Is Volunteering UNCOMMON in Germany?!
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- Опубликовано: 12 сен 2024
- Today’s video topic is volunteering in Germany and how it compares to volunteering in the United States. It was definitely a shock at first because volunteering opportunities were less publicized in Germany and a lot of exchange students found it harder to find places to volunteer! For example I talk about European work camps, the “Feuerwehr”, and forced volunteering in the US. I figured I’d share my experiences with volunteering in both countries, so please share yours below too!
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doesn't mean volunteer "freiwillig? So if you have to volunteer do graduate, it's not freiwillig in my opinion.
Außerdem haben wir Vereine in Deutschland. Da geht auch sehr viel freiwilliges
Salem oder Luisenlund haben auch Freiwilligenprogramme für ihre Schüler, die ähnlich zu funktionieren scheinen. Für öffentliche Schulen ist das aber eher unüblich.
Yes, that's what Montana said in the video.
In Amerika gibt es das so genannte "Vereinsleben" nicht. Es gibt noch nicht einmal Vereine. Den einzigen Verein den Du als normal Sterblicher beitreten kannst in den U.S. ist der Country Club zum Golf spielen oder um zu lernen, wie man auf Sozial Benachteiligte/Minderheiten schiesst.
Beim Rotarier Club ist es noch schlimmer. Da kommst Du nur rein, wenn Du einer der oberen 10.000 bist. Deswegen auch "normal Sterblicher".
Die haben dafür dieses Volunteer also den Freiwilligendienst. Das ist jedoch eher vergleichbar mit dem sozialen Jahr(Früher Wehrdienst oder Zivildienst).
Daniel Anonym stimmt do nicht, Vereine gibt es da auch aber sind halt nicht so üblich wir in Deutschland
Didn't they use to have a word to describe a system that forces people to work for free?
I feel like voluntary work in Germany is just way more voluntary. For example I volunteer at my volleyball club by training the smaller kids. I think it works way more organically here in Germany. People don’t try to find anything to volunteer, rather, when you have a hobby, someone might come to you and ask you if you’re interested to volunteer, as there isn’t much to gain from it, but it‘s still pretty nice and fun.
That's very similar to what I did in the gun club - keeping an eye on things, making sure everybody was behaving responsibly and safely, teaching younger members, basically making sure everything ran smoothly, including the odd weekend cleanup and repair/rebuild. Come to think of it, a lot of what I'd been regarding as normal "Vereinsleben" (club life?) could be seen as everyday volunteering...
Depends...when I was younger I volonteered for youth groups, and I am still helping out in the organisation in the background. So I actually enjoyed a non-profit organisation specifically to volonteer. Though I admit, someone dragged me to a meeting fist.
Volunteering typically happens as part of a club. Therefore it tends to be more long term. In Germany there are not many one-time projects to volunteer for. Therefore there is no constant recruiting of new volunteers.
The whole sport in German is voluntary-based (exept professional sports)
their Volunteering sounds a lot like the german Praktikum.
I was thinking the same 🤔 at my school we had to do a praktikum in a social place. A friend went to a hospital, I went to the home for elders in my town. We were basically free workers, so I guess that counts as a volunteer 😅
Just that we had to do it to pass the school year
had to do that too
ohh yes intership is the meaning of the thing that pronounce as voluntary, but forced is not voluntar.
Yeah, we also had to do a "Sozialpraktikum" which in my case meant volunteering at a nursing home. I can't remember how many hours that was but I think something along the line of 6 full days over the course of one school year. Not sure whether that's mandatory in every state though...
Praktikum/ internship means work experience, volunteering should have a social character, doesn't it? Doesn't seem to be the same.
In Germany volunteering is part of your freetime and not from school. It is a big thing of germanculture, its called Deutsches Ehrenamt. Most people start with one thing in their childhood, for example Youth fire Brigade, water rescue (DLRG) or scouts. And when they are older, this gets a fundamental part of Community. For example Most small towns only have volunteer fire Departments. So its a very important in Germany.
lol pathfinder hab ich noch nie gehört nur scout💀👄💀
@@miili4444 Yup... scout oder auch guide (boy scouts und girl guides). Pathfinder ist glaube ich irgendwas militärisches...
OK sorry, war der Meinung das heißt so, ist ja auch ein Wort was man nicht allzu häufig nutzt😅
„Berufsfeuerwehr“ is only available in cities, which include over 100.000 people I thought. So volunteers for fire departments are very very important.
Würd ich auch sagen. Amerikaner spenden, deutsche bringen sich ein durch Arbeitskraft in ihrer Freizeit
America is so weird. They don’t pay their workers enough, don’t give them any holidays and force kids to “volunteer“ on working for free lol
TheBlackiwid Well if you think about the additional costs german companies have to pay (accident insurance, health insurance, ...), I think Americans don’t get enough for the risk they are inflicting on themselves. As well as they don’t get enough holidays for it. German work contracts seem more fair for me personally, but I‘ve never read an US one...
@TheBlackiwidas an American I can tell you that pay is low. Yes there are good paying jobs like IT and medical, but these are rare. Housing is expensive and people often have multiple jobs to survive. There is very little paid vacations. We have a pro corporation society not pro worker.
@TheBlackiwid sweety...60% of US citizens live at or below the poverty line.
That says one thing for sure. Take an educated guess as to what...😏😉
@TheBlackiwid actually i am right 🤷♂️
@TheBlackiwid and unless you can explain how 60% of a population can live at or under the poverty line and *not* have low wages...maybe think first before you call others condecending or wrong 🙄😏
Especially after having been condecending and wrong your self 🤷♂️😏😆😆😆
In Germany there is a voluntary social year (FSJ) and a federal voluntary service (BFD) which last from six months to one and a half years. These are very popular in Germany and many young people do this before they graduate or study. If you are not on the program, which is sponsored by the Bundeswehr or the German Red Cross, for example, it is difficult to find a volunteer job.
