By Eva Mabayoje | General Manager
On December 21st a very special project took place in the city of The Hague, The Netherlands. 5 Volunteers were driving around The Hague to pick up elderly people who usually feel very alone around Christmas time. These volunteers plus 10 elderly people, were invited by Present Den Haag for a three course dinner, served by the students of Brasserie Up. These students are a very special group themselves, since they've all been fighting their addiction and are now on they way back. In a years time they are educated and will receive a diploma to cook or serve in the hospitality branche.
Since this group is trained in a lunchroom, cooking and serving a three course dinner is usually not part of their learning experience. Once we heard of this situation, we got our heads together and thought of a way to help several vulnerable groups in The Hague. We really wanted to help the students, but we also wanted to give elderly a special time during the more darker days of the year. Where most people will have their family dinners and cosy times around the Christmas tree, there are a lot of people who feel extra lonely this time of the year.
It was one big succes story! The elderly felt so welcomed, by the nicely decorated, turned into a restaurant-lunchroom. They very much enjoyed a lovely dinner and the nice conversations with our volunteers and group leader. We even had a Christmas Singing Santa joining us in all the fun activities!
The students and their teacher/owner of Brasserie Up felt great after the succesfull evening and are now enjoying a well deserved Christmas break. The elderly were brought home by the volunteers and hopefully were just as pleased by what they had just received!
The students will need to practice once more, before their exams, so this evening will probably be done again soon...
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