At HS, we're lucky enough to each have access to 20 paid hours of community volunteering per year. A few members of the team have taken advantage of some of those hours this week. Some have volunteered with Serve The City, Amsterdam, which brings volunteers together to collect unwanted food, cook meals, and serve them to members of the community who don't otherwise have access to healthy, home-cooked food. Others volunteered with the Voedselbank, Amsterdam, which involved them packing up hundreds of food crates for the poorest members of Amsterdam society.

Here, our Ops Director, Katinka, shares her experience at the Voedselbank last week:

I turned up to volunteer at Amsterdam foodbank on Tuesday morning not knowing what to expect at all. I was already tardy when I arrived exactly on time, since the other regular volunteers were all in place, ready to go. I was given a brief intro and instructions on what to do, and then the conveyor belt started and we all kicked into action.

The process of packing the food parcels was impressively slick, and everyone is there to get the work done. This warehouse covers the entire Noord Holland area so there are a lot of parcels to be prepared and no time to waste! Luckily, the super-efficient team were also really lovely, and took the time to give me a tour at the end and have a cup of coffee together.

It’s clear to see why all the other volunteers there are regulars, and I myself will definitely be back.