Flushed with the heat of the kitchen, Julia Rutkowska has just finished making an exotic chicken stew for homeless people in Amsterdam West.

“It was very enjoyable, to be honest,” she said, as she finished tidying the kitchen. “I’ve done some other volunteering, but it’s the first time for this initiative and it’s definitely worth it just to do something for the community.”

Rutkowska, 40, is one of around 8,000 people who volunteer each year for the organisation Serve the City. She and three others have just cooked a chicken soup, a vegetarian option and tiramisu for around 50 people at the Stoelenproject day-and-night shelter on the Marnixstraat.

“I feel like as an international, we’ve been pretty well taken care of,” she said. “We can take free Dutch classes, I’m in a privileged position to have a nice job and if you can do something – especially in the neighbourhoods – I think it just feels good.”

Contrary to what some people might think, internationals are already playing a key role in volunteering in the city of Amsterdam – according to Brigitte Vonck-Makkinje, founder and director of Serve the City, internationals make up 70% of their volunteers for drop-in projects from the monthly action day to helping out at a petting farm or taking the elderly for a walk.

“I don’t know where that idea comes from,” she says. “Sometimes, our volunteers say they have the feeling that they receive more than they have given, and a lot of internationals make friends by doing charitable work – because it’s just so positive, and you do it with similarly motivated people.”

The day before was the start of a “Kom Buurten” action week and in a community centre in West, the coffee was flowing and a group of people from children to retirees joined a ‘talk show’ on volunteering in Amsterdam. Thanks to organisations such as Serve the City, Vrijwilligers Centrale Amsterdam (VCA), Markant and neighbour network Burennetwerk, you can find everything from a regular match with a lonely neighbour to a one-off request to help with some shopping.

Host Reineke Jonker was not altogether joking when she said stepping into the world of volunteering is a “life-changing” venture. “It’s a chance to get out of your set ways to choose to stand in another world for a change – the wonderful world of doing things for each other,” she said.

Vonck-Makkinje said giving can be as simple as filling in a “random acts of kindness” postcard with words of praise for the people who quietly make the city a nicer place to be.

“I think it is very important to offer people an easy way to do something for your neighbours,” she said at the event. “And that’s the goal of our action week, organising all sorts of activities where you can roll up your sleeves and get stuck in, get to know new neighbours and give people the help that they need.”

Limited Dutch is no limitation, said Peter Paul, 39, a Serve the City volunteer from India, whose fondest memory is of one man’s gratitude after he fixed a fence damaged in a storm. “A lot of the best friends that I have are through volunteering,” said Paul. “If you volunteer, there is one little piece of your day that isn’t just for you but for others. You give so much more than the small amount of time that you are there.”

Volunteers can find longer-term matches through the Burennetwerk, according to director Sandra Bos – as well as a whole new outlook. “You start to look at life differently,” she said. “You go to your Lidl supermarket at different times, you meet a lovely new neighbour, you find a cute street or a nice park. It is so enriching… For 10 minutes, you step into someone else’s life and think: ‘Wow! They live in the same street as me.’”

At the soup night, Rutkowska stressed that you don’t have to be a great cook or even an extrovert. “What is lovely about this is that it’s not a recurring commitment,” she said. “Just try once, and if you don’t like it, you don’t have to do it again! We had all the recipes, all the ingredients were here, so even if you’re not an amazing cook, you can definitely contribute.”

There are all kinds of motivations for internationals to get involved, according to Linda Slagter, VCA spokeswoman: some want to improve their Dutch, others want to build a social network, connect with their neighbourhood, enjoy an activity or support their children’s sport.

“Thirty-six percent of adults do volunteer work,” she said. “But that does mean that most people don’t do anything yet – and the need is growing. Amsterdam is getting older, the gaps between different groups are increasing and ever more people are in search of contact. Right now the power of volunteering is more important than ever.”

Find out more about volunteering opportunities in Amsterdam.