Bursting with energy at Pro Bono communications day: Brigitte's story

That you can make such a large contribution to a social organization with one day of volunteering your expertise, she had not thought beforehand. Brigitte Rooijakkers, marketeer of the Eindhoven Library, attends almost every edition of the Pro Bono communication day of Samen voor Eindhoven and leaves the day brimming with energy.

The world of voluntary work is no stranger to Brigitte. From the age of twelve she presented radio programs for years at the local nursing radio station in Eindhoven, after her student days she joined Stadsradio Helmond, she participated in many editions with NLdoet and was active for De Brabantsedag. That she could also use her own expertise - communication and marketing - to make others happy was new to her. Through her network she heard about the Pro Bono communication day: one day a year when specialists in the field of communication and marketing volunteer their skills for a social organization.

A fun challenge

Already four editions she has participated. And not just Brigitte: dozens of professionals attend every year. "A mix of specialists - think strategists, designers, online marketers and copywriters - are divided into teams and linked to an organization. Two people per team are the volunteer leaders and they do the preparation, such as carefully mapping out the organization's needs. On the day itself we meet each other. A nice challenge, because you don't know each other, but you have to come to business together. Fortunately, that always goes very well."
In daily life, Brigitte can be found at the library in Eindhoven, where she works as a marketer. "I work behind the scenes at the library itself. When I open the elevator door a few floors down, I just see the target group I'm working for, I really like that. That's also what I like about the Pro Bono Communication Day: it's close to home, because the organizations come from the Eindhoven region." For De Liefdesdokter, Stichting Severinus and clothing swap studio #Awesome, Brigitte committed the first three times.

Putting expertise to work for an organization that can use it well

On the communications day, teams start in the morning with an introduction to the community organization. "We can then field all our questions and then get to work afterward," he said. At the end of the afternoon, the work is presented and delivered. "The idea is that by then there really will be something concrete: a strategic plan that the organization can get to work on in no time, or a website that is completely in order, or flyers and posters that only need to be printed, for example." Brigitte likes the thought of doing something so concrete in one day. "It's really nice to use my expertise for an organization that doesn't have the capacity."

Doing good makes you happy

In the last edition, she was linked to Together for Eindhoven itself. "We spent that day working on how to attract more companies. Extra nice is also that together with Natasja van Eijsden, with whom I was volunteer leader before, I now work for Samen voor Eindhoven for several hours a week in addition to volunteering. My network is really growing. And that on a high-energy, sunny day in which you convert everything you can easily get out of your 'backpack' into something concrete together with other specialists. I get a lot of satisfaction from my daily work, but on a day like this you do it for a world you know less well. You see that it is not always easy everywhere and the enthusiasm of people who dedicate themselves to foundations is also so beautiful. That I can contribute to the preservation of such a foundation through such a day is really cool to me, it is actually a small effort. Doing good makes you happy is the motto of Together for Eindhoven and that is how I experience it myself every time I participate."

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