During the ceremony, Anca Grama, the director of DASO, welcomed the attendees, followed by a speech from Mayor Florin Birta, who emphasized that the maturity of a community is not measured by the absence of need but by the presence of people willing to help those in need.
Upon receiving the award, Ria Beukenkamp highlighted that this recognition belongs to the entire volunteer community of the SOEB Foundation in Boskoop, including her husband, Piet, who was also present at the gala. In her speech, she emphasized that volunteers are the gold of society!
Cornelia Johanna Beukenkamp-van Straten, or as we all know her, "Ria," has been supporting the work of Caritas Catolica for over a quarter of a century, both as an individual volunteer and as the leader of a Dutch volunteer group. Last year alone, she dedicated 1040 hours of volunteer work, serving the needy and the sick in the Oradea Diocese.
Under the aegis of the SOEB Foundation in Boskoop, which she leads, she continuously collects bandages and medical equipment to support home care services. As an experienced professional trainer, she also organizes free training courses for Caritas nurses on the use of the latest bandages, medicines, and techniques used in Western countries.
Additionally, she gathers second-hand clothes, furniture, household items, and financial donations to support Caritas' social programs. Every two months, she organizes and sends humanitarian aid to Oradea. Her efforts were even more remarkable in 2024, when stricter border controls caused some foreign supporters to withdraw, but Ria and her colleagues showed remarkable flexibility, adapting to the almost unrealistic demands of the authorities and ensuring that the organization’s social programs continued.
Mrs. Ria does not only support our organization from afar; she regularly visits patients, the elderly, and disadvantaged families under Caritas’ care—speaking to them directly, assessing their needs, and offering help wherever possible, without any compensation. Thanks to her personal involvement, we manage to provide firewood and food packages for 100 people in need every winter and distribute 1000 portions of hot food on the streets. Thanks to her coordination, hundreds of children in Romania receive knitted clothes made by grandmothers from a knitting club in the Netherlands.
For these reasons, we nominated her for the most active volunteer award, and we want to thank this precious soul for her support in our mission to help those in need. We also extend our gratitude to the DASO leadership for organizing and recognizing the most dedicated volunteers in the social sector every year.
