‘It is wonderful to see how many people are supporting this campaign. PostNL employees also help us in word and deed. Thank you all very much. Because of all this help, children can always count on a birthday box from Jarige Job so that they can have a proper birthday. That is an incredibly beautiful gesture.’
Director of Stichting Jarige Job Director of Stichting Jarige Job
‘Once, I went to a customer in a nursing home. A parcel was still sitting there after three months. When I rang the doorbell, nobody answered. Fortunately, the neighbours told me that they had seen her recently. There was no more I could do. I can now flag up the situation, which is great.’
On United against loneliness On United against loneliness
"Every time I arrive with the sports and party package, the children at the schools are super enthusiastic."
About the King's Games About the King's Games
More contact in the local area
Many adults feel lonely from time to time. It’s nice to have a place in the local area to feel at home and be noticed. These are the Salvation Army's community centres. Everyone is welcome to come along for a cup of coffee and a chat.
What do we do?
We install letter and parcel machines at the community centres. By doing this, we raise the profile of the community centres among local residents. We donate a contribution to the Salvation Army for every parcel that is collected at the centres. Each donation can go towards a cup of coffee or a cup of soup, for example.
Just drop by
The Salvation Army operates around 130 community centres. In 2022 we installed letter and parcel machines at two community centres, in Sint Maartensdijk and Alkmaar, with more to follow in 2023. A message is written on the machines inviting people to drop by.
A birthday party for every child
In the Netherlands, some children cannot celebrate their birthday because there is not enough money at home to do so. On what should be the best day of the year, these children get no presents, there are no streamers and they cannot take sweets into school. They sometimes even call in sick as they feel ashamed. Stichting Jarige Job helps by giving them a birthday box. The birthday box contains everything they need for a proper birthday, both at home and at school!
What are we doing?
We have used the PostNL delivery network to deliver these parcels since 2016. We also call on people to give a gift to another child each year. We make sure that consumers can send the gift to Stichting Jarige Job free of charge.
Over 80,000 gifts
Together with Stichting Jarige Job, we collected gifts for over 50,000 gift boxes in January and February 2022 alone. More than 80,000 children celebrate their birthday each year with the help of Jarige Job! And every child gets that birthday feeling. This has a big impact on lots of children. It means that children feel seen on their birthday, rather than left out on an important day.
A Christmas card for lonely elderly people
The Christmas season is a particularly difficult period for many elderly people. That is why the National Foundation for the Elderly, in collaboration with PostNL and Kidsweek, has organised De Grote Kerstkaartenactie (The Big Christmas Card Campaign) since 2019. Together, we deliver a friendly Christmas card to as many elderly people as possible.
What are we doing?
Thanks to PostNL's extensive reach, we call on the whole of the Netherlands to send Christmas cards to the National Foundation for the Elderly. We then deliver the cards to elderly people across the Netherlands through PostNL.
230,000 friendly Christmas cards
1,762 schools participated in 2021. Together with the appeal to the whole of the Netherlands, they coloured in, crafted and wrote 230,000 cards and we delivered them. On average, that’s more than 10 cards per deliverer! The recipient can hang up or display the card in their home. The card provides a moment of attention, which makes the elderly person feel a little less alone during the Christmas season. This way, vulnerable groups of elderly people become part of society again.
United against loneliness
More than half of people over 75 say they feel lonely. That is over 700,000 elderly people, and it worries us. And if we do nothing, by 2030 over 1 million elderly people will feel lonely. With the campaign programme Eén tegen eenzaamheid (United against loneliness), the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport aims to break the trend of loneliness among the elderly in the Netherlands by detecting it sooner and making it a topic of conversation.
What are we doing?
In 2020, we launched a new initiative in one municipality to combat loneliness. In 2022, we are expanding this initiative to ten municipalities. In collaboration with these municipalities, we are training deliverers to recognise signs of loneliness on their routes and report suspected to a welfare organisation. A sign of loneliness could be when someone is always alone, hasn't answered the door for a while or the post is piling up.
A visit within 48 hours
Parcel deliverers who are interested in this can receive training to help recognise the signs of loneliness. On a voluntary basis, these deliverers can report signals to local welfare organisations. The welfare organisation then goes to the address within 48 hours to check whether the person is lonely and whether follow-up action is needed. With enough eyes and ears in society, we really can tackle loneliness together.
King's Games
Children are exercising less and less, and some children turn up at school without having eaten a healthy breakfast – or any breakfast at all. It is vital to show children and their parents that eating breakfast together and actively taking time to exercise is essential, but more importantly: fun! And the King's Games really show that – a sporty Orange festival in which an average of 1.2 million children from 6,000 primary schools participate each year. The day consists of sports activities and a healthy King's breakfast together – all the party spirit. Traditionally, the King's Games take place on the last Friday before Koningsdag (King's Day).
What are we doing?
Koninklijke PostNL has been delivering the parcels for the King's Games to all participating schools, both across the Netherlands and at Dutch schools abroad. In doing so, we enable primary school children to have a healthy breakfast and participate in the activities at the King's Games.
A healthy breakfast
This means 1.2 million primary school children start their day with a healthy breakfast! In 2021, we once again delivered over 6,000 parcels to primary schools throughout the Netherlands and abroad. The children start with a healthy breakfast and have all the materials they need for sports day.
Together, we make a difference
Stichting Kinderpostzegels is the charity organisation for children. They help hundreds of thousands of children to feel more confident in life, in both the Netherlands and abroad. Each year, they organise the Children's Welfare Stamps campaign, of which we are a partner. Together, we make a difference.
What do we do?
Since 1924, PostNL has issued Children's Welfare Stamps to raise money for Stichting Kinderpostzegels. There is a surcharge for each stamp. The proceeds from all the surcharges go to the foundation's projects, which are aimed at the welfare of vulnerable children.
125,000 primary school pupils
In 2021, 125,000 primary school pupils took part in the campaign week, which raised €8,526,365. This was €1 million more than in 2020. The money was invested in projects that support children in developing resilience, so that they are better placed to get through major life changes such as the coronavirus pandemic. The 74th edition of the Children's Welfare Stamp Campaign will run from 28 September to 5 October 2022.