ROTTERDAM, 1 February 2026 – Roparun has closed registrations for its 35th edition, and 203 teams are now set to take part, including a record 22 new teams. The finish is returning to Rotterdam’s Coolsingel, where thousands of participants are expected to cross the line in front of large crowds.

_{Image: Roparun. Photo: Marco de Swart.}

Record number of new teams

In total, 203 teams will be at the start this year, including 22 new teams. The organisers describe that as a sign of growing involvement around the event. Across the country, participants, volunteers, sponsors, clubs, neighbourhood committees, hospitality businesses and local entrepreneurs along the route are already preparing fundraising actions and community welcomes.

35 years of fundraising for palliative care

The coming months will also mark 35 years of Roparun, with stories and reflections on what the event has contributed to palliative care for people with cancer. Roparun has spent 35 years supporting palliative care for people with cancer. The foundation supports, among other things, hospices, wish ambulances, wigs, and holidays for people with cancer and their loved ones. It says more than 150 organisations receive support each year. The funds are raised during the annual Roparun in the Pentecost weekend (pinksterweekend), when thousands of participants run, cycle and support teams travelling from France and the Netherlands to Rotterdam.

The finish line returns to the Coolsingel

The finish is returning to the Coolsingel in central Rotterdam. The organisation describes the final stretch as a moment where sport, emotion and connection come together as teams arrive after days of running, cycling and supporting.

Lesly Wolters, director of Roparun, said: “That 22 new teams are taking part this year, and we are reaching 203 teams in total is incredibly special. It shows how many people want to commit to our mission. For months now, you’ve seen actions popping up all over the country, preparations getting underway, and communities organising themselves. That collective effort, from participants to volunteers, and from entrepreneurs to local residents, that is the strength of Roparun.”

Target of five million euros

Wolters also repeated the ambition to raise five million euros this year. “That has to be possible. Our profile across the country has grown enormously in recent years. We’re going for the best Roparun ever!”

The organisation notes that in 2025, Roparun raised more than €4.7 million.

Dates and practical info

The 35th edition of Roparun takes place from 23 to 25 May 2026. More information is available via www.roparun.nl.

How to get there

If you want to watch the finish on the Coolsingel, you’re in the heart of the city centre, with Rotterdam Centraal, Beurs and Stadhuis all within easy reach on foot and by metro or tram. Cycling is often the quickest option on a busy event day, and you can lock up around the centre and walk the final stretch to the crowds.

ROTTERDAM, 19 January 2026 – NLdoet, the Netherlands’ national volunteer weekend, is back on 13 and 14 March 2026, and Rotterdam organisations are looking for extra hands. If you want a one-day way to do something practical in your own neighbourhood, this is the weekend to pick a job, turn up, and get stuck in.

NLdoet is run by the Oranje Fonds and is designed to make it easy to try volunteering without a long commitment. You choose an activity, sign up online, and you’re matched directly with the local organisation hosting it.

NLdoet Rotterdam 2026 calls for volunteers on 13 and 14 March

The Oranje Fund is asking thousands of people nationwide to join NLdoet 2026, with sign-ups handled via the NLdoet site. The same platform lets you browse activities near you and register for a specific time slot.

In Rotterdam, that can mean anything from spring-cleaning community gardens and fixing up sheds to refreshing green spaces and playgrounds, as well as social activities with care and wellbeing organisations such as a walk, a coffee chat, or joining a group activity for a few hours.

How Rotterdam neighbourhoods can find volunteer jobs via nldoet.nl

If you’re new to this, the simplest route is to search by postcode, neighbourhood, or organisation name on nldoet.nl, then pick a job that fits your schedule and energy. After you register, you receive an email with the details, and the follow-up happens directly between you and the organisation.

To go straight to a Rotterdam-filtered map view, you can use this link and zoom around the city to see what’s on within a 5 km radius.

Oranje Fonds message frames NLdoet as a connected Rotterdam

“Life becomes easier when you can turn to someone else. NLdoet gives people the chance to experience just how many different ways you can do something for another person. From experience we know it leads to great encounters, and it often plants the seed to keep doing more for others,” said Sandra Jetten, director of the Oranje Fonds.

Last year’s edition saw more than 60,000 participants nationwide, and the Rotterdam angle is pretty direct: you get a reason to show up somewhere you might normally walk past, meet people who keep a neighbourhood running, and leave knowing you did something visible in a few hours.

When Rotterdam sign-ups for NLdoet 2026 stay open until March

You can register via https://www.nldoet.nl and pick an activity up to the NLdoet weekend itself, as long as places are still available.

If you want the best choice, it’s worth looking early, because the popular Rotterdam jobs (the ones with easy timings and central locations like Rotterdam city centre or Rotterdam Zuid) tend to fill up first once people start planning their March weekends.

ROTTERDAM, 26 January 2026 – A Rotterdam-based family support worker has been nominated for a Hartenhuis Award from children’s charity Het Vergeten Kind (The Forgotten Child). Sharon Plet, an outreach family support professional at Gezin VoorOp, is recognised in a category focused on preventing unnecessary out-of-home placements.

