Asha works full-time as a Senior Business Partner and mediator for Stichting Boor and has two children aged 21 and 17. The annual calendar of Stichting Everyday People shows that they have one or more events planned every month, ranging from dancing with the elderly to a boot camp for homeless young people.
Years ago, Asha decided to help out with her family during a Christmas dinner for homeless people in a hotel in Rotterdam. There, Asha saw for the first time what life was really like for homeless people: how hungry they were and how they stuffed food into their pockets, how badly they needed a shower and clean clothes, etc. The smell of the people that evening stayed with her. She realized for the first time that she had been living with prejudices. Homeless people were educated people, entrepreneurs, people like you and me. After that evening, she decided she wanted to do more with this. She wanted to help these people and pamper them. Treat people with respect and make them feel important and valued, give them something they themselves would want.
The following year, Asha organized a big Christmas party for the homeless herself! She noticed that helping came quite easily to her. Everyone wanted to help and contribute. Then she decided to launch her own foundation so she could put her own spin on it. The "Asha touch," as she calls it, with great attention to detail and people. Asha registered with the Chamber of Commerce, and then things moved quickly. Asha now has 11 permanent colleagues with whom she organizes and handles everything on a daily basis, and six ambassadors of whom she is very proud. Formally, Asha only sees her team a few times a year. There are no lengthy meetings or project groups; everyone knows their job. There is an app group where they share ideas and coordinate matters, and together they promote the events via social media, respond to requests, make plans, etc. It is a well-oiled machine. All these volunteers work for the foundation with great dedication alongside their full-time jobs. Asha describes her team members as hands-on; they do not believe in limitations. They do not look at what is not possible, but at what is possible. They only see opportunities. Partly because of this, they won the Gouden Bezem (Golden Broom) last year: an award for people who dare to think outside the box and who look at what is possible, rather than what is not possible within the social domain. In addition, there are more than 100 volunteers who are happy to help and lend a hand wherever they can. The great thing is that companies also continue to offer to help with sponsorship.
On Friday morning, I drove to Rotterdam to meet Asha Lachman. Asha founded the Everyday People foundation in 2018. Her foundation helps lonely elderly people, children from vulnerable families, and homeless people by giving them extra attention and recognition.
When I walked in, the cheerful Asha came to greet me. That day, the Everyday People Foundation, together with a number of college students, organized a game morning for the elderly at the Laurens Antonius nursing home in Rotterdam. A play corner had been created in the canteen, where a number of volunteers were already playing games with the elderly. Shuffleboard was apparently the most popular game. I noticed that the volunteers were quite young. I was allowed to play Ganzenbord at the table with Wil (a cheerful, neatly dressed lady who immediately told me that she suffers from dementia) and two volunteers, a student from Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences and a KLM purser. Wil regularly forgot what we were doing, and we were happy to help her while we chatted away in a relaxed manner. Wil had a great sense of humor and enjoyed her chocolate cupcake. The hour of play flew by. Afterwards, not all clients were able to get up from their chairs easily, but they were helped and supported by the patient staff.
I gave Wil a cautious hug and said goodbye. I thanked her, but she no longer remembered what we were doing there and said she enjoyed everything. She smiled at me, gave me another compliment, and then walked quietly to the canteen for lunch.
All this time, Asha was present and talking to the volunteers, the nursing home staff, and the elderly residents. Afterwards, Asha took photos and thanked the young students who had organized this event for a school project. An elderly volunteer from the Laurens Antonius nursing home was talking to the students and caught my attention. I had already seen how he had brought Wil inside like an old friend and joked with her. His name turned out to be Jan van Halderen, and he told me that he had been volunteering there since 2010 (after his retirement). When he started, there were 150 volunteers, but during COVID-19, everyone was forced to stay away. Now he was working with only two other volunteers. The rest had not returned, which made the work very difficult, he said. "As a volunteer, you can't do much when you're on your own." These clients need almost one-on-one attention. They are lonely, don't get many visitors, and quickly forget what they have been through. Even when they do get regular visitors, they only remember it for a short time. I make time for a chat. I talk to them and spend some time with them."
Jan has been volunteering every day for 13 years to help out and said that he has had to learn to keep his distance and not get too attached to the clients. "There is a high chance that they will die soon. You have to protect yourself, otherwise you won't be able to keep this up for long."
