Political and social involvement

Voluntary work in the fields of sport and culture, for example, often involve direct support for other people. Socio-political involvement in parties, trade unions, and NGOs, meanwhile, enables people to help shape things on a strategic and political level. Here volunteering opens a door to intensive democratic participation. The major established organisations, however, are finding it increasingly difficult to get volunteers on board.

There is particular potential for volunteer work in the 14 to 24-year age bracket. The interest in volunteer services shows that young adults are willing to get involved in society. The Federal Volunteer Service has been in place since 2011. It is open to all age groups and complements the model, in existence for over 55 years, of the voluntary social year for young people and young adults. In September 2024, more than 34,000 such volunteers were serving.

It is also possible to do voluntary work abroad, for example through the International Volunteer Service of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens Senior citizens Senior citizens are not only growing older, but are healthier, fitter and more active than in the past. They are also economically better off: the over-60s hold almost a third of total purchasing power. The life style of the 50+ generation: almost one in two cares increasingly about fitness, health… Read more › , Women and Youth, the Weltwärts programme of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, or the Kulturweit volunteer service by the German UNESCO Commission in cooperation with the German Federal Foreign Office.