Ist das wofür ich damals meine Gewissensprüfung hätte gewinnen müssen, was ich nicht habe weil man mir vorgeworfen hat, wenn ich mich nich gegen einen Angreifer wehre (was ich nie behauptet habe) ob ich es mit meinem Gewissen vereinbaren könnte als Krüppel auf Staatskosten zu leben.
Danach musste ich mich dann ganz freiwillig 15 monate zum Mörder ausbilden lassen für ein Wahnsinnsgehalt von 300 DM im Monat.
A voluntary social year is often rated as a (pre) internship or year of recognition for certain courses.
Many colleges and universities usually count voluntary services as waiting times (waiting semesters) or award special points when applying for a place at university.
@@beldin2987 nein :D ich glaub du meinst zivildienst :D was man früher machen musste wenn man nicht zum bund gegangen ist. FSJ und BFD sind im prinzip längere praktika
@@TheHiddenRoar Ja genau. Hab ehrlich gesagt keine Ahnung mehr was aus der ganzen Choose jetzt geworden ist, war nur froh als ich irgendwann endlich meine Auskleidung vom Bund bekam und wollte nie wieder was davon hören. Mir reicht das Trauma das ich noch 20 Jahr später die üblesten Rache Träume gegen mein Arsch von Kompanie Chef hatte.
@@beldin2987 zum glück gibt es das ganze nicht mehr. bund ist jetzt komplett freiwillig wie jeder andere job auch. ich war in der letzten musterung und 2 tage bevor ich hin musste wurde das gesetz erlassen das man das nicht mehr machen muss. cheers to that
When you volunteer in Germany you usually do so for years in the same organization not for x hours because you should do it to graduate.
volunteering in germany is actually something you do for a longer time. You'd almost find anything for a month or something. A lot of younger people do volunteer for a whole year after they graduated though - so did I, it's called a "freiwilliges soziales Jahr" (voluntary social year). You can work in hospitals for example, or in a home for old people. I personally did it in a school for mentally challenged kids. You will get paid though, but just a little expense allowance while working full time.
There are 31 million voluneteers every year in germany. In the USA youve got around 67 million every year. So down to polutation, germans volunteer twice often
than americans.
Volunteer fire brigades in Germany are quite important. ~ 1 million people serve in ~ 22,000 volunteer fire brigades in Germany. This is justified because in Germany the first rescue forces have to arrive at the scene of an emergency call within ~ 12 - 15 minutes at the latest - no matter where! Therefore almost all communities are obliged to maintain a fire brigade. However, since the communities cannot afford a professional fire brigade, they are simply voluntary fire brigades. And yes, if there are not enough volunteers for this fire brigade, the municipality can oblige people to serve.
But not only fire brigades operate mainly with volunteers. Almost the entire disaster control is based on volunteer rescuers: Firefighters, Red Cross, Mountain Rescue, Mine Action, Lifeguard, Sea Rescue. Often only pilots, boatmen, mechanics are paid workers and the rest are recruited from volunteers who do this in their spare time.
For on-call duty, as with a voluntary fire brigade, companies are also obliged to release their employees for operations.
Since the age of 14 I have been a member of a voluntary fire brigade (until 18: youth fire brigade). In one of my written exams I was called to a fire brigade mission by a beeper. Of course I dropped out of the exam and left immediately. The school found this only semi funny, because they only had to repeat the exam for me, because I was protected by the German laws - my fire brigade mission had priority before the exam. Even before that I ran out of class several times because I had a firefighting mission.
As a young adult I also liked the fact that from the moment of the alarm the road traffic regulations only apply to a limited extent in my private vehicle. I have been blasted 3 times in my life for exceeding the speed limit. Each time I drove ~ 80 km/h in a town. Normally I would have had to hand in my driving licence. However, since I was a firefighter on duty, the police had to drop the notice, because I was allowed to drive so fast.
And dont't forget the "Federal Agency For Technical Relief"!
Das Technische Hiflswerk (THW), (gouvernmental organisation of civil protection) only exists in germany. There's no other comparable organisation at all. And nearly all members are volunteers.
www.bmi.bund.de/EN/topics/civil-protection/thw/thw.html
@@nisranders1251 Yep, on top of that there are a bunch of non-profit organisations which cover all kind of social services. ASB, Malteser, Johanniter aso they have all areas which wouldn't work without the help of volounteers.
@@nisranders1251 It's part of the military in more countries.. Besides the civilian organisations like rescue and fire services, the Bundesheer offers medical, engineering and life-support services (providing drinking water for example). For a small country like Austria for example, a distinct organisation is not required. And fire brigades manage most smaller catastrophes anyway.
Yes, but they just "exist" and don't have much to do. They all want to help in case of flood and fire, but not if people are lonely, don't know how to get to the next shop, or need help to install a washing machine.
Forced volunteering is well known in Germany: both under the Nazi regime and in the DDR. Especially the DDR system was similar to what you describe as practice in the US - de.wikipedia.org/wiki/FDJ-Studentensommer
We are lucky these times are over here.
15 monate Ausbildung als Mörder weil ich die "Gewissensprüfung" nicht bestanden habe war hier auch nicht viel besser. Die letzte Frage war : Wenn SIe angegriffen werden und sich nicht wehren (was ich nie behauptet hab, es geht ja darum nich auf Befehl Leute anzugreifen gegen die man garnix hat) können Sie es dann mit ihrem Gewissen vereinbaren als Krüppel auf Staatskosten zu leben ?
Kein Witz, so pervers waren die damals drauf, und auf die Frage hat mich keine der ganzen Sachen die ich vorher gelesen hab vorbereitet. Abgesehen davon das ich eh nicht hätte da sein müssen, weil alles was ich sagte, wie das ich mich privat ja schon wehren würde, vollkommen ignoriert wurde.
Ja .. geile Zeiten waren das. Achja, und damit das ganz klar ist, das war NICHT die DDR, das war in der BRD !!!
