WITH YOU FOR US ALL Magazine

Guidance on volunteering and civil protection When civil protection is needed, teamwork matters. Alongside professional emergency responders, many volunteers contribute in a wide range of roles: providing hands-on assistance, supporting people in need, handling logistics and supplies, providing technical support or helping with coordination and organisation. It is the way these different roles work together that makes a fast and reliable response possible. For many civil protection tasks, teamwork and plenty of helping hands are essential. | © DLRG When people think of civil protection, they often first picture emergency responders putting out fires, rescuing people from crashed vehicles or helping during floods. But such operations are only part of a much broader range of tasks. Volunteers support people who have had to leave their homes, organise equipment and supplies, or help ensure a reliable power supply. They maintain vehicles and equipment, check supplies and prepare exercises. When an operation lasts longer, they take care of resupply, fuel and hot meals. Many of these tasks take place away from the public eye – yet they are essential to an effective civil protection system.      

Joint large-scale exercise: Students and people in charge from the Studi-PUK project of the Münster University of Applied Sciences. | © FH Münster, Michelle Liedtke Support becomes particularly urgent when crises affect care services, may it be a flood, an evacuation or any kind of crisis. People requiring care are among the most vulnerable groups. Deployments in crisis situations repeatedly show that every additional helping hand is especially valuable to the people needing care. The project “Student Care Support Personnel in Civil Protection” (Studi-PUK) developed by Münster University of Applied Sciences (FH Münster) is an approach specifically for this purpose. It teaches students so that they can support nursing staff during deployments. The project received the Helping Hand award in the category “Support for Volunteering” in 2025.    

During a rescue drill, the boat crew of the ZWRD-K trains for a real-life emergency on the water. | © DLRG While many people enjoy the summer on the coast, for others it marks the beginning of a busy season: every year, thousands of volunteers from the German Life Saving Association (DLRG) ensure safety in and around the water on the North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts. Within the Central Coastal Water Rescue Service (ZWRD-K), emergency workforce from across Germany are deployed. They take on responsibility in a demanding operational environment, gain practical experience and save lives in emergencies.          

Emergency responders from various aid organizations on duty during carnival | © Sebastian Sehr Whether firefighters, football coaches or refugee support workers, volunteers are the backbone of society. They are there for others in difficult situations and stand up for the common good. Especially in times of crises, uncertainty and growing loneliness, the importance of this commitment becomes particularly clear. Volunteering brings people together, strengthens communities and makes democracy more resilient. Even though volunteering is changing and traditional forms of volunteering are increasingly being complemented by new, flexible opportunities, one thing remains the same: volunteering is people serving people.    

The large event hall at the Federal Ministry of the Interior in Berlin: subdued lighting, murmurs of anticipation. Silence falls – the Berlin pub choir begins to sing, in harmony, richly, directly. The guests in the hall: emergency services from fire brigades, aid organisations and technical relief agencies, representatives from politics and associations – people who have been supporting and promoting voluntary civil protection for years. The trophies for the Helping Hand award shine in a new design.(Source: Björn-Arne Eisermann) Since 2009, the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) has been awarding the Helping Hand prize, the most important award in Germany for voluntary work in civil protection. This year marks the 17th anniversary of the award ceremony, which traditionally takes place at the beginning of December, around International Volunteer Day. The award is an expression of a twofold solidarity: on the one hand, with the Helping Hand award, the BMI honours the more than 1.7 million volunteers without whom German civil protection would not be able to function. On the other hand, the award ceremony demonstrates how closely the Ministry works with the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK). The BBK runs the office for the award, organises the competition year, supports the jury and public relations work, and finally the award ceremony at the BMI. The importance that the BMI attaches to this commitment is made clear right at the start in the welcoming address: Federal Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt thanks those involved, praises the ‘people who use their knowledge, time and energy to ensure that our country functions in times of crisis’ and emphasises the key role of voluntary work in civil protection. Christoph de Vries, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior, then takes over in the hall. He presents the awards as the winners come onto the stage full of anticipation. The ceremony is hosted by Clarissa Corrêa da Silva. She guides the audience through the programme with ease and warmth, combining the award presentation with short conversations on stage and following the theme of the day: people who are committed in very different ways to modern, inclusive and effective civil protection.

Hot summers, dry forests and increasingly complex vegetation fires: forest fires have long since become a European challenge. When flames rage in southern Europe, it is not only local forces that are deployed, but also specialised teams from other EU countries. The NRW forest fire module GFFF-V DE1, the expert advisors from the aid organisation @fire and Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe Bonn prove that international cooperation in disaster control is successful – supported by volunteers and backed by the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM).