Melting Pot Summer Event

Volunteering at the table

Refugees, elderly and people with disabilities cook together for Eindhoven

Companies in Eindhoven are embracing corporate social responsibility. Employees of our partners ASML, Coöperatie DELA, DLL, Holland Casino Eindhoven, NXP, Philips, Signify and Rabobank Eindhoven-Veldhoven dedicate themselves - during working hours - to a good cause in the region. Almost every week we organize together with Hanos the so-called Melting Pot dinner. Over 30 times employees cooked and ate together with young refugees, (lonely) elderly people and people with disabilities.

Today, once-in-a-lifetime, elderly people, refugees and youth with disabilities cooked together for various foundations and companies from Eindhoven. During our largest Melting Pot ever, new collaborations between businesses and non-profit were created - in the kitchen already - entirely voluntarily. Under the guidance of culinary advisor Wim Winkel of Hanos Eindhoven, a three-course menu was prepared. The passion for cooking of one of the participating refugees was so striking that a match was made. This new fellow citizen is going to further develop his talent at Hanos. And DAF sat next to The Sunflower Youth at the table. They agreed to visit the DAF museum together.

Impactful Melting Pot dinner
"Many seniors, refugees, homeless or people with disabilities are lonely. By spending an evening cooking and eating together you really connect with each other. At the table, people share impressive life stories. Often this changes your view on something forever, or touches you in such a way that a partnership arises" explains Esther, our director. We connect businesses and community organizations. "Volunteering is very broad. With a few hours of your (work) time, you can already mean something for another. The Melting Pot dinner is a successful example of this; eating together with people you would normally not easily meet, fraternizes".

The one-time Melting Pot Summer Event took place June 28 at De Oase on grounds Eikenburg in Eindhoven. Thank you Hanos Eindhoven, Rabobank Clubkas Campagne and DELA charity fund for your unforgettable contribution to the Melting Pot Summer Event! Thank you Thomas Abrahams of Beeldbaas for the beautiful pictures (see below)

The Melting Pot dinners will take place weekly again after the summer. Would you also like to join your colleagues in cooking with special foodies? Check our volunteer calendar to see which dates and locations are still available.

Vacancy Volunteer Leader Melting Pot
Have you participated in the Melting Pot or just excited about this special initiative? Would you like to help us start up and supervise this activity once every six weeks? Are you good at coordinating projects? Then we want you. Dolgraag. As a volunteer with a little more, you will be our ambassador, the link between Samen voor Eindhoven and the social organization where the Melting Pot dinner takes place. You will make yourself indispensable. Not only for us but especially for the young refugees, who want nothing more than to feel at home in our city. Will you become our Volunteer Leader? We would love to get in touch with you.