@@beldin2987 ähm Bundeswehr oder was
@@peterzingler6221 Richtig. Dieser Gewissensprüfungs Mist wurde 1 Jahr später dann abgeschafft und ein Kumpel musste aumal dann nur noch ein längeres Briefchen schreiben und schon durfte er stattdessen Zivildienst machen.
Wobei natürlich auch das noch immer nix mit Freiwillig zu tun hatte, ausser man sieht es an das man freiwillig auf die hohe Ehre verzichtet zum Mörder ausgebildet zu werden.
Ich mein hey, wenn mich jetzt wer dumm anmacht, ich darf den erschiessen, will ja nicht als Krüppel auf Staatskosten leben, sowas geht ja garnicht.
As Beldin 2 already touched on: back when military service wasn't voluntary yet, they eased it by offering a way to dodge military service by doing "volunteer work" (in care centers, for example) instead. So basically getting forcibly trained to kill people or getting forced to do social/care work - forced labour either way. I'm really glad mandatory service is gone.
@@beldin2987 Wehrpflicht?
4:00 the student "school nurses" are called Schulsanitäter and are called if someone feels sick or is injured and they´ll do the 1st aid . But I dont think there are a lot employed Nurses in school, because if someone gets sick the Parents get called to pick up their children if they can (in the rare case, if they and no other relative can take the ill student, the Schulsanitäter and teachers will find an individual soulution). in more serious cases there obviously will be called an ambulance.
So why should you need a school nurse, or what does he/she do, what the teachers can´t deal with in the few cases that happen
And it's very likely, that at least one of the paramedics in the ambulance car is a volunteer.
The difference is... They have guns in america^^
The sting you mentioned at German schools is called „Schulsanitätsdienst“.
In the ninth grade students are asked if they want to get a school paramedic (Schulsanitäter/in). If they agree, they are released from school for a week, where they receive a basic primary medical assistant training, which includes more than just a simple first-aid course. After this week, they come back to school, where they get an experienced partner responsible for two newcomer.
Then they come into a room every Tuesday in the first break and wait for someone to come to take care of. However, you can also be used as a call readiness during class. That means there's a announcement that indicates the location of the operation. Then you get up, get your medical bag out of the treatment room and run to the location.
After six months, you will have the chance to get your own... and to get your two „newcomers“ because now you are an experienced.
The worse case I had was a girl, who took over 13 paracetamol in less than one hour.
So we called an ambulance and the Paramedic was surprised that she was still alive.
The voluntary fire brigade is so popular in Germany because there are almost no professional fire brigades (which do that for living). The forces that come to the fires / missions are mostly volunteers
thats not true tho
@@tendency2323 I said almost no, that doesn't mean that there are no professional firefighters anymore, just that the most are volunteers :)
that's actually not true. There are professional fire workers, but not the same amount as in other countries since it's pretty popular to volunteer as one. Saying there are almost none is too much though.
@@Lisa2206xP It depends . In bigger citys you got both in a good mix. If you life in a smaller town there may be only volunteer fire fighters cause it's too expensive to have a professionell fire squad.
I life in Hamburg and the next volunteer station is about 500 Meters from my place, the next pro brigade a 15 Minute walk.
Many ambulances are from pro fire brigades, too.
@@sniezyczkanasniezke6285 There are 109 by now and 110 by next year
So if you can't afford to commit unpaid labour as a "volunteer", your chances of getting into a good college are diminished? Way to go, USA.
World leading nation
it's really fucked up. sure, you can also list your part-time jobs in your application, but colleges also expect of you to list a hundred different "volunteer works"
Fire brigades and desaster management were already mentioned.
In Germany a lot of volunteering is about "Vereine": Most sports trainers are volunteers, and f.e. the Technikmuseum in our town is entirely run by volunteers. So is the zoo in a community nearby or the public bath a bit further away.
We call these institutions "Trägervereine". Their members do this kind of work in their free time without getting paid, and usually as a long term "job".
Even several judges (Schöffen and Ehrenamtliche Richter) are volunteers, although they sometimes might get drafted...
It might be interesting to note that those Schöffen or "voluntary judges" (actually the correct term is lay judges), who did not study law and are there to give advice to the professional judge who decides on both the guilt and the sentence of the defendant, are the continental European equivalent to the Anglo-American jury. They're summoned to their duty as lay judges just like Americans are summoned to their jury duty, but as a lawsuit only needs a few judges (maybe 3-5) in contrast to the multiple jury members and as there is no selection of the final judges from a wider pool by the prosecuting and defending side unlike the jury selection, the propability to get summoned as a lay judge in Germany is much, much lower than to get summoned as a potential jury member in the US. I think many in Germany do not even know that this concept of lay judges exists, and to be honest I as a German hadn't really known what "Schöffen" are before I finally googled them a while ago.
ayo Kassel?
As a voluntary firefigther i have to say something about our departments. Whilst the Voluntary Fire Department sounds a lot like volunteering, the only thing that is voluntary, at least with the "offical" part, is entering and exiting. Then there is the "inofficial" part, wich are the celebrations, and other more traditional things, for instance we lay down a wreath at Volkstrauertag, wich are completly voluntary
.
Of course, the "official" dutys aren't enforced as strongly, for insance, if you have an appointment or can't go to an emergency or training that is ok, but you have to have a certain ammount of attendance, else the deputy chief will have a conversation with you about this inattendence.
But if we would enforce it we wouldn't have any volunteers anymore, and some areas are already below an acceptable ammount of personell, and in severe cases a voluntary department has to be made into a mandatory fire department, were any suitable citizen of that commune can be drafted into the fire department. But luckily there are only 4 of those departments.
Also voluntary firefighting may sound wierd to someone out of an area were there aren't as many voluntary departments, but 98% of the german departments are voluntary departments, as only citys above 100.000 citizens require a professional fire department (and they also have voluntary departments to have extra manpower and equiptment to switch out the profesional departments engines at longer lasting incedents, or to have more manpower and equiptment for large scale events, like storms.), yet still almost everyone thinks that the professional fire department comes when their house burns...
