Volunteering rethought: Aktiv Collective Heidelberg inspires young people!

Volunteering rethought: Aktiv Collective Heidelberg inspires young people!

Something is happening in Heidelberg! Despite the declining number of volunteer members and the challenges of demographic change, two creative minds, Paul Benjamin Bühler and Julian Darius Goertz Dini, have founded the “Active Collective Heidelberg”. Reason enough to see how this initiative can strengthen the local community. Loud rnz.de The two 20-year-old students and their collective not only want to regain interest in volunteer work, but also create an attractive platform to share knowledge and skills.

Especially in times when demographic change in Heidelberg is becoming more and more noticeable - an aging population coupled with falling birth rates - it is extremely important that the community remains active. The city administration sees a great responsibility to respond to these changes, as set out in the action plan for demographic change. It is expected that the population could decline by 2030, making the need for community engagement and cooperation even more important. heidelberg.de highlights the changes that will impact all areas of society.

Redesign volunteering

The idea behind the “Active Collective” came about a year ago, inspired by the positive experiences at climbing meetings in the region. Paul and Julian want to create interest groups from different areas such as sports, arts and education. “We want everyone to share their knowledge on a voluntary basis,” said a co-initiator. Concrete measures planned include workshops that are intended to promote exchange between different departments at Heidelberg University. Topics such as the “Fundamentals of Democracy” are on the program to strengthen democratic awareness among citizens.

The collective stands out because of its focus on community. Instead of competition, it should offer a platform for cooperation with existing clubs. “One gap we see is the need for a running meeting just for women,” explains one of the founders. Art and culture-intensive offerings such as book clubs, videography workshops and musical activities are also being planned.

Outlook and participation opportunities

The official founding of the association is scheduled for June 29th at Karlstorbahnhof. Anyone who is willing to get actively involved is warmly invited to take part. The collective remains free and does not pursue any monetary goals. Ten motivated people are currently working with the founders, and the response is impressive: the Instagram page already has thousands of visitors and a Whatsapp group with around 80 interested people shows the great potential of this project.

The importance of volunteering can also be seen against the background of the 5th German Volunteer Survey from 2021. Loud bmfsfj.de Around 40% of people in Germany volunteer. The younger generations in particular are open to new forms of engagement, which benefits the Aktiv collective.

Demographic change, an aging society and declining volunteer commitment represent major challenges. But initiatives such as the “Active Collective Heidelberg” show that there are also new ways to strengthen the community and make volunteering attractive again. We can only hope that many people will be enthusiastic about this valuable cause!