Volunteer Work
Volunteer work is defined as:
- Unpaid work
- Generally with not-for-profit or community based organisation’s both in the Netherlands and overseas
- Can also be positions of responsibility within clubs and societies, many of which can be found on campus
- Can be related to either personal or professional interests and goals
Information
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- To make a contribution to society in accordance with your personal values
- Feeling good: You feel better when you help improve life for others and accomplish something. Volunteering can even help you strengthen and protect your mental and physical health.
- Meeting people: A platform for socialising and developing friendships.
- To gain valuable experience and put your skills to work in a field related to your studies
- To develop your employability skills
- To help your resume stand out from the crowd
Employers like to hire 'well-rounded' graduates. This means they look for graduates who have not just performed well academically, but have been engaged in a variety of activities other than their studies.
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- Community development e.g. volunteer work that aims to improve infrastructure and services like sanitation, water, permanent shelter, electricity, reliable roads, and more.
- Community theatres, museums and monuments
- Environment and wildlife e.g. environmental monitoring, re-vegetation, weed removal and several other ecological restoration related processes.
- Libraries or senior help centres
- Clubs and organisations like youth organisations, rotary clubs, sports clubs
- Restoration activities for parks, and other public spaces
- Places of worship
- Organisations that work to assist the expat community or refugee centre’s
- Schools or education e.g. helping children and adults to develop skills, being a classroom helper or school club helper, helping with fundraising efforts, etc.
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The links provided here are not exhaustive but provide a good starting point for any student interested in volunteering.
Local Volunteering Opportunities
- Delft Volunteer Office (in Dutch). Maintains a database to match volunteers with organisations needing volunteers
- Volunteering at the Delft hospital (in Dutch)
- Expatriate Archive Centre: an organisation which archives expat experiences.
- Volunteer in The Hague: Volunteer The Hague matches your talents and skills with the needs of local non-profit organisations.
- Delftse Buur: register to be a buddy for a refugee that has a permit to live in Holland. You should be able to speak Dutch at a level that also allows you help the refugee to learn Dutch.
- WelkomsMaaltijd@Taste! Every first Saturday each month there is a ‘Welkoms Maaltijd’ organized at Taste! Delft.
- Welkom in Delft is a platform where organizations that are active in Delft are helping the refugees publish their activities.
- Stichting Present Delft organises various activities
- ACCESS: volunteering for ACCESS means supporting the international community in the Netherlands and is a rewarding way of using your existing skills and adding to your experience during your stay in the country.
- Stichting Move