Greetings from Germany!
The "student school nurses" that you were talking about might be Schulsanitäter. At least that's what it was called at my school. In my middle and high school years I was involved in the "Schulsänitätsdienst" (SSD) so I was a Schulsanitäter. Sanitäter is the German word for paramedic so I was a "school paramedic". At my school in order to get involved with the SSD you had to do one week of first-aid training with an organization like the Red Cross (at my school it was the Johanniter) and pass a written and practical test at the end of the week. After passing the test you were allowed to be a Schulsanitäter. There would be a plan and every day there would be three Schulsanitäter who the office would call if there was an accident or any other situation in which first-aid is necessary and we would they provide first-aid and then send the student back to their class, home, tell then to go to a doctor or call an ambulance depending on the injury/accident. Most injuries we had to deal with were sprained ancles or other smaller injuries but occasionally there would be more severy incident too.
In 11th grade I completed the next level of first aid training called Sanitätshelfer and got involved in volunteer work with the Johanniter.
Carli Dencker de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schulsanitätsdienst
It was almost the same in my school, I volunteered as Schulsanitäterin as well. But as my school was pretty large we usually were 'on duty' for 2 school lessons and the following break once or twice a week, we had to spend that break in the 'Schulsanitätsraum' so that every student who might have injured himself during recess could just come in and no time was lost calling for us. During lessons we would of course attend the lessons but were allowed to go if the secretary called 'To the Schulsanitäter on duty: please come to room xy/ the gym/ whatever' over the speaker.
Usually just the two people on duty would have to come, but when there were major incidents all Schulsanitäter would be called to help. I've experienced once that I've even been called to school while I was at home because about 25 students had trubble breathing all at the same time and only one ambulance was available at short notice (unfortunatelly not uncommon for the countryside). So they called in every single Schulsanitäter to help and calm the patients down while the teachers tried to calm down the other panicked students as everyone was waiting for the ambulances and doctors from the nearest larger city to come.
Hey, bin auch Schulsani :D Schön das sowas angesprochen wird in Deutschland ^^
@@regenbogentraumerin in my School in my time (mid 1990s yeah im freaking old now) we were informed by codewords like 30 bitte 30 bitte when i was the chief of my schools ssd we were 35 ppl 20 paramedics and 10 first aiders . it was fun sometimes except when i was drenched in vomit during abi abschlussfeier
Hi Montana, there are a lot of options to volunteer in Germany. You have look under the expression Ehrenamt. Students in germany could also get a benefit if they complete a so called Freiwilligendienst.
Are you really saying that "volunteering" in the US is not voluntary but in a way mandatory because you need it for university? Most volunteering in Germany is not even called "volunteering" because it is not such a formalized thing. It is private initiative and you don´t "need" it for university or job applications. So when looking for formalized "volunteering" you may indeed not find much because it´s shape and organisation is more private and less official than in the US.
No, she's saying that a small percentage of volunteering is students required to do service hours. Most of it is just voluntary. But most places in the U.S. will accept volunteers because so many people are looking for volunteer opportunities (and the fact that it makes you look more competitive on your college application has even more people looking for volunteer opportunities).
Why did you laugh about becoming a firewoman?
The Jugendfeuerwehr (youth fire brigade) is a very common thing. You can start with in an very early age.
My niece started going there with the age 5 or 6 years . Of coruse there are not doing real work. It is more for making the kids familra with how firemen work, how to prevent fire, how to do emergency calls and such things. I assuem that members of your age would do things like helping out with these smaler kids, doing work around public events where the fire brigade is presenting istself.
I think this is more common in villages than in cities.
THW is another one that has olso a youth brigade. It is similar to the fire brigade but the THW is not for fighting fires. But they do work the firde brigade is also doing like support and help after catastrophies like flooding and storm, after accidents and so on.
Animal shelters also take volunteers here. I know people who did this.
The DLRG or DRK are other organsiations that have also young people as volunteers.
In general all the work you do in your "Verein", club is voluntary. I was "Youth guard" and a fincacial controller for my sport club. There are some positions that have to be occupied by law for having the status of a registered club. All this work is done by members voluntary. You could have done this in you cheerleading club I guess if the time was longer because these people are usually elected every year.
The thing you mentioned at German schools is called „Schulsanitätsdienst“.
In the ninth grade students are asked if they want to get a school paramedic (Schulsanitäter/in). If they agree, they are released from school for a week, where they receive a basic primary medical assistant training, which includes more than just a simple first-aid course. After this week, they come back to school, where they get an experienced partner responsible for two newcomer.
Then they come into a room every Tuesday in the first break and wait for someone to come to take care of. However, you can also be used as a call readiness during class. That means there's a announcement that indicates the location of the operation. Then you get up, get your medical bag out of the treatment room and run to the location.
After six months, you will have the chance to get your own... and to get your two newcomers because now you are an experienced.
It's pretty interesting, I'm at the same school as the author of the previous comment. Unfortunately, I can not say now how something is regulated in other federal states, such as "Bayern", but I can say it from the side of my school. As already said, the "Schulsanitäter" (school paramedics) are trained, depending on which organization is supported, you can get different medical training. I have the so-called "Sanitätshelfer" (medical assistant). The medical assistant would say the next highest level after a normal first aid course. Brief structure of medical training in Germany: First aid course (a driver must have it); "Sanitätshelfer"; "Rettungssanitäter" (is in an ambulance); "Notfallsanitäter" (also in the ambulance); "Notartzt" (a trained doctor who drives to emergencies). I don't want to explain the exact differences here since they are already bigger and I don't want to write a longer comment either. With the "Sanitätshelfer" you can determine vital signs, such as pulse, breathing, blood pressure, etc.. He also has the right and the possibility to measure blood sugar (in Germany this would normally count as bodily harm, which is a crime). Also, they are trained to care for patients and to calm them down. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is better taught. Besides, people can be intubated after training.
