ADO Den Haag hosts inspiring ‘social impact’ meeting with the Follow Your Dreams group

ADO Den Haag hosts inspiring ‘social impact’ meeting with the Follow Your Dreams group

At the Cars Jeans Stadium on Tuesday, February 22, the ‘Social Impact’ meeting for Follow Your Dreams took place. With 28 young people, five coaches and three assistant coaches it became a broadly social meeting, where the participants followed a diverse program to finally pitch their own social project.

The group of Follow Your Dreams was received in the Ernst Happel Lounge. After a cup of coffee, the participants received a presentation from Kees Brouwers, who explained the activities and social projects that ADO Den Haag carries out through its foundation ADO Den Haag in de Maatschappij. For many of these disadvantaged young people, ADO Den Haag was a familiar name, but they were not aware of the social function that the soccer club has and how they make an impact on the residents in the region.

Next, the group was split in two for a tour of the Cars Jeans Stadium to get a better idea of the club. Here too, the participants came across areas of the stadium they would not have thought of beforehand. The crowd puller was surely the SkyLounge 4.21 that ADO Den Haag in de Maatschappij shares with Focus and Fun Foundation. Upon returning to the Ernst Happel Lounge, a well-deserved healthy lunch was ready, allowing the young people with their coaches to process all the information and recharge for the second part of the meeting.

After the break it was the participants’ turn. In five groups they went to work on conceiving and developing their own social project. The so called ‘5W model’ was used as a supporting tool to shape the project. After one hour of brainstorming, discussing and fine-tuning, the participants were allowed to pitch their own idea.

The groups were judged on various aspects of the project. The project had to be original, take into account social trends and meet the needs of the target group. A boot camp for young people who fall between two stools because of the corona pandemic, fulfilling the wishes of incurably ill children and providing support for the homeless were examples of good ideas the groups came up with. In the end the last group won, who wanted to bring different target groups and cultures closer together with a ‘Braderie full of connection’. They received a surprise package from ADO Den Haag, but not before all participants were rewarded with two free tickets for an ADO Den Haag match.