HAN students and employees ‘Together at the dinner table at Christmas’
Tags: Christmas, Not Alone, Education, Samenaantafelmetkerst, Student

Are you studying in Arnhem or Nijmegen and are you alone this Christmas due to circumstances? Employees and students of the RU and HAN offer you, corona proof and with love, a place at their Christmas dinner table.

Written by Raïssa Soeter, translation Herman van Deutekom

“I know what it is like to have the feeling that the whole world is huddled together while you as a student are alone in your room during the holidays,” says Miriam Jager. She is HAN project leader ‘City Deal Kennis Maken’ (roughly translated as: City Deal Get Acquainted) and initiator of ‘Together at the dinner table at Christmas’. “I lost my father when I was eleven and my mother when I was eighteen. As a result, I often spent Christmas on my own in my student room. Being alone at Christmas can happen to anyone, whatever your story is. At such a moment it is nice to get an invitation that you are welcome somewhere.”

Student welfare

City Deal Kennis Maken Arnhem and Nijmegen is a program of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The aim is to accelerate solutions for social issues by involving teachers, researchers and students on a large scale, and to create a rich learning environment for students. Jager: “Unfortunately, many events were canceled recently, but we want to invest in student welfare — especially now. From various organizations such as SSH&, Humanitas, POH-GGZ and the Student Church we hear that there is an enormous increase in students with mental health issues. Students already had a hard time without covid-19 and are now dependent on their own even more.”

Project leader Miriam Jager (right) and HAN student Maaike van der Woude, soon to be “Together at the table at Christmas” (source: M. Jager)

Joining forces

According to Jager, the Christmas campaign exposes a deeper issue and is a great initiative for which knowledge institutions and municipalities are now working together. In Arnhem the universities of HAN, Artez, Van Hall Larenstein and the municipality of Arnhem join forces. In Nijmegen HAN, Radboud University and the Nijmegen municipality are doing the same. Jager: “We hope we’re able to make many matches together so that as few students as possible are alone at the end of December. Naturally, the corona rules are taken into account at all get togethers. ”

Christmas package

While the registrations of (international) students are slowly starting to take off, there are already many employees and students who offer a place at their Christmas table. For example, students will soon be joining rector magnificus of the RU, Han van Krieken at his table. Executive board chairman Rob Verhofstad of HAN University will bring a student a Christmas giftpackage. The first thirty students who register for a place at a drink, Christmas lunch or dinner, can pick up a surprise package worth 50 euros to bring to their host.

Want to participate in ‘Together at the dinner table at Christmas’?

Are you a student at the HAN or RU an would you like to join a Christmas dinner, lunch or drink, or do you have a seat available at the Christmas table? Send an email to samenaantafelmetkerst@gmail.com before December 18 and tell something about yourself and where you live in the Arnhem-Nijmegen region. The organization does the rest: a match for Christmas!