March 2008
Volunteer Work
how to contribute some time for a good cause
It certainly takes time to get acclimated here in Munich. The smallest detail of daily life can be an adventurous challenge: getting hold of an affordable place to stay, applying for residency at the bureaucratic jungle of the
Kreisverwaltungsreferat, buying an U-Bahn ticket, finding a dentist or deciding how to greet the shop assistant at the bakery (with a
Grüß Gott or a
Servus?). Time does not eliminate encounters with the peculiarities of Bavarian/German culture, but life in Munich quickly becomes smooth and joyful for most residents. Once settled in, perhaps you will have some spare time left to contribute to one of the many philanthropic institutions here in the city. The following groups and activities mentioned are all in search of new members, even those with developing German skills.
The
Amnesty International English-speaking Group in Munich, for example, is a pool of compassionate people from the U.S., England, France, Spain and Italy, who meet every last Thursday of the month to organize campaigns against human rights violations occurring daily across the globe. The organization operates as a network of support groups in 150 countries, and its efforts include fund-raising, generating awareness of human rights violations, and working on individual cases. The meetings of the English-speaking group take place at the Amnesty International office (Leonrodstr. 19, U1 Rotkreuzplatz). For more information, visit
www.amnesty-muenchen.de or email
amnesty_munich_contact@yahoo.de.
English-speaking volunteers are also welcome at the
English-speaking Prisoners’ Support Group (ESPSG). Here, about 45 members reach out to prisoners whose first or second language is English by sending comforting letters and collecting and distributing English-language books and magazines. Visits to inmates in Bavaria’s penitentiaries are rare and only arranged if it seems necessary. Currently, ESPSG is caring for about 75 prisoners throughout Bavaria, almost all of whom are male. The headquarters of ESPSG are at the Friedenskirche near Sendlinger Tor (Fraunlobstr. 5). All correspondence is sent there to maintain the volunteers’ anonymity. Even though ESPSG is mainly supported by several of the English-
language churches in Munich, member-
ship is open to all regardless of religious persuasion. To get in contact, call
26 02 36 77, or visit
www.espsg.de.
If you are more interested in community work, the
Tatendrang agency is a recommendable contact point. For almost thirty years Tatendrang has cooperated with more than 300 organizations, associations and initiative groups. Taking preferences, talents, time schedules and favored city areas of volunteers into account, the agency’s staff mainly works on finding the appropriate field of activity for each applicant. The agency also stays in touch with each volunteer in case the first activity offered turns out not to be appropriate. The website
www.tatendrang.de contains information on all cooperation partners. To get in contact with the agency, which is located at Thiersch-
str. 17, call 29 04 465 or email
tatendrang@
freiwilligenagentur.de.
Then there is
Treffam, a meeting point for international families at Tübingerstr. 11 and always in search of support. Daily kitchen work is one of the tasks assigned to volunteers, as well as pre-school support for children, which could also include English lessons. Volunteers are free to decide on the amount of time and work to contribute. A few hours can already be a great help, and commuting expenses can be refunded. Contact persons at Treffam are Gaby Gohly and Conny Giesemann, who can by reached by telephone: 50 25 592.
For those looking to get involved in environmental activities with a local approach, the
Green City association offers a wide range of projects. Since 1990 Green City, has worked to improve quality of life in Munich through innovative conceptions of eco-friendly urbanity. Projects include the annual Streetlife Festival on Leopold- and Ludwigstrasse, environmental education for children, cycling lessons for senior citizens or the organization of panel discussions on environmental issues. The English website,
www.greencity.de, offers further information. Anyone interested in the activities of Green City can call Stefan Taschner at 89 06 68 11 or drop in on a meeting at Goethestr. 34, every Tuesday at 7:30 pm.
Another recently launched campaign focuses on the disastrous situation of refugees worldwide. In the year of Munich’s 850th anniversary celebrations,
Save me! A city says Yes! aims at convincing the city to admit 850 refugees from troubled areas. Participation in the campaign takes only a symbolic deed at first. At
www.save-me-muenchen.de you can sign up as a Pate (godmother/godfather), which means that your name will be listed on the website as a proponent of a less rigid refugee policy. If the campaign succeeds, you will be assigned to welcome one of the 850 refugees to the city. Organizers will support you in determining the particulars of this reception: helping with the authorities, giving a tour of the city or simply offering advice on living in Munich as an expat. Taking responsibility as a Pate does not require any financial commitment. Among the supporters of Save me! are Nobel Prize-winning author Elfriede Jelinek and the theater director of the Münchner Kammerspiele, Frank Baumbauer.
If you are interested in further volunteering possibilities, the 182-page brochure “Bürgerschaftliches Engagement,” which lists a plethora of organizations and associations, can be downloaded at
www.muenchen.de/ehrenamt. <<<
