Welcome
Welcome
Welcome to our page about volunteering and engagement. Here you can find general information about engagement, get to know local associations and initiatives, and become active on a voluntary basis.
Attention! Important information for all international students
Current information on the Coronavirus can be found here and here.
Information in various languages (English, Farsi, French, Polish, Romanian, Serbian, Spanish, Turkish, Amharic, Arabic, Bulgarian, Russian, Tigrinya, Somali, Kurdish) can be found here.
Engagement Guide
Our guide on civic engagement has been published. The guide is addressed at international students in particular who want to learn more about engagement and volunteering in Germany and Frankfurt. What do engagement and volunteering mean? What do I gain from my voluntary engagement? And how can I find an activity that suits me? You can find answers to questions like these in the Engagement Guide, which is now available for download.
Engagement Guide
Online Platform for Engagement
We are currently working on a platform to you an overview of voluntary initiatives and groups at the Goethe University and in the Rhine-Main region. The list is aimed at students who want to get involved as well as associations and organizations that are looking for volunteers. The page is constantly updated, so make sure you check in regularly. If you want us to include your initiative as well, send us an email and let us know.
Reviews
You can find a review of the kick-off event from November 27th, 2019, on our website and on the Goethe University website:
Review of the kick-off event
News article - Kick-off event
- Online Conference in Hesse "Support for the Civic Engagement of International Students
Here you can find a review of the online conference from March 18th, 2021.
Report in UniReport
In UniReport No. 5 (2019) there is a report on our project. What is the goal of the project? Who initiated it and how is it structured? These questions are answered on page 11 of the UniReport:
Our project in the GoetheSpektrum
You can find an article about our project on pages 12 to 13 of the 3.19 edition of the GoetheSpektrum. If you want to get to know the project better, you can find the report here:
Help during corona times
Help during corona times
Many people in Frankfurt are coming together to offer others their support in the current crisis. This is either to help to communicate during this time or to help people shop for the essentials during this period. Especially older people and people who do not have access to social media need this kind of support. The volunteers are very happy to help with these concerns.
In this situation, we can also help each other by simply staying at home and avoiding social contact, so that we show solidarity to other people for whom the illness could be life-threatening. There are many tips and online articles on the internet to get through this. The rules and many safety measures can be found under keywords such as "staying at home", "staying together at home", etc.
Psychological support: Important note! The Centre for Psychotherapy at Goethe University offers psychological help:
For many, the measure of being predominantly at home and avoiding physical contact with other people can be very stressful. The Centre for Psychotherapy offers anonymous telephone counseling. If you are affected and you are looking for advice in order to deal with the situation, you can reach psychologists at the following times on 069-798 46666:
- Monday to Friday from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
- Saturday and Sunday 4-8 p.m.
More information at:
Below, you can find different references for the articles from Hessian online newspapers. You can get a good overview of the situation and find tips on how to support other people. It is important to protect yourself and to follow the rules issued by the federal and state governments.
Important links
Platforms
If you have children, take a look here
A survey by the Institute of Psychology „Fear of Corona“
Job opportunities in times of Corona
What is voluntary engagement?
What is voluntary engagement?
"Voluntary engagement” means voluntary and unpaid work in the social field. Millions of people in Germany are involved in social projects, sports clubs, environmental protection associations, and political parties. They help others, connect people, make friends, deal with socially relevant questions, and actively shape their local environment. As part of the voluntary service, you acquire and expand many important skills that are also very helpful in your professional development.
Our FAQs have further answers to questions such as:
- Who can get involved?
- How long does a voluntary engagement last?
- How can I find the voluntary engagement that is right for me?
Why volunteer?
Why volunteer?
Support society
Volunteering is an essential part of social life in Germany. Without the voluntary involvement of citizens, many social projects or associations that we take for granted in everyday life would not exist, such as volunteer fire brigades and sports clubs.
Contribute knowledge, expand competencies
Volunteering involves investing time and knowledge to achieve a common goal. At the same time, you can acquire further key skills (soft and hard skills) that are helpful for personal development and the professional future.
Professional orientation & networks
In Germany, half of the students are already volunteering in associations. Over 50% of 14 to 30-year-olds see volunteering as a building block for their careers: They identify personal strengths, interests and may even find an activity that they would like to pursue professionally. In addition, you should always mention job-related voluntary activities in your CV: The skills you have acquired and your willingness to volunteer might make the difference in comparison to other applicants.
Meet new people
More than 90 percent of voluntary work takes place within associations, of which there are around 600,000 in Germany. On average, every German is a member of at least one club. This establishes contacts, networks, and friendships.
, we have to handle many new challenges. Since personal contact needs to be minimized, social volunteering and engagement require a different shape during this time. Therefore, we collected some opportunities and information on how you can keep volunteering or start your engagement despite Covid-19. 
