Giving the good: giving something to someone else

​ It's overwhelming. A lot came in at our request for toiletries for visitors to Stap Verder. All nine storage boxes are packed with shampoo, shower gel, soap, razor blades, body cream, toothpaste, toothbrushes and floss, washing powder and sanitary towels. That's a very different sight than a few months ago, when the bottom of the boxes came into view and we sometimes had to disappoint visitors. Now they can even choose between one brand of toothpaste and another.

The Protestant congregation, Roman Catholic parish, the Lutheran congregation and the Evangelical Brotherhood were collected for us in recent weeks.  

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It is so encouraging for our visitors! It is not easy for someone who finds it difficult to get by, who can no longer collect the rent or who no longer pay the bills, to ask for help. And in a conversation we often have to disappoint when help is asked to pay rent.  

But then you see the relief on the face when we explain that we can give a reference to the free food packages from the food banks and to the clothing bank. And that we also have toiletries on offer. This saves them more money for the rent. This generosity sometimes surprises some visitors, but when we tell them that many church members and friends of Stap Verder support them in this way, she is moved.  

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And so it moves us, when we open a given bag of toiletries and find a shop receipt worth 25 euros at the bottom. You suddenly realize that those nine boxes represent an amount of several hundred euros. Many generous givers are willing to pay not just to give a bar of soap, but even very tasty bars of soap and good hand creams. And others find in their closet good products that are not used. You can see from the products that come in that they have chosen with care and attention to give something good. Thank you for that!  

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On behalf of our visitors,

Erika Feenstra and Liesbeth Glas