"I find it very special to see Talitha's commitment to all the volunteers. She gives them another chance."
Linda Jansen, PwCCategory: Talent Development
Match: PwC and #Awesome
What: Establishing the #Awesome foundation
"I WANT TO BE THERE!"
"We wanted to turn #Awesome into a foundation, but we ran into a number of issues. Didn't know where to start. So when I heard from Esther Schoustra, Samen voor Eindhoven, about the Community Coaches program, I thought 'that's really something for us, I want to be part of that'! Samen voor Eindhoven linked Talitha Koffeman, initiator of # Awesome, to Linda Jansen of PwC. That turned out to be a very good match, for both parties.
Successful initiative
"It started with a clothing swap together with girlfriends. After the exchange, we had 12 garbage bags of clothes left over," Talitha says. "Those clothes we could send along to Poland, but why not in the Netherlands I thought. So I rented a stall at the 'Voel je goed'-market in Doornakkers. You could come and exchange clothes, but also have them repaired. It was a resounding success. More really needed to be done with this, it was obvious." After the market, she found space in the Neighborhood Office, but there the clothes always had to be put away after. Not practical. Through the municipality, she eventually found space in an old school. Besides clothing exchange, there is a repair service and a workshop where broken or worn clothes are restyled. #Awesome is run by volunteers, all of them people with a distance to the labor market who find a meaningful way to spend a day in the clothing atelier. The atelier also provides a cozy place where people can meet.
Playing store
"In the beginning we were just playing store," Talitha explains, "but as a foundation we would have much more reason to exist. And so there had to be a solid revenue model and business plan. Things I don't know anything about. So we were very happy that we were able to participate in the Community Coaches Program, a program where business people give coaching and advice to community organizations for free, and that's how we met Linda. She really helped us get more structured and gave clear advice on the things that needed to be done. For example, it gradually became clear that there needed to be a Board that would deal with the business matters. So that I could continue to focus on the things I am good at".
Starting at the base
"Talitha is indeed really into her passion, the idealistic side. She has little knowledge of finance. There is a lot to be gained in that area," says Linda Jansen, Tax Manager at PwC. "Because she did not have a lot of knowledge of the financial side of things and is also dependent on the time and knowledge of the volunteers, we had to start from scratch. Very instructive for me as well, because a lot of things are cut-and-dried. Now I occasionally had to think carefully about how things worked again."
New insights
"In addition, I found it very special to see how Talitha is committed to all the volunteers," Linda continued. "She gives them another chance. In my daily work, I don't give much thought to the fact that there are people who are less fortunate. The time I spent with Talitha through the Community Coaches Program and at #Awesome made me realize that there is a large group of people who are less fortunate. I think the way Talitha offers opportunities to people at the bottom of the labor market is so special, that I decided to stay involved as Treasurer. This way I can still give advice behind the scenes if she has financial questions."
To be repeated
"Because of the board and because of Linda, I can get back to doing what I love most: keeping the studio running and making sure there are smiles on the faces of the volunteers," Talitha adds. "That's really fantastic! So I think it's really cool that Samen voor Eindhoven builds those bridges and makes it possible for companies and social organizations to take a look at each other and learn from each other. I can recommend it to everyone!"
Thank you Annick! Annick Zegers of AZ Communications created this text as an involved "flex" volunteer with Samen voor Eindhoven.