If there are questions just ask :)
just to get that straight you HAVE TO volunteer? isnt that defeating the meaning of the word? remembering my time in school (ok ill admit that was a long time ago) if vlounteering was mandatory everyone had done it only to satisfy the mandatory part and then resent the whole volunteering thing because you were forced into it (even if only htrough circumstance.
shouldnt you encourage people to volunteer instead of forcing them...so they dont stop volunteering as soon as they dont have to anymore?
The idea is that they want you to be involved in your community/community service.
@@jedclampett4215 the idea is great, but wouldnt it be more successfully longterm if you didnt force them but convince them its a good idea?
@@Brainreaver79 Yes, definitely, I agree. But, most teens don't think about volunteering. I lived in Germany for a number of years, and my German friends and colleagues' kids didn't think about volunteering, either. I think, no matter what country it is, the same could be said. At that age, it's just not something they think of, unless they are/were involved with youth organizations like Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts, Churches, etc. that encourage community involvement. A lot of kids aren't, though. And, that's okay if they don't do volunteer work. It's up to the individual. It shouldn't be mandatory...it should be "voluntary".
@@jedclampett4215 yeah thats true and you are right. most teens have other things they care about. and if you force them to "volunteer" chances are they never will again after being done with it. if you encourage them chances are they will either start volunteering now or later in life.
This is no volunteer, this is some Kind oft black mail
Hey Montana, like mentioned a lot already we have a lot volunteers in germany but the system is a lot different.
For example I'm a volunteer paramedic in germany (I drive an ambulance withe the "pro" on my side ,be a paramedic on concerts and other big events or get a call after a big incident - when the regular ambulance system has not enough cars on duty to handle the situation....).
This is like the voluntere fire-brigades what we have in ALL of our cities, towns (even if they only have 3 buildings ;-) ). Only the bigger cities have professionell fire-brigades also. The trainings for those types of voluntere jobs are on a very high level (for example: the german fire brigades are on the first places world wide!) and cost a lot of time, and not the wright choice if you only want to do something for only a year. And yes we also have female fire fighters and we are very proud of them!
But for the other willing people we also have shelters, homes for elderly, sport-clubs and so on.
Almost all of the sports-clubs or tradition-keeping- clubs (sorry I don't now how you would name it) and so on are based on volunteer work (a lot 100%!).
Also the numbers of volunteers in germany are a lot higher than in the US (if you compare it to the population) - and most of them are adults.
Now - how much adults do you now in the states volunteering besides work?
The young people in germany.... ok.... they could do a little bit more for the community and I like that in the US it is more common, but if it is needed for the college it is not volunteering anymore (we would call it more like... "preparing" then ;-) ) because the schools should relate to your knowledge or talent and not if you helped somebody.
The school nurses in germany....well I never had an situation where I needed one (because the doctor is free) and for the accidents or bad injuries you would call an ambulance anyway.
And there it comes: if calling an ambulance some schools have first responders also. These guys are specially trained (and regulary re-trained) for medical incidents (like a paramedic - you would be amazed about the knowledge). They can analyse the injuries better and give more and/or better informations to the ambulance-eoc (Leitstelle) that they can send what is needed. So these are young little-paramedics what do this on a voluntere basis. Yes they are in school anyways, but the trainings they do (a lot by the way) are all on their free time. Also they are trained on CPR and can save a live just because they need a lot less time to get to the incident as an ambulance and so they are the most important part of the lafe-saving-chain.
We call them "Schulsanitäter" (school-paramedic)
I hope everybody enjoys my mistake (my english could be better).... ;-)
How are your teeth so perfect omg🥰
Dentist bleaching.
In germany 400-600€ for Homebleech. U go to the dentist and he make a pressure of u teeth and u become a bleaching gel and u apply this every Night and put the dental impression tray on. Direkt bleaching coast around 100€ per thooth and the Dentist Blech every singel Thooth imidently and u have to use a special care thoothpaste every day for a month after. where do I know that from? Hm.. i dont know. "Show my tooth smile whats makes u littery blind, because of the Reflektion of the clear white surface"
Toothbrush? By the way the first cheap modern toothbrush is an invention by Du Pont company from the US. The first affordable electric one was built by a Swiss company.
U only need to brush your teeth twice a day. Thats all.
I want the 4th season of stranger things well I am brushing 3 times a day and I mostly drink just water.. guess it’s also luck
@@lilli9189 I think a lot is also predisposition. I drink lots of tea and I love liquorice so my teeth aren't really white either no matter the brushing. I think in the US teeth whitening is a lot more common
I think that volunteering in Germany is more of a long term thing, there are lots of people at institutions like DRK, THW or the fire brigade, but you need to be trained properly to be of use. That’s why you usually grow into volunteering gradually by becoming a member and go on from there. As they don’t have to do it in order to get into college, you usually get a more motivated lot, because they do it because they are interested in the work and often keep on doing it as grownups.
Work camp = Arbeitslager? Ok, that might be a bad translation but it was the first I thought though.
They were closed 1945.
Robert Owen 😂😂
Same thought. 😅
Maybe you can compare American "Volunteering(-> that volunteering many students do before college)" to doing an unpaid internship in Germany. You can almost do as many internships as you want and add them to your CV. But most likely you have to do at least two internships during your school time.
One difference is that you do an internship for a normal company and not a non profit organisation.
hm ther are internships weeks in the Shools to learn about some "Berufe", in germany it is for you to see if you woud work thir, College is Cheap in germany but you need the Brian.
@@uwehansen2915 bitte nicht falsch verstehen, man kann von niemandem 100% Perfektion erwarten und auch mein English ist nicht über krass, aber das tat schon fast weh beim lesen 😅
When I read the title I thought, "There is no volunteering in Germany". But than I read all the comments and recognized many things my friends and my family did. Ehrenamt, FSJ, Tutoring: All these activities are common but I would not have considered them "Volunteering" (except FSJ). Seems I have to update my vocab.
