[from PostNL press material] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Child Welfare Stamps 2023

Date of issue: 9 October 2023
Appearance: sheet of five special stamps in five different designs, marked with the denomination ‘1’ for post up to 20 g in weight destined for delivery within the Netherlands, with a €0.50 surcharge per stamp
Item number: 431260
Illustrations and design: The LEGO Group

On 9 October 2023, PostNL will issue a new sheet of Child Welfare Stamps marked with the denomination ‘1’ for destinations within the Netherlands. The design of this year’s five stamps revolves around LEGO toys.

Since 1924, PostNL has been issuing Child Welfare Stamps to raise money for projects aimed at improving the welfare of vulnerable children. To this end, a €0.50 surcharge is added to each stamp. The proceeds from all surcharges will be used for projects developed by the Child Welfare Stamps Foundation (Stichting Kinderpostzegels Nederland). This independent foundation is committed to giving children in the Netherlands and other countries equal development opportunities.

The Charity
This year, more than 130,000 pupils from the last two years of primary schools will be taking orders for the Child Welfare Stamps from 27 September through 4 October. PostNL will deliver all orders starting on 11 October. The proceeds from the 2022 campaign amounted to €9.6 million (USD $10.2 million).

The theme of the 2023 campaign is ‘Let every child participate’, with the focus being on children facing social and societal exclusion. More and more children are falling behind at school. They have such big problems at home that they are unable to develop to their full potential, thus being unable to get the best out of themselves. Child Welfare Stamps helps these children with projects that make them feel more confident and broaden their horizons. This way these children can be guided towards positive development, at school and beyond.

‘We see more and more children falling behind and not getting the same opportunities to develop to their full potential,’ says Sofie Vriends, director of Child Welfare Stamps. ‘For example, one in 12 children now grow up in poverty. One in six children has a parent with a mental health or addiction problem. And a lot of children feel lonely on a regular basis. They do not get to learn enough and are isolated, at school and beyond. We believe in the resilience of these children and do all we can to give them the opportunities they deserve.’

About Legos
The LEGO Group is the Danish manufacturer of the well-known plastic building block and figurine toys. The founder of the 1916 family business is Ole Kirk Christiansen, who first made furniture and later wooden toys. The first building blocks appeared on the market in 1947: plastic blocks that you could click together to make structures. The first minifigures appeared in the 1970s, later followed by themed products such as city, medieval, engineering, space, science fiction, pirates and robots. The name LEGO comes from Danish and is an abbreviation of the words ‘leg godt’, which essentially means ‘play well’. The LEGO Group is still a family business, headed by Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, the founder’s grandson.

‘When we were asked whether the LEGO Group wanted to participate, we quickly said yes, of course!’ Marloes Zwagerman, Brand Relations Manager at the LEGO Group in Antwerp, Belgium, says. ‘It was really fun to be able to do this. And for such a great cause.

‘As far as I know, this is the first time LEGO elements have appeared on Dutch stamps. Stamps with LEGO did come out in Austria and Switzerland last year, but those were single issues. This is a complete sheet, with a huge print run. I also used to sell Child Welfare Stamps as a schoolgirl, in Hoogkarspel where I grew up. That made it extra special to be involved in this project.’

Design
The Child Welfare Stamps 2023 feature a winter scene set on the quay of a typical Dutch town, with typical Dutch fun on the ice of a frozen canal. In the background of the top row of stamps is a continuous row of canal houses. On the quay, children are playing: riding their bike, listening to music and riding a skateboard. The children on the ice are sledding and skating. Animals are depicted on the edges of the sheet: two cats, two birds and two squirrels. The middle stamp depicts a dog at the edge of the quay. The illustration continues across all sheet edges.

‘There are no Dutch nationals in our international design team, so I offered some suggestions on possible angles,’ says Zwagerman. ‘The popularity of cycling and skating, for example. And the typical Dutch setting with the row of canal houses. We deliberately avoided stereotypes like tulips and clogs. Other than that, the designers were allowed to tap into all their creativity.’

Technical Details:
Stamp size: four stamps measuring 36 x 25mm and one stamp measuring 36 x 50mm
Sheet format: 144 x 75 mm
Paper: normal with phosphor print
Glue: synthetic
Printing technique: offset
Printing colours: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black
Print run: 1,200,000 sheets
Format: sheet of five stamps in five different designs
Design/illustrations: the LEGO Group
Printing company: Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé B.V., Haarlem
Item number: 431260

Note: PostNL does not sell directly to collectors in North America. Its website refers to a company called Nordfirm, which says it sells Dutch new issues at face value. The Virtual Stamp Club has no connection to this company.