The students also said that she had made a big impression on them that morning. They had no idea how lonely people can be. So, mission accomplished twice over: on the one hand, a pleasant morning for the elderly and, on the other, raising awareness of the issue of loneliness among the elderly.
With a lump in my throat and a great deal of admiration, we said goodbye to Jan. A little later, I was sitting with Asha at the Heilige Boontjes, chatting in the hustle and bustle.
Asha works full-time as a Senior Business Partner and mediator for the Boor Foundation and has two children aged 21 and 17. In the Everyday People Foundation's annual calendar, I had seen that they have one or more events planned every month, from dancing with the elderly to a boot camp for homeless young people. I tell Asha that I find it not only admirable but also amazing how much time she devotes to this, but she immediately points out that she doesn't do it alone. Her team is immensely important. She talks about her charity work with great love and pride.
How did it all start? Years ago, Asha decided to help out with her family during a Christmas dinner for homeless people in a hotel in Rotterdam. There, she saw for the first time what life was really like for homeless people: how hungry they were and how they stuffed food into their pockets; how badly they needed a shower and clean clothes, etc. The smell of the people that evening stayed with her. She realized for the first time that she had been living with prejudices. Homeless people were educated people, entrepreneurs, people like you and me. After that evening, she decided she wanted to do more. She wanted to help these people and pamper them. Treating people with respect and making them feel important and valued, giving them something they themselves would want. The following year, Asha organized a big Christmas party for the homeless! She noticed that helping came quite easily to her. Everyone wanted to help and contribute. Then she decided to launch her own foundation so she could put her own spin on it. The "Asha touch," as she calls it, with great attention to detail and people. Asha registered with the Chamber of Commerce, and then things moved quickly. Asha now has 11 permanent colleagues with whom she organizes and handles everything on a daily basis, and six ambassadors of whom she is very proud. Formally, Asha only sees her team a few times a year. There are no lengthy meetings or project groups; everyone knows their job. There is an app group where they share ideas and coordinate matters, and together they promote the events via social media, respond to requests, make plans, etc. It is a well-oiled machine. All these volunteers work for the foundation with great dedication alongside their full-time jobs. Asha describes her team members as hands-on; they do not believe in limitations. They do not look at what is not possible, but at what is possible. They only see opportunities. Partly because of this, they won the Gouden Bezem (Golden Broom) last year: an award for people who dare to think outside the box and who look at what is possible, rather than what is not possible within the social domain. In addition, there are more than 100 volunteers who are happy to help and lend a hand wherever they can. The great thing is that companies also continue to offer to help with sponsorship.
Asha now always spends Christmas with homeless people. Last year, 130 guests were invited, and Asha hopes to welcome even more guests this year in a larger space. Her children all love it and are happy to help when they can. Does Asha still have time for a private life? Asha says she makes time for everything she considers important, but that her private appointments sometimes have to take a back seat to the foundation, which always comes first. The foundation is in her DNA, she says, she can't let go of it, but those who really know her understand that. She thoroughly enjoys what she does and is proud to see how much she and her team have achieved for people in need.
At SUPERP, we believe in encouraging and supporting people who are "superb." We do this with our own employees, but also with people outside our organization who share the same ambition. The iamSUPERP initiative was founded five years ago specifically for this purpose. In recent years, SUPERP has helped the Everyday People Foundation with their events on a number of occasions, but to give it a more structural character, we have now added Asha to our iamSUPERP team. This is in recognition of her special and, above all, admirable mission.
Asha is from Rotterdam, and the Everyday People Foundation is mainly supported by people from Rotterdam. Could new branches ever be set up in other cities? "Who knows. That would be great! But for now, there is a lot to do in Rotterdam. There are many companies from the rest of the country that provide financial or occasional help. All help is always welcome!"
When asked what her dream is, Asha replies that she would like to found a large village one day. A village where people in need receive all the attention and help they need: a home, a good meal, a hot shower, a sauna, clean clothes, etc. Everything needed to help people in need heal. That is her dream! It moves me, and tears well up in my eyes and tighten my throat. Everyone has experienced a moment when they needed help and support. What a beautiful dream! I would like to help Asha make her dream come true.
Would you also like to help the Everyday People Foundation? Then visit their website and help where you can! everydaypeople.nl
