Zinzi feels appreciated

She is 17 years old, “almost 18”, she adds enthusiastically, because she sees that as a milestone in her youthful life. Zinzi was looking for volunteer work in connection with her Social Work training. She was looking for something with children or young people, but certainly not with the elderly. She thought that would be boring. Zinzi responded to a call from “Young” at Oosterhoutvoorelkaar. She wanted to do something at the Zorgboerderij or at Poppy's, but that was difficult because of corona. She received the proposal to help with “Samen aan Tafel” in De Doelen. “That was not the target group I was looking for, so I found it quite scary. But I was received so openly by everyone that all my prejudices disappeared like snow in the sun."

When you speak to Zinzi on the phone, you can almost see her glowing when she talks about her volunteer work. “You are so appreciated by the people. They are pleasantly surprised when they see that you come with the food as a young person. And I think the nice thing about the elderly is that they don't have their judgment ready so quickly. This creates fun conversations. I feel so satisfied when I go out and bring a piece of the outside world to those people. To young people I can only say, try it! You have nothing to lose and you will be surprised by the impact it has on you. It won't bring you money, but it will give you experience and a very good feeling.” Zinzi will be busy with her education and internships in the coming years, but Oosterhoutvoorelkaar can always count on her.