DONATIONS
100-year-old alumnus collecting money for students On his 100th birthday, Bessel Vrijhof (WUR Horticulture 1947) raised funds for the Anne van den Ban Fund, which enables students from developing countries to study in Wageningen. When Vrijhof finished secondary school at the age of 18, he really wanted to study in Wageningen. But that seemed impossible as his family had very little money – his father was unable to work due to chronic rheumatism. Yet Vrijhof was still able to go to Wageningen in 1938 thanks to help from an unexpected source. ‘My youngest sister got a letter from relatives saying they had found a friend who was willing to give me a scholarship. That was quite e xceptional and I have felt grateful my whole life.’ As soon as Vrijhof heard about the Anne van den Ban Fund, he thought it sounded like a good cause to donate to. ‘I received help once so now I want to help others,’ says Vrijhof, who now enjoys growing
‘I received help so now I want to help others’
red geraniums at his home in Eerbeek. When he turned 95, he asked the guests to his party to donate to the fund, an initiative that raised a couple of thousand euros. When he turned 100 on 24 February 2020, he held another collection. ‘2980 euros came in via WUR and 455 euros at my party. I made up that latter amount to 2020 euros to give a round total of 5000 euros.’ After his degree, which was interrupted by military service and a spell in hiding from the Nazis, Vrijhof had jobs that included deputy director of the Municipal Parks department in The Hague. At that time he got into contact with Wageningen as the chair of a committee studying tree deaths in streets where natural gas was introduced. They finally managed to discover why this was happening and find solutions. Vrijhof wrote an article about this for the WUR centenary; see (in Dutch only): www.wur.nl/100jaarvrijhof. Info: www.annevandenbanfund.eu
FUNDS
Sports grant for student sailor On 26 March 2020, student and sailor Floortje Hoogstede received a grant of 1500 euros from the Niels Smith Fund. This fund supports Wageningen students who want to combine elite sport and a university study. Hoogstede, a third-year BSc student of Nutrition and Health, sailed in the Laser Radial, a one-person boat, before the corona virus crisis. ‘I am very pleased with the award because the financial support will let me continue sailing,’ says Hoogstede. She was actually planning to stop participating in the big sailing events because of the cost: over 500 euros per event. ‘I have to pay nearly everything myself except for the clothes, which I get from my sponsor Magic Marine; I basically emptied my savings account last year.’
46
WAGENINGENWORLD | 2 | 2020
Sailor Floortje Hoogstede with her one-person boat.
Hoogstede will not be going to any major sailing competitions for the time being as they have been cancelled because of the coronavirus. When they restart, she will be sailing in a team as she has outgrown the
youth class with the Laser boats. ‘I am in a new team, where we will be competing in four- and five-person boats.’ Info: www.universityfundwageningen.eu/ nielssmith