Actually, "Ehrenamt" (which would literally mean "honored office") is the German translation for/meaning of "volunteering". The term comes from the fact that "Ehrenämter" usually are unpayed offices/positions you hold in non-profit organisations (like the Red cross, the Workers' Welfare, Bread for the World, caritas), various clubs (like all sports, music, dance, hiking, climbing, youth clubs, church youth, environment, social support, cultural clubs, traditions like carnival - extremely important in the Western regions ;), financial supporting clubs ("Fördervereine") for different culturally important institutions), associations (the same topics like the clubs), the church, theoretically also lobby orginisations or simply a political party; all are institutions which you are an active member of at the local level.
The term "Ehrenamt" has become a general term for voluntary work, no matter if you hold any office, and usually you're just a dedicated local member engaging for your respective institution for years, decades or very often your whole life. Yet, you might also climb up to higher stages on the regional and national level, and the highest "Ehrenamt" one could imagine would actually be the office of a national party leader, which is an honarary position without a salary (although there is a good amount of expense allowance for such a time-consuming office).
The thing with the Nurses is really easy: there are Students who have an special training for first aid(like the ones you need for your drivers license), at my school it’s like an after school Programm thing ( I don’t really know the American equivalent to AG (Arbeits Gemeinschaften)) and these kids help out in school when somebody gets hurt during school hours. They only have the Phones (in my school they are phones) some days is because they work in shifts, they are just not on duty every day🤷🏽♀️
That sounds like a really awesome thing, but also like a lawsuit waiting to happen.
VivaCohen It’s all legal and approved by the government, often even financed by them. The exam they take doesn’t make them to perfect nurses or something, the only thing they really do is first aid, give people bandages, recovery position when necessary or such things. When there is a bigger problem/ accident happened, they call the ambulance and wait with the hurt student for them to arrive. They have strickt rules in what they are allowed to treat and what not, as example in my school they do have the knowledge to use specific tools in the science rooms like an eye douche when something happened, but they can not help when somebody got burned really bad or eat the Chemicals or such thing😂😂
In Germany there is also a law that prevents people from getting sued who wanted to help but made the problem worse. As example when you see an Car accident happening, and the person who is hurt got theire arm stuck between something and you help him getting it out, but before it was just swollen or sprained and after your help it is brocken because you did something wrong, your attempt to help is still seen as positive step to take and the person with an Brocken arm can’t sue you. It even gets that far that when somebody has a heart attack and you do first aid but the person dies because you did it wrong you probably can’t get sued because they say when you see such thing happening and wait for the ambulance to arrive it is probably to late anyway so better try and help then let the person die without trying.
The same thing applies for the Student nurses. When they do things they know theire not permitted to do, then you can sue them but otherwise not🤷🏽♀️ I personally think it’s a great system. Often it helps just to have someone by your site when you wait for an ambulance, they also go with the students to the hospital till theire parents arrive so they are not alone.
I hope that helped a little, I think American laws are different when it comes to such things
I think one of the main reasons why volunteering in the US is such a big thing, is cause everybody wants to go to the best universitys and as you said you have to volunteer to have a chance. So its not on a voluntary thing anymore (you mentioned in a past video that you think americans are almost forced to study cause the society except this).
the second reason is that the Americans have to help each other way more than germans because you have an completely diffrent system there.
Volunteering in Switzerland is mostly in Sportclubs (we dont play football at school), music orchestras, carnival click ect.
so you already have to be in it to see this jobs as an exchange student it might be really difficult.
A lot of retirement homes like to have young ppl. to talk with the eldery :)
The "Vereine" (clubs) in Germany are a big part for volunteering. Sportsclubs, Chessclubs, etc... They are glad about all the help they can get :)
But yeah, i can understand how as an outsiders these structures seem less accessible than the US counterparts, where these type of clubs are really not common at all
That's all just enjoying yourself, more taking than giving.
I think it depends on which school you go to. I live in Germany and I volunteered in a kindergarten for a year because my school offered places. I do think it's sad that there are not so many opportunities to volunteer, because I think that's great.
School nurses running through the woods with walkie-talkies? Are we talking about the "THW Jugend"?
When looking at differences, I think it solely depends on how you define volunteer work. In Germany, a huge number of people take a gap year after school where they work in social instuitutions. Most students are required to do a social internship at some point in their education. Many people do woofing or work-away when they travel (which was described in the video), volunteer as coaches in their sports clubs, volunteer as choir directers or instrument tutors, supervise youth groups or work in a"JUZ", many students tutor other students, volunteer as fire men, volunteer for food sharing, volunteer in animal shelters, and non-profit organizations in general. In some cases you might get a small amout of money for it, so I don't know if it counts as volunteering. But I do feel like people in Germany do a lot "to give back to their communities".
I usually feel like the intention behind any good action doesn't really matter, if you volunteer or donate for whatever reason you're helping and that's a good thing. However, in the case of this "volunteer" mentality in the US I feel like it's disingenuous in general. You try to find something that looks good on your application or to get the signatures, which means that the work doesn't even have to be effective or truly worth anything. It just needs to look good on paper. But I'd be really interested in a video where you talk more about what kind of volunteer work people do in the US.
Maybe I am wrong!
Volunteering in Germany is called "Ehrenamt". It's a big thing and mostly organized in clubs (Vereinen). Since we have almost no competitive sports in schools or universities the whole competitive sport education is based on clubs and volunteer work. In addition a lot of political and social commitment in charity, unions and assosiations is also working like this.
I'm from Germany and volunteering was a very big part of my school.
I volunteered to teach volleyball and as a Referee for city events.
Others were in groups that you can call for help, such as first aid, help with computers, student councilling.
They were on call during the day and had to leave their class if anyone called them.
Then there are our spot clubs, that are independent of schools and heavily rely on volunteers as teachers and coaches, also help in churches charity and help for the elders.
