Entrepeneurs from Zoetermeer into action for Salvation Army

Geplaatst op 12 May 2014

Mobile clothing store – Salvation Army

Three entrepreneurs from Zoetermeer decided to join forces to completely refurbish an “old” SRV bus for the Dutch Salvation Army. The bus will serve its second life as a mobile clothing store. Before it could be deployed it had to undergo a complete refurbishment.

The SRV car was completely refurbished by Lamboo and ABS Den Elzen including a repaint to its original white color. Blomsma Group provided the stickers for the SRV bus featuring the distinctive red color and branding logos from the Salvation Army.

Synergy

Gert-Jan Freeke, CEO of the Salvation Army from Den Haag, contacted Joost den Elzen with the question whether the “old” SRV bus could be restored. The bus had to be changed into a mobile clothing store. This would allow the Salvation Army to visit various districts where people could really benefit of this kind of service. The challenge was to make this possible within the constraints of a small budget.

“This challenge required a wide expertise, so it was not possible to tackle alone”; according to Joost den Elzen from the ABS Den Elzen Group. Its why Joost contacted other entrepreneurs in Zoetermeer. It was great to see the enthusiastic response of both Ferry Lamboo of Lamboo Repair and Willem Heijboer of the Blomsma Group in facing this challenge.

All three entrepreneurs together spend close to 200 hours on this project! An excellent example of Corpotate Social Responsibility, despite the difficult economic climate.

Even the materials were sponsored. AKZO Nobel Sikkens supplied the paint and 3M provided the Vinyl that was necessary for the final decorations and finish. Without the generosity of these sponsors the project would not have succeeded!

Educational value

This project also created the opportunity to give trainees a chance to participate. Both Lamboo and Blomsma deployed trainees in the realization of this project. In this way it served a double purpose; not only did it allow the Salvation Army to reach more people but it also created learning opportunities for the employees of the companies involved.