The True Art Of Giving Instagram auction is a collective of artists and creatives who want to help others. Spread the word, the next Instagram auction starts Sunday 24 May at 8 PM. Many special items are offered at the auction for Because We Carry including a By Mölle linen duvet cover in cinnamon. We spoke to Kaatje Nolen about this great initiative. In 2015 she went to the Greek island of Lesbos to help people at the refugee camps. Every week teams of volunteers go to Lesbos to help. In addition to handing out food, tents and dry clothes, the Because we Carry teams also try to bring a smile, respect and some hope. Together with the UNHCR and other aid organizations such as Movement On The Ground and The Giving Food Truck.
Kaatje, how are you involved in Because We Carry?
In October 2015 my friend Steffi went to Lesbos with baby carriers. I immediately wanted to join. At that time I had two small children aged 4 and 2 years old. It was a big step to take, I had never left my children alone before. We went for a week and it was the most beautiful, most intense, most special week ever. I can talk about it for hours. We've given thousands of people a banana, dressed baby's with dry clothes, and distributed diapers. We were busy all day, from 7 am to 11 pm. I am so happy that I took this step and thankful that I can work for Because We Carry foundation. Together with hundreds of volunteers from all over the world, we make small and big differences every day.
How do you offer help?
We make a difference by listening and looking at where the greatest needs are. We do this by collecting items such as baby carriers, backpacks with toys, bags full of basic needs for mother and child. We want to make sure that everyday life in the camps is better and we give them that little bit of hope. We created a community in the smaller camp Kara Tepe, where about 1300 people live. For example, we have built a hairdresser from containers, and a chai where tea can be drunk. There is a kitchen where we prepare breakfast for 1300 people every day. We do sports activities with the men and yoga with the women. In the larger camp Moria we do many distributions with the Movement on the Ground foundation. We now hand out baby carriers and a lot of soap in these times. But also garbage bags so that they can clean up their own waste. We anticipate on the needs. We do this by listening carefully to the people and looking around us. We never stand still and make a constant difference.

Can you tell more about True Art of Giving auction?
True Art Of Giving is a collective of artists, creatives, brands and shops who want to give and help others. Numerous special items are offered for sale for Because we Carry, including the By Mölle cinnamon linen duvet cover. Every donated euro goes directly to its goal. The Instagram auction starts on Sunday 24 May 2020 at 8 PM. Three evenings in a row. The previous edition was a great success; we raised €20,000. More than 250 lovely people have donated their beautiful brands or their own creations. I really hope that we can achieve this or even more together so that we can all help as much as possible. That is fantastic!

More information: @trueartofgiving 
www.becausewecarry.org 

"I believe in the True Art Of Giving. Together we can move mountains.
100% of all donations go to charity." - Kaatje Nolen
Fotografie: Because We Carry, Philip de Pous