Renewing our partnership to create more opportunities for children
- ABN AMRO Foundation
ABN AMRO is a firm believer in equal opportunity. This week, ABN AMRO Foundation and Jeugdeducatiefonds are proud to renew their partnership that has yielded so many wonderful results in the six years since it began in 2017. Thousands of kids have had a new experience thanks to our colleagues at ABN AMRO – experiences that are not available at home. The partnership has also helped to improve our understanding of ‘what works’, and brings together all manner of actors to do their bit in the fight against inequity.
From 13 schools to more than 500
ABN AMRO Foundation and Stichting Kinderpostzegels were the first partners of Dutch youth education organisation Jeugdeducatiefonds, its first ‘classmates’. At the time, the organisation was helping 13 Dutch schools. ABN AMRO Foundation and its board immediately saw how important the organisation’s work was, and how useful its approach. The basic premise is that schools and teachers have the necessary expertise to know what children need: a hearing aid, for example, or a desk or bed of their own, but also a school library or a drama teacher to help the kids at school to deal with trauma. The organisation works on trust, without complicated application procedures, and Jeugdeducatiefonds now supports more than 500 schools throughout the country.
Growing through mutual trust
After the organisation’s founder Harrie Postma passed the baton to Hans Spekman, a former politician, trust remained the common theme. It also forms the basis of the partnership with ABN AMRO Foundation. Spekman comments, “Our work will continue until we can help all 1800 schools where more than half the pupils have difficulties at home. We’re passionate, and perhaps sometimes uncompromising. In ABN AMRO, I recognise a sincere desire to do something for these kids, and we’ve both grown during our years together. It’s wonderful to see what a difference the volunteer work of ABN AMRO’s people makes. It helps the children to feel seen, and it adds so much value.”
Research
Jeugdeducatiefonds and ABN AMRO Foundation carry out joint research projects that improve our understanding of inequity every year, to make it possible to target specific issues in the Netherlands. For example, in 2021 the Ministry of Education, Culture and Welfare decided to pay an extra wage allowance to teachers and school administrators at schools where deprivation is high. This indirectly came about as a result of one of the joint research projects. ABN AMRO Foundation’s Director Sander Bestevaar explains, “Besides the activities involving volunteers and kids, I think it’s also important to focus on research to advance the discussion in society. This year, we’ve instructed SEO Amsterdam Economics to repeat their research, on a larger scale. Hopefully the results will lead to plenty more action. We’ll present them in the Olympic Stadium on 13 June, during an event where more than 100 volunteers will be playing sports with 750 kids from Amsterdam.”