Queen Máxima made the day of a group of clients and volunteers as she visited the Mentoring Foundation Zeeland and the Zeeuws Heldenfonds in Middelburg on Wednesday.
The Queen, along with her husband King Willam-Alexander, serves as patron of the Oranje Fonds, the country’s largest national fund in the social field. The organisation supports social participation and connection projects in The Netherlands and in the Caribbean part of the kingdom.
Queen Máxima learned more about the Mentoring Foundation Zeeland, which “links people who, due to illness or mental illness, are no longer able to make their own decisions, to a mentor.”
Onze beschermvrouwe Koningin Máxima heeft vandaag vrijwilligers en cliënten van Mentorschap Zeeland verrast met een bezoek. Ze hoorde o.a. van cliënten wat dit project voor hen betekent. pic.twitter.com/2i9zSSwY8Q
— Oranje Fonds (@OranjeFonds) February 20, 2019
The organisation recruits and trains mentors, matching them with people who otherwise don’t have a family member to make decisions in terms of healthcare or counseling. Mentees who are in a coma or have conditions such as mental handicaps, dementia, or psychiatric illnesses are then paired with a mentor who can assist them in their important care decisions.
Queen Máxima spoke with directors, promoters and stakeholders during her visit as well as mentors and clients from the foundation. She also heard more about the important work being done by those in the Zeeuws Heldenfonds, or Zeeland Heroes Fund.
This fund was started by Oranje Fonds in 2018 along with the Province of Zeeland and Vereniging Zeeuwse Gemeenten. The Heroes Fund encourages Zeelanders to carry out projects in their village or city, promoting the idea of being active and a good neighbor.
The hope of the fund is “making it possible for everyone to participate in society, regardless of socio-economic status and enable everyone to follow an education and find work.”
