Usually, the blog’s final post is about sharing what happened during this year (and what a year it was!). Check out below how 2020 was for Delft MaMa.
BY MEREDITH MULL AGGARWAL
First Quarter
We began 2020 hard at work, streamlining and updating our administrative and HR processes, collaborating on a new design for our website, partnering with experts and leaders to produce workshops, and building our team.
All was “as usual” for the first quarter of the year, and we were meeting together in the city for weekly playgroups, monthly nights out, periodic topical workshops, and English classes for refugees. We gained a new blog coordinator (Bárbara Baptista) and communications coordinator (Paula Valdivieso). Amidst some team transitions, we took the chance to reflect on Delft MaMa’s community outreach and to continue building partnerships to provide community education as well as working on the new web design.
We participated in the International Women’s Day programming by Stichting 8 Maart just as the world was awakening to the pandemic of COVID-19. We were in progress on a few new collaborative workshops, but the attention of the whole world turned quickly to the rapidly spreading coronavirus, and all further activity for the month was put on hold. The Delft MaMa leadership decided to host our upcoming General Meeting virtually, and at the meeting we discussed several ways to stay connected to the community online, which became our focus.
First quarter 2020 events:
- High Tea 11 January
- More Me Time workshop 22 January with Johanne Bade of Happy Mamas Den Haag
- Review Your CV workshop 19 February with Elena Mellara of Melly Consulting
- Passion Test workshop with coach Marinma Dorado
- Three Nights Out
- General Meeting
Second QUARTER
Within one month of that General Meeting, we had hosted six virtual events – three through community partners and one of our own Nights Out – as well as shifted the English classes for refugees to an online format by Zsofia Patel of English Corner. In addition, we launched our new website, thanks to UX Designer Karolina Thakker!
Second Quarter 2020 events:
- Weekly Online Storytimes with Roya Caviglia of English Voice
- Montessori at Home workshop with Joanne Kaya of Montessori @ Consultancy
- Raising Multilingual Children and Raising Children Abroad with Ute Limacher-Riebold of Ute’s International Lounge
- How to Prepare for a Job Interview workshop with Elena Mellara of Melly Consulting
- Opportunity to Learn and Share: Dutch Politics with Delft City Councillor Catherine Bij de Vaate
- Family Yoga with Meredith Aggarwal (that’s me) of MERRYOGA
- Baby Sign Language with Roya Caviglia of English Voice
- Hypnobirthing workshop with Nina Bogerd of Birth Your Way
- three Nights Out
- General Meeting
Third QUARTER
We carried on through the spring hosting eight online events in May, 10 in June, and another seven in July. Although things slowed down a bit in the summer, we continued offering moments for connection through recurring events like online storytime, family yoga in the park and career support workshops, and of course our quarterly General Meeting.
Third Quarter 2020 events:
- A few more Online Storytimes before Zomervakantie
- Weekly Family Yoga in the Park with Meredith Aggarwal (again, me) of MERRYOGA
- Increase Your LinkedIn Visibility and Common Mistakes on Your CV with Elena Mellara of Melly Consulting
- two Nights Out
- General Meeting
Fourth QUARTER
In October, we found an opportunity to share more about who we are as people who create the organization Delft MaMa. This celebration of who we are and what we do has continued in the autumn through three online campaigns: Delft MaMa Recommends, which is still forthcoming and highlights the work of many community partners; as well as one campaign for Children’s Day and one celebrating International Volunteers Day. Both of the latter campaigns also tie in several of our partners and collaborators and also offer amazing perks for our community and volunteers.
Fourth Quarter 2020 events:
- Help Your Baby Sleep webinar with Maria Rudnev
- Hosted a “Room” at two Volunteer the Hague Mix & Match events in October and December
- Children’s Day campaign (including access to deals with our community partners)
- Family Holiday Craft activity with Collectionaise by Yoko Gomi
- International Volunteers Day campaign (including benefit packages for committed volunteers)
Looking Ahead: 2021 for DELFT MAMA
Most importantly, as we look ahead, we want to continue collaborating with local businesses, professionals and like-minded organizations to bring education to the Delft MaMa community. Reach out to partners@delftmama.nl if you see an opportunity to offer your expertise, talents, services, etc. to the Delft MaMa community.Through our SLiDe Program and our private Facebook Group, we want to continue supporting new (and old) internationals in Delft. Reach out to slidepilot@gmail.com if you see yourself as either mentor or mentee for our soft landing program.
We intend to work on another main objective, which includes growing our team and have already begun by building out the leadership team – administrative and board positions are open now that we hope will bring more stability and sustainability to the operation of Delft MaMa. We also have some roles open in our communications team. Please reach out to hr@delftmama.nl with your contribution ideas and see current vacancies at delftmama.nl/collaborate.
Current Openings ON dELFT MAMA:
Board of Directors
Vice-Chairperson
Chairperson Support Executive
Communications Coordinator
Blog Coordinator
Social Media Coordinator
Blog Proofreader
Webmaster
Blog writer
Playgroup Coordinator
Getting in contact with Delft MAmA
Delft MaMa is always available to our community via several different communication channels, and there are lots of them: our webpage, Facebook page and group, newsletter, blog, Instagram, and LinkedIn. We intend to continue to document and inform the Delft MaMa community through these channels, all of which are maintained by dedicated volunteers so Delft MaMa can maintain as much transparency and accessibility for everyone. You can find the yearly communications report here. Any ideas and/or suggestions regarding communications are always welcome. Our goal is to integrate and be present for the international community in Delft surroundings.
For any questions about communications, please contact us via e-mail.
Delft MaMA Community on 2021
Regarding our usual events, we are still uncertain when offline gatherings will resume, but committed to providing meaningful opportunities for connection. If you are an imaginative event coordinator interested in re-envisioning events and fundraisers to an online format to engage our community – our annual events like High Tea, Charity Walk, Picnic, and Festive Parties – I would love to hear from you at chairwoman@delftmama.nl.
On average, each month, Delft MaMa leadership is in conversation with around 35 community contacts. Those are partners, community members, volunteers, and local leaders in South Holland. This is without factoring the reach of our communications platforms nor the activity in our private Facebook Group, which all buzz throughout the year and contain the discussions and community foundation for approximately 2,500 internationals that are “in Delft MaMa” (as is the phrase I often hear when people tell me about their contact with our organization and community.
It is truly wonderful to see and hear and experience the ways that this community works together to support the growth and encouragement of one another, enriching all our lives. We hope to continue to carry that vision on in 2021.
