Is this something for me?

You are aged between 16 and 27? Would you like to commit yourself socially and caringly and to cooperate with interesting people? Do you want to acquire some new experience and to orient yourself occupationally?

If so, a voluntary social year is just the right thing for you!

As provider of the voluntary social year we want to support you in all the matters regarding the FSJ. We offer reflexive discussions, visit you at your deployment location, help you with problems and conflicts, and we organize team meetings in the evening for an interchange of ideas among our FSJs. We also hold seminars regularly for further training and education. What is more, you will be fully covered by insurance, and you will get a remuneration for your commitment and have a right to a holiday.

What about the precise procedure?

If you are interested in doing a voluntary social year, please contact us. At a first meeting, we will inform you about everything worth knowing and answer all your questions. We will find out in which section you would like to be active, and we will propose some deployment locations to you.

Should you be interested in a particular institution, you will make an application and arrange an appointment there in order to introduce yourself and to get to know the institution. Following this, you will spend some days on “sitting in” and observing so that you will get an insight into the work and an impression of your tasks and of your colleagues. If you like everything and can imagine doing a voluntary social year in that institution, we as provider, you, and the management of the institution will meet to make a contract which determines your FSJ.

Where can I do my FSJ ?

Just as the name suggests, you can do your FSJ at any social institutions / welfare facilities. We would like to list some examples here:

• old people`s homes / nursing homes for the elderly
• residential homes and sheltered workshops for disabled people
• institutions / facilities for mentally ill people
• specialist hospitals, hospitals and wellness clinics
• kindergartens and daycare centres
• steady / in-patient child and youth services, e.g. homes for children and adolescents
• open child and youth services, e.g. youth clubs
• youth hostels and conference venues….

How can I benefit from a voluntary social year?

You will always profit from a social year! By means of your commitment for other people you will cultivate self-reliance, independence, and social skills. You will learn to shoulder responsibility, and you will get to know your personal limits. Moreover, you will experience everyday work and find out whether you would like to choose the social / welfare sector for your own occupational career.

Not only will a voluntary social year give an excellent impression in your curriculum vitae, but it can also be claimed as a credit for your numerus clausus with regard to your studies and will be approved as practical training within your education. During your participation you will meet lots of interesting people and make numerous contacts.

How FSJ participants will benefit:

One important aspect is the development of our participants’ self-reliance, social skills as well as their ability to adapt and integrate. They will also experience their own limits and, in doing so, develop an awareness of responsibility for their tasks and the people they take care of. Within his or her activities at the deployment location, the young person is shown occupational perspectives. The FSJ participant learns about the shaping and procedures of everyday work and has the possibility of getting to know whether or not this occupational field meets his / her expectations.

The participation of FSJs from all over the EU leads to an intercultural exchange, thus improving communication skills and advancing tolerance. Each FSJ participant brings in his / her own personal and cultural background, which is of benefit to all participants.

The target group

The offer addresses young people between 16 and 27 years within the EU (§2(1) Nr.4JFDG). The FSJ participant is searching for personal development, occupational orientation, and social as well as cultural exchange. The participant ought to be interested in social / welfare work and to enjoy working with, and for, people.