Then there is the volunteer and the youth volunteer firebrigade and very many more.
In my school there was barely anyone who did not volunteer at least twice a weak, and a big part of our firefighters are volunteering and either work or go to school normally
There are many voluntary Activities in Germany, for example the Work Council as a representation of workers inside a company is officially Volunteering. Google for Ehrenamt and you can see for yourself. :)
A really helpfully video! It's nice to see how you think about germany! I love your videos and I hope you visit Austria soon too!🇦🇹
Can you make a video of your favourite restaurants, please?😊 It would be interesting...💫
The american volunteering is like the apprenticeships we have in germany. In Germany volunteering takes place in our free time and does not affect our applications. I can say that we do volunteer a lot but for other reasons. :)
Volunteering in Germany has the official designation of _Ehrenamt._ Around 30 million people have one kind or the other of _Ehrenamt,_ some even several of them, be it at a fire brigade, helping immigrants, visiting elderly at nursing homes or sick at hospitals, to training kids in soccer teams or working at an animal shelter, and much, much more.
Volunteering in companies is also very popular in Germany, but it is not called _Ehrenamt_ but _Praktikum._ That is definitly very helpful to find work, but it is also discussed as a sometimes abused method to recruit a cheap source of labour. Nowadays, a _Praktikum_ is a mandatory part of many university degree programs and for many workers a chance to get into a company, because they simply won't cost much and companies like labour for free.
There is even a dedicated program for young people having finished school to volunteer in Germany or even all over the world to work in some to the benefit of disadvantaged or disabled people for a whole year called _Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr,_ with around 35,000 participants doing that at the moment.
The thing you described is the Schul-Sanitätsdienst, Students get a First Aid Course and handle smaller injuries, like graze in the pause. In case they needed they are also trained to preform Recovery Position, Chest Compression, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation or handle with broken arms, ligament tear etc. First Aid is really important because it can save lives. You have to help in case someone is in need, like in an accident by law, all cars have to be fitted with a first aid kid. A first aid course is mandatory if you want a german drivers license.
Those things are also usually not organised by the school itself, but by non-profit organisations in coorperation with the school. Those organisations even have a competition with each other, in which groups of children and/or teams are demonstrating their ability.
When you volunteer in Germany you are an Ehrenmann. That is a thing you should deffinitly have mentiont in you video!!
the school nurses are called "schulsanitäter" or just "schulsanis". in most cases its a cooperation between schools and the open youth groups at the local rescue station. they will have a training for a couple of weekends ands won`t get any reward. they have a rotating schedule. i think its common in germany for around 15 years now.
greetings
The thing with the nurses is that you can volunteer at your school to be a Sanitäter (paramedic). In my school you'd need what's basically an endorsement by your biology or homeroom teacher to participate in this program, and once you're in you spend like half a year training, and afterwards you get to be a school nurse. The walkie-talkies are so teachers can contact the school nurses without having to make an announcement through the speaker whenever one is needed. The school nurses work in shifts, so that's why they don't carry a walkie-talkie everyday. If you do participate in this program, you get extra credit and some kind of certificate that I don't know how to explain. It's pretty useful though, and the student school nurses are well respected at my school.
At least that's how we do it in Schleswig-Holstein
Das Saniteam bitte in die Aula, Das Saniteam bitte !!. So these student school nurses were called saniteam in my school. they had shifts so that's why they weren't doing that every day. The whole point was, that you had some people around to help the official school nurse as they are trained in first help. So if somebody collapsed there were the first responders until an actual doc came.
They are named schulsanitäter at my school
Lot's of volunteering in Germany is done within clubs, NGOs and emergency organisations like fire brigade, red cross, Technisches Hilfswerk (THW) etc. Fire brigades are very popular in the countryside where it is not only about rescue service, but also important part of social live including famous drinking parties. But quite often there is also childrens' firebrigade, where kids are taught first aid and working with hoses and pipes such that they get enthusiastic to become firemen/firewomen later which is a non-paid job outside the bigger cities. Also the "Schulsanitäter", you mentioned, is a similar approach: Students get first aid lessons from a professional and some equipment such that they can help others in case of an accident at school until professional emergency services arrive, but also that they get familiar with first aid skills and the idea to work for a rescue service. Lifeguarding is also to a big part done by volunteers of Wasserwacht and DLRG which also learn children how to swim. There are also many other sports clubs which organise training camps sometimes finance their own training sites and life there is also including social activities mostly all organised by volunteers. On the other hand sport is much less relevant in schools than in the US. Famous are also the "Pfadfinder" which organise excuersions and camps in the German "wilderness" for kids. This work is mostly done by older teens. In my case, I joint an astronomy association and started to present the night skies with and without telescope to groups of students, kindergarden, adults, but also single interested persons. It included also some renovation and sometimes cleaning work in the observatory. Other clubs care about environment protection, collect information on local history, make music, teach public about life in former times (traditional farming, knight life etc.), built benches or little parks in public, put up hiking signs etc. There is also "Aktion Sühnezeichen", where young people volunteering by caring about graves from WWII or work for exhibitions and documentation in former concentration camps often also in other countries. To get to know some locals in Germany, it is quite helpful to join a club or association even if you are not an expert on this field. You are not forced to volunteer, but especially in small villages there might be some light pressure to join one of the local clubs to get accepted. Also in the CV it is not bad if you can mention some of such activity. But mostly it is to have fun and get in contact with other people. Many activities are also still related to churches especially choirs and support for immigrants.
As many mentioned already, there are different possibilities to volunteer as a German. And as you mentioned, also in other countries.
But this seems to become more and more a business model where parents have to pay for the kids to travel to other countries to "volunteer" for, e.g. 2 month but most of the money goes to travel agencies and doesn't necessarily help anyone or just brings some "cheap workers" into other countries.
To volunteer in a community (DRK, Fire Fighters, DLRG) makes more sense and isn't a waste of money in my opinion. Young people even really learn some important things like first aid.
