Older people are allowed to dream again - and Philips helps make their wishes come true
,,Times are getting better again", says Hans de Jong, president of Philips Netherlands. At the beginning of this week, he called on all employees internally to volunteer.
We hope that other companies will follow our example", says De Jong. Director Esther Hofstede from Samen voor Eindhoven hopes so too: Philips has been a partner we can count on for years, in good times and in bad. We are happy that they are ready to help us again now that more is possible. The applications are flooding in. We are now busy making matches."
Guided tour in Philips Museum
"We exist 130 years, and to celebrate that we are going to fulfil at least 130 wishes", says De Jong. Hopefully there will be a lot more. I will also be participating myself. Two residents of Archipel Landrijt would like to be shown around the Philips Museum. Of course, I would be delighted to do that." Museums are still closed at the moment. But I hope to be able to welcome them to our museum in June or July, in view of the easing of the restrictions by the cabinet. Unless the cabinet presses the pause button again, of course."
Samen voor Eindhoven did its utmost to find new, creative ways to help the elderly in the first and second coronas wave, for example by letting buddies stay in touch via WhatsApp. But like many other organisations, it was hit hard by the consequences of the pandemic. Many older volunteers stayed at home, many forms of voluntary work became temporarily impossible due to the coronas measures. In addition, Samen voor Eindhoven mainly focuses on activating employees of companies. But the crisis temporarily made them less interested in social entrepreneurship.
70 per cent fewer volunteers
Hofstede: "Normally we grow by 30 percent every year. But last year we had 70 percent fewer volunteers than normal." Now that the vaccination campaign is speeding up and many elderly people in care centres have had their shot, she sees opportunities for recovery.
"Loneliness among the elderly has been high in the past year. Vitamin A of attention is more important than ever these days", says Hofstede. That is why we started the Heart Warming Together campaign, with Lenny Kuhr as ambassador. At 28 Archipel, October and Vitalis residential care centres, over 3,500 residents received a bag of biscuits in the shape of a heart and a greeting card on Valentine's Day."
Samen voor Eindhoven has now mapped out all the wishes. Apart from Philips, company volunteers from ASML, DLL and NXP, among others, will fulfil them in the course of this summer, Hofstede expects. What strikes me most about these wishes is that they are very simple. Take a walk together, cook together or get some fish at the market.
