I feel recharged and happy 🙂 - Serve the City Amsterdam

How volunteering with Serve the City creates meaningful connections.

When Gemma moved to the Netherlands just a month ago, she was looking for ways to connect with her new community. Signing up for Serve the City Amsterdam (STC) was an easy decision, especially when she saw a volunteering project that combined two things she loves: massages and helping others.

“I love massages and wellness, so when I saw the wellness volunteering project at Reade Center, I signed up right away,” she shares. This isn’t her first experience with STC—just two weeks ago, she volunteered at a movie night for people with brain injuries in Amstelveen.

But this project at Reade, a specialized rehabilitation center for people recovering from illness, injury, or chronic conditions, gave her something new: a deeper sense of impact.

Throughout the day, she provided hand massages to residents, offering them a moment of relaxation and connection. “Sometimes people here have a really hard time in their lives, and we come here to help them feel more at ease,” she explains. “One resident told me how much they appreciated us volunteers being here. It made them feel relaxed.”

Bringing joy to others comes naturally to Gemma. Back in high school, she used to do stand-up comedy, always looking for ways to make people laugh. While her volunteering now takes a different form, the goal is the same: helping people feel a little better.

For her, volunteering is about giving and personal growth. “I never imagined that I could be giving massages to people because I’m usually the one receiving them,” she admits. “I used to feel so useless, but when I volunteer, it truly makes me feel better about myself.”

Leaving today’s volunteering afternoon at the Reade Center, she felt something she had experienced before after volunteering—recharged and happy. “It was a really nice experience. People should try volunteering at STC to feel more alive and make the world a better place. They should try at least once.”

Her experience is a reminder that small acts of kindness can create meaningful moments—not just for those receiving help, but for the volunteers themselves.

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I feel recharged and happy :)

How volunteering with Serve the City creates meaningful connections.