Join the Spring-a-Long!
Posted on 18. Jan, 2011 by heather in Culture, News
Giel, Gerard en Coen bedanken namens 3FM iedereen voor de steun aan 3FM Serious Request
I love when the post arrives at my house. There is something about the potential of there being something exciting inside that makes it a bit like Christmas Eve. Okay, fair enough, it is usually just bills and adverts for the local shops but every once in awhile there is a great gem, like the other day when my Serious Request t-shirt arrived.
Serious Request is a yearly project that began in 2004 by the Dutch radio station 3FM, in order to collect money for projects of the Red Cross. Each year, in a different city during the run-up to Christmas, a number of 3FM DJs enter a glass house where they live for six days without food. No, no need to panic and think that they are going without for too long, as they are supplied with special juices throughout their stay that provide the essential nutrients needed.
Het eerste sapje was muffig groen
Throughout the six days, the Dutch public are encouraged to call, text and/or visit with their messages and song requests in exchange for donating money. The Serious Request project has become so popular that other countries have also started their own version, including Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden and Kenya.
In 2010, the Serious Request location was Eindhoven and the DJs to enter the now-famous glass house were Giel Beelen, Gerard Ekdom and Coen Swijnenberg. The goal was to raise money for AIDS orpahns. In past years the Dutch government has always donated a fair amount of money to the project but in 2010 they announced that they would be adhering to their policy of tightening the purse strings and therefore would not be donating money.
However, the Dutch are not a group of people to go out without a fight, especially when it comes to beating a record and between individual donations and donations from businesses, Serious Request raised € 7,135,707 by the time the three DJs were released on December 24th. An amount which just inched past the grand total of €7,113,447 which was raised in 2009, mind you that included a €3 million donation from the government.
Every year, the glass house is well worth tuning into. You can do so online, via the radio, on TV or of course in person. The six days are filled with special guests, hilarious activities and of course some great music. The highlight of 2010′s edition was the song Hello by Martin Solveig. Between the dancing and waving antics of the DJs and the jumping craziness of the visitors, this soon became the most requested song of the six days. You can have a look in this video and feel free to spring-a-long (springen = to jump, in Dutch) too. I promise no one will judge you!
Also have a look at the website. You will find a lot of information in Dutch so it is the perfect place to practise your reading and comprehension skills. The details for each of the juices can also be found here. If there is a word you aren’t sure about, don’t feel shy to ask. Welke van de sapjes vind jij lekker?
Serious Request will be held in the city of Leiden at the end of 2011.
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