Het Vergeten Kind presents the Hartenhuis Awards each year to people who make an exceptional contribution to vulnerable children in the Netherlands. This year’s encouragement prize spotlights “attentive care professionals” who keep the whole family in view, with the aim of avoiding unnecessary out-of-home placements. The research-based nomination announcement was shared after the findings were presented at WTC Rotterdam, as part of a broader focus on strengthening support around families before crises escalate.

What Sharon Plet is nominated for

Plet works as an ambulant family support worker at Gezin VoorOp, and is a strong advocate of trauma-sensitive in-home support (Trauma Sensitieve thuisbegeleiding) as a way to help families stabilise and stay together when it is safe to do so. The person who nominated her describes her as “an empathetic perseverer with a lot of decisiveness”.

Plet sums up her approach in a single line: “Parents are the captain of their ship.”

Working with parents before things break

Plet argues that support for parents should come earlier, including help to address their own trauma, so the home situation can become healthier. “Children’s behaviour is often a mirror, it comes from somewhere because every behaviour is communication,” she says.

She also describes why she prefers working in the home setting: “I am intensively involved and, because of that, I get to know the child and parents well. That is how I discover how they see the world and understand their behaviour.”

When safety depends on being reachable

Plet says she is reachable at different moments, including evenings and weekends, when things can go wrong at home. “That helps, especially when behaviour stems from trauma. That increases a feeling of safety.”

Part of the work, as she describes it, is helping parents move from analysis back to feeling: “Parents who no longer ‘feel’ are out of connection.” From there, she says, the next step is a clear family plan with practical steps, factors, interventions and desired outcomes, with one goal in mind: “Trust, and that is essential to prevent an out-of-home placement.”

Why the awards focus on out-of-home placements

The Hartenhuis Awards are presented during the Week of Het Vergeten Kind (Week van Het Vergeten Kind), which runs from 29 January to 4 February 2026. During that week, the foundation is drawing attention to out-of-home placements it views as avoidable, including through a petition.

The foundation’s message is that out-of-home placement can be unavoidable in some situations, but that many cases reflect broader family pressures such as poverty, debt, mental health problems, or a high-conflict separation. It argues that families need connected support that looks at the full picture, including environment, and says stronger national direction, including a Minister for Youth and Family (Minister voor Jeugd en Gezin), would help make that support more consistent.

What happens next

Winners are chosen per region (Midden, Zuid and Noord), and the awards ceremony takes place on 2 February at TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht.

For Rotterdam, the nomination puts a spotlight on what many families here will recognise: when support is personal, consistent, and grounded in what parents and children actually need, the pressure can ease before decisions become irreversible.

ROTTERDAM, 12 January 2026 – The Oranje Fonds has opened entries for the Appeltjes van Oranje 2026, this year focused on “Breaking poverty together” (Samen Armoede Doorbreken). If you’re involved in a Rotterdam initiative tackling poverty or debt with long-term impact, you can apply from 12 January to 22 Februar.

The Oranje Fonds says it is looking for organisations that help people build knowledge and skills that reduce or prevent poverty, and that make poverty easier to discuss and better understood.

How can Rotterdam organisations apply for Appeltjes van Oranje 2026?

Applications are open from 12 January to 22 February. The prize is national, so Rotterdam initiatives can apply on the same footing as projects elsewhere in the Netherlands. The theme is “Breaking poverty together” (Samen Armoede Doorbreken), with the Oranje Fonds saying it wants projects that help break poverty and debt in a sustainable way, rather than offering only short-term relief.

What kind of poverty and debt projects does the Oranje Fonds want to reward?

The Oranje Fonds highlights initiatives that strengthen people with practical knowledge and skills, with a clear aim to prevent or reduce poverty. It also points to projects that help make poverty discussable, contribute to a fairer picture of reality, and show what becomes possible when people can find the right support.

The organisation describes social initiatives as a crucial link because they are close to people, often have their trust, and can offer the kind of support that fits what someone actually needs.

Why Appeltjes van Oranje 2026 puts poverty in focus

The Oranje Fonds frames poverty as a persistent national issue that affects health, opportunities, and the ability to take part in society. It cites figures of over 0.5 million people living below the poverty line, with another 1.1 million just above it.

It also says existing poverty policy can be complex or not sufficient, which is one reason it wants to spotlight initiatives that already know how to reach people and keep them moving towards lasting change.

What do Appeltjes van Oranje winners receive, and when are they awarded?

Each year, the Orange Apples awards (Appeltjes van Oranje) go to three social organisations that contribute to a more connected society. Winners receive a bronze statuette made by Princess Beatrix, plus €25,000.

The Oranje Fonds says the winners will be honoured in October, with Queen Máxima presenting the awards.

Where to find the application page for Appeltjes van Oranje 2026

You can read the criteria and apply via: https://oranjefonds.nl/appeltjes

If you’re part of a Rotterdam project that helps people escape poverty or debt for good, this is one of those rare moments where a national stage is actively looking for local work that usually stays under the radar.