In the Netherlands, hundreds of thousands of children and young people grow up in families with financial worries. These children cannot participate in football, street dance, judo, swimming lessons, or music lessons. The Youth Fund Sports and Culture South Holland supports these children by paying their tuition or membership fees. Today, the Youth Fund received a budget subsidy of €100,000 and 500 footballs from the Province of South Holland to distribute among food banks in South Holland.
Part of Society
Sports and culture are extremely important in the life of a growing child. “Being able to participate lays a foundation for who you become in later life,” says Martijn Blok, board member of the Youth Fund Sports & Culture South Holland. “Children learn to cooperate and persevere, gain self-confidence, and feel part of society. We are happy to help with that.” For the Province of South Holland, the Youth Fund is an important partner.
“Thanks to the Youth Fund, many more children can play sports and participate in music and theater lessons,” says Anne Koning, Deputy for Recreation, Tourism, and Sports. “Especially for children living below the poverty line, this is not only very enjoyable but also extremely important. We are very pleased to call the Youth Fund our partner.” The Youth Fund Sports and Culture South Holland provides the province with important input for sports policy and has received financial support for several years. For 2025/2026, the Youth Fund will receive a budget subsidy of €100,000.
500 Footballs
The Youth Fund tries to make it as easy as possible to use all the opportunities it offers. Through the website kieseenclub.nl, parents can easily apply for their children. But you have to know about the existence of the Youth Fund first. Martijn: “Parents do not always find us easily. Or they know us but are too ashamed to apply. To increase our visibility and lower the threshold, we regularly visit several large food banks to distribute flyers and explain what we do.” To give the children a little extra on this Sinterklaas Day and to draw attention to the Youth Fund, the Province of South Holland has gifted the Youth Fund 500 footballs to distribute at food banks.
Ode to the Supporters
Besides all the promotional activities the Youth Fund undertakes, they mainly rely on their ‘supporters’: the connecting link between families and the Youth Fund. Supporters are, for example, teachers, youth care workers, debt counselors, or social workers. Anne: “For these heroes, we have an extra gift: a beautiful Ode to the Supporters, written by our own provincial poet. And as she writes in the first stanza, we all must dare to see that when there is a lot going on in a family, the children usually do not.”
