“I’m normally at my computer on a Tuesday afternoon. This time, I found myself walking through the Rotterdam market with two older women on my arms,” says Pauline Vroegindewey, a student employee at Quooker, describing her experience during Quooker’s Creating Impact Together Week. “We wandered past the stalls, had some chips or fried fish, and chatted. One of the women I was accompanying hadn’t been to the market in years. She enjoyed it so much.”

What happens during Creating Impact Together Week? Other colleagues helped out at the Knaagspoor animal shelter or repaired bicycles and household appliances for Stichting Beter voor Elkaar. Another group packed birthday boxes for Stichting Jarige Job in a large hall. International HR Manager Jade Bennemeer was one of them. “Parents who can’t afford to celebrate their child’s birthday can request one of these boxes,” she explains. “They contain all sorts of things: cake mix, candles, treats and presents, chosen to suit the child’s age and gender. As I packed the boxes, I thought about my nephew, who turned four that same week, and about the baby I’m carrying. How can we teach her that being able to celebrate your birthday isn’t something everyone can take for granted? It puts things into perspective.”

Why does Quooker organise Creating Impact Together Week? That was exactly the idea behind the first Creating Impact Together Week, organised by Quooker this year: to experience together what it feels like to make a direct impact. Jade says: “Care for people is an important theme in Quooker’s HR vision. We want to care for the people around us and for the wider community. It’s important that colleagues feel and support that vision too. Creating Impact Together Week helps make that happen. In just one week, a lot of important volunteer work was done—not only by Quooker colleagues in the Netherlands, but also in several other countries. We all came back thinking: ‘Wow, this is such a good and important thing to do!’”

Will Creating Impact Together Week happen again? The week gave many colleagues food for thought. “After walking around the market, I called my grandparents straight away,” says Pauline. “I realised how easy it can be to make someone happy, simply by giving them your attention.” Some colleagues decided to continue volunteering in their own time. “They’re planning to carry on repairing things for Stichting Beter voor Elkaar.”

Jade and Pauline say there will definitely be another Creating Impact Together Week. “It takes a lot of organising and, of course, time and money, but at Quooker we think it’s worth it. Hopefully even more colleagues will sign up next year so we can make an even bigger impact together.”

Published on 21-10-2026