could never have imagined that this concept and this name would still be used fifty years later throughout the entire country.”

Madam, how nice to see you!

“After about seven successful years – we soon also received a subsidy from the Municipality of Amsterdam for the Volunteer Center – I started working in Urban Renewal and doing other things. However, I have always continued to follow the Volunteer Center, from the moment the internet emerged. I look back with great pleasure on that time, and it holds a very dear place in my heart. And not just for me, once I was in a botanical garden when a lady approached me: ‘Madam, how nice to see you!’ I looked at her unsuspectingly, not recognizing her. ‘Yes,’ she continued enthusiastically, ‘I got this volunteer job from you, twenty-five (!) years ago, and look now, I still do it with great pleasure.’ She then gave me a full tour. Yes, these kinds of wonderful matches, that is truly the strength of a Volunteer Center.”In 1989, the MAI office was dissolved, and Vrijwilligers Centrale Amsterdam continued as an independent foundation. Currently, around 7000 matches are made annually in Amsterdam.Photos: Jackie Mulder
Interview: Volunteer Center Amsterdam