November 2014 saw the launch of SXM DOET, the Sint Maarten edition of the largest volunteer campaign in the Dutch Kingdom, with previously having over 400.000 volunteers participating and over 8.500 projects being achieved. Locally, SXM DOET will be executed under the supervision of the Be The Change Foundation in cooperation with Samenwerkende Fondsen Sint Maarten and the Oranje Fonds in the Netherlands.
On Friday March 20th and Saturday March 21st, volunteers, local businesses, corporations, government officials, and local celebrities will all have the opportunity to contribute to society in any way they can. These two days are especially dedicated to helping NGOs, schools, health organizations and other community organizations to finish odd jobs or start up projects that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to get done on their own. The Oranje Fonds has provided the opportunity to support each project financially, up to a maximum of $650,- that is designated to successfully accomplishing your project within the given timeframe of those two days.
January 2015, an official kick-off party was hosted by the SXM DOET Team to further inform the local NGO’s/community organizations of the opportunities SXM DOET has to offer.
This past weekend marked the project registration and funding request deadline and SXM DOET is proud to announce that over 40 projects have been registered on the WWW.SXMDOET.COM website and already over 550 volunteers have already signed up to help with these projects. The types of projects that are available for volunteering for are: beautifications of schools, activity and community centers, playgrounds and the library, beach clean-ups, tree planting and gardening, fun days out with special needs groups and provision of entertainment and games, make-overs and obstacle courses, fixing of sporting facilities, building greenhouses and doghouses, and helping out with food drives and health fair activities.
The opportunities are therefore endless, and anyone can volunteer. The projects are open for volunteers registering until March 14th, and registration can be done via the WWW.SXMDOET.COM website. Many, many more volunteers are needed and you can volunteer as a private person, a company, a group of friends or family, a sports club, a church group, or any other form of collaborative effort. Some projects have already been fully sign up on by local companies and therefore closed to other volunteers, so making haste would be recommended if indeed you would like to volunteer with a larger group of persons.
SXM DOET has not only been gaining much support from the business community but also from local celebrities. Collaborative efforts with socially inclined businesses are well under way and the SXM DOET Team is also proud to announce that public figures and local celebrities are on board to support the endeavor as well.