Assistance for People with Low Incomes

Playing sports is important. The Youth Sports Fund helps cover membership fees and/or sports equipment for children and teens from families with limited financial resources. The application for a grant is submitted by a professional you know, such as a teacher, community sports coach, debt counselor, or social neighborhood team staff member. Singing lessons, learning to play an instrument, joining the Scouts, ballet lessons, or dance classes—sooner or later, every child asks for one of these things. Thanks to the Youth Culture Fund, these opportunities become more accessible. The application for a grant is submitted by an intermediary. This could be, for example, a teacher, a community sports coach, a debt counselor, or a staff member of a neighborhood social services team. To find an intermediary, visit the Jeugdfonds Sport & Cultuur website.

For many children, a birthday with gifts, guests, and treats at school isn’t a given, is it? For more than 176,000 children in the Netherlands, this is the case. They can’t celebrate their birthdays because there’s too little or even no money for it at home. On the best day of the year, these children don’t receive a gift, there are no streamers or balloons, and they can’t bring treats to school. Out of embarrassment, they sometimes even call in sick.

The Jarige Job Foundation believes that every child deserves a festive birthday. After all, a birthday isn’t just any day; it’s a moment when a child feels special and valued. Celebrating a birthday contributes to a child’s self-confidence, happiness, and development. That is precisely why it’s important that every child, regardless of their home situation, has the opportunity to celebrate his or her birthday.

The Jarige Job Foundation helps children from families who cannot afford to celebrate a birthday by giving them a birthday box worth €35. Visitthe Jarige Job Foundation’s website.

In the Netherlands, 1 in 12 children—and 2 to 3 children per school class—grow up in a family facing financial difficulties. For financial reasons, these children are unable to participate in activities that are perfectly normal for their peers. They are often literally left on the sidelines.

The Leergeld Foundation wants to help these children get involved! They offer them opportunities to participate in both in-school and out-of-school activities. This allows them to grow, gain knowledge, develop skills, and boost their self-esteem.

They help children from families facing financial difficulties in the Netherlands. For example, they provide school supplies, a laptop, a bicycle, swimming lessons, sports, music lessons, or a birthday party package. This allows parents to give their children the best possible start, and every child can participate! Visit the Stichting Leergeld website.

Sports, culture, and hobbies. These are the extras that are the first to be cut back on when money is tight. Still, it’s both enjoyable and good to relax. The Meedoenregeling is available to help cover these extras—for your children, too. Applications can be submitted from January 1 through November 1.

With the Meedoenregeling, you can exercise, do something fun, or sign up for a membership at a lower cost. Sometimes the money is deposited into your bank account; other times, it’s provided as store credit.

For many children, December feels anything but festive. Sinterklaas often drives right past their homes. Not because they haven’t been good. But because there’s no money at home. No money for a gift in their shoe, no chocolate letter, sometimes not even for warm clothes or a decent bed. And so they don’t even put their shoe out. Because it’ll just stay empty anyway…

The magic of St. Nicholas Eve must not be missed—especially not for the children who are already missing out on so much. That’s why the National Children’s Aid Fund has launched the “Pepernoot Campaign.”

Applications on behalf of a child can be submitted through social organizations, including the municipality of Moerdijk. Parents or guardians will receive a€30onlinegift cardto choose a wonderful gift for Sinterklaas. Parents cannot,therefore,submit an application directly to Actie Pepernoot.