Bol.com launches new community ‘bol.com scholars’ to contribute to equal opportunities for children

Dolfje Weerwolfje reading quiz for better language development first initiative bol.com’s ‘Bollebozen

To contribute to the creation of equal opportunities for children in the Netherlands and Belgium, bol.com launches the ‘bol.com bollebozen’. This new community of bol.com employees, partners and social organizations is committed to combat language deficiency and the lack of digital skills in children; factors that lead to social inequality. The first initiative of the bol.com fellows is the Grote Dolfje Weerwolfje Leesquiz, which was developed with publishers Zwijsen and Leopold. This educational game is intended to stimulate children’s reading pleasure and thus positively influence their language development. All elementary school in the Netherlands and Flanders can apply for the game free of charge starting today.

Jori Ebskamp, lead CSR & sustainability at bol.com: “Bol.com is the store of all of us and is at the heart of society. We would like to make a positive contribution to that. Unfortunately, not everyone in the Netherlands and Belgium has equal opportunities to develop themselves, for example due to a language deficiency or a lack of digital skills. Low-literate children are three times more likely not to develop the digital skills necessary to participate in society. With the bol.com bollebozen we invest in the employees and entrepreneurs of the future. We do this by stimulating the enjoyment of reading at an early age, thereby combating language deficiencies. And by bringing children into contact with new technology and improving their digital skills. As a result, children perform better at school and have a better chance of getting their dream job in the future.”

Bol.com bulldozers
Books and technology have been at the heart of bol.com since its inception. “In recent years we have used our knowledge and experience in this area to set up and support social initiatives. We were only looking for a way to bring these social activities together. With the bol.com bollebozen we have now created that,” says Ebskamp. Throughout the year, bol.com employees can get involved in projects of the bol.com bollebozen, which contribute to the development of the employees and entrepreneurs of the future. The bol.com bollebozen also support social organizations such as the VoorleesExpress with knowledge, articles and services.

Dolfje Weerwolfje Read Quiz
The Dolfje Weerwolfje reading quiz is the first initiative of the bol.com team. This educational card game was developed in collaboration with publishers Zwijsen and Leopold. Children aged seven and up can play the game in groups of two to eight. In addition to questions about the world of the seven-year-old boy Dolfje Weerwolfje, the cards also contain questions aimed at increasing reading skills, such as: Which word doesn’t belong to: creepy, diary, funny or sad? And there are “challenge questions” that almost anyone can complete, such as: Draw a full moon with your eyes closed. Starting today, all elementary school in the Netherlands and Flanders can order four free Dolfje Weerwolfje reading quizzes. Especially during corona, reading promotion for children is much needed because some children have a language delay due to home education. On April 15 the launch of the reading quiz will take place at the elementary school.