Best would be to volunteer where it makes sense. So, instead of making coffee and copies in an office or wasting time on travel agencies, volunteering by helping old people who live alone (without the real need of professional nursing support) or to organize to get a permit from the local gov. and bring people together to build a playground for kids would make much more sense and even shows one's own initiative.
But for many other cases someone needs to ask themself "does it really help someone", "do I take the job from someone", "isn't it kinda free labor?" (for me the argument "free roof over your head and food" doesn't count, especially not if someone could earn for the same work extra money). I mean, people don't want cheap labor workers from other countries in their country because "they take the jobs away" but the same people don't have a problem if young people from their own country have to work for free or for food and a bed without getting paid?
Companies who expect such "experiences" are suspicious in my eyes. Why should I proof to a company that I am willing to do more for less (especially when it just increases the win of companies instead of helping a community).
One could get the impression that the not so wealthy people are more and more teached to work more for less and in more cases even for free in a way that nobody even start to think about (it's just a thought and good material for conspiracy theories ;).
Without all the volunteers, Germany wouldn't work that well.
I guess you need a better research at the place you live for what you can do, normally there are a lot of opportunities.
Your were talking about Schulsanitäter. It's basically School Paramedics, the students who are part of this programme are fairly comprehensively trained in first aid and stuff like that, so when there's a medical emergency at school they are the first to be called, probably by the "Sekretariat".
I volunteered from age 14 to 18 at my local library and I also did the school nursing thing for a while (Schulsanitäter if that’s what you’re talking about?) and I offered a lunch activity for 5th graders (AG). Now I’m a buddy for international students at my university. While I studied abroad in Ireland (as a college student) I noticed quite the difference in volunteering culture. The students union just sent around an email on who’d like to volunteer for a certain thing, then you’d put your name down for a time slot and showed up (I did the tables for Mental Health week, sat around handing out free information and goodies and got a free t shirt out of it). In Germany I feel like it’s much more of a commitment a lot of the time. Like the firefighters or even my library thing. At least in comparison to Ireland but I think also to the USA probably. For example, for my library job I was specifically asked to work there because the lady knew I came there a lot, so I’d know my way around and I was expected to know and do all the things full time staff members did. I’m not saying that’s not also sometimes the case in the US (honestly I don’t know) but I’m saying they’re quite selective in who is allowed to work there, whereas I feel like a lot of places in the USA will be happy about anyone? Idk though and there Aare definitely volunteer opportunities like that in Germany too
The lifeguards (Wasserwacht) at lakes and rivers in Germany are also volunteers.
The Technisches Hilfswerk (Federal Agency for Technical Relief) which is a civil protection organization that helps for example when there are floodings is also a pretty large organization that has first and foremost volunteers as personnel.
We pay a lot of taxes that cover things that volunteers/donations do in the US
i was 10 years in the Youth Fire Service then i wanted to be a Volunteer Firefighter but i did not lived in the Station Area... so i became a Volunteer Medic with the Red Cross i am there now for 8 years and i love it! its a Second Familie i work there round about 300 hours a year! also in Germany all Volunteers at least in the Emergency Sectors getting the same Training and need to do the same Education as a Paid one!
Also the Youth Fire Services is great you find new Friends, learn for your live like first Aid and you can get on free! Holydays with them! as a low income Kid, these where my only Holydays and i loved it!
Also Germany have lots of Volunteers allone in my Rescue Station are 200! EMTs Volunteers! and we got 4 of these Stations in my City, we are the Reserve for the normal Ambulance Services for example if a Plane Crashes or a Mass Cassualty Incident happens we get Dispatched and build field Hospitals and Assist in any way at the Scene, also we do First Aid Services on Festivals like Football games and Festivals.
Most of the Germany Water, Mountain Rescue and Dog Search Units are also Volunteers.
for the German Fire Services, the German Fire Service is 80% Volunteers! thats about 1 Million People!
also we dont get here anything to be a Volunteer?! here means Volunteering, Volunteering... no Special Treatments the only thing you get are your drive Costs coverd so you dont need to pay to do the Volunteering
A lot of social services in Germany are partially volunteer based. All first aid organizations are partially based this way. In the U.S., ambulances are basically a business. In Germany, the Red Cross and similar organizations (Johanniter, Maltheser, etc) have people volunteer by being trained as EMTs and that's their hobby. They supplement professionals with being trained to the same standard and run ambulances which is especially important in rural areas. But that's not all. There is the Federal Agency of Technical Relief (THW) who accommodate any disaster area, potentially world-wide with disaster relief - including the United States after Kathrina hit New Orleans. Not only that, but both, the medical organizations and the THW help when there are earth quakes and floods all over the world. It is part of all communities, and yes, firefighters are a big part of that.
Also, a lot of Germans do a volunteering year after finishing school, mostly working in retirement homes, etc.
voluntary work translates to gemeinnützige Arbeit, it is designed for everyone as well elder persons. when at school / uni you are asked to do placements called Praktikum in companies in order to find out your interests which job you are going to like.
About Volunteering in a german school:
I believe the best comparison between what you've seen in Germany and something in the US are paramedics. Usually students in Germany get an introduction to become paramedics in their school and can later on expand their knowledge to work as a paramedic in general.
To your example volunteer firefighters... it is voluntary to join the fire brigade, but you will be sent on training courses and have service evenings and it is obligatory to go on missions/respond to emergency calls. However, volunteering can also not be voluntary. In Germany, there are also compulsory fire brigades. Every adult can be forced to perform fire service for 10 years, provided he or she is mentally and physically fit, and does not have to care for relatives. It is an honorary position, called the voluntary fire brigade, but German citizens are also obliged if not enough volunteers for the service.
I volunteer with the local fire department and have done federal volunteer service with a fire department in a city. In Germany, it is common to do a voluntary social/ecological year, or to do a federal voluntary service, or to go abroad for a year after high school.
Meinst du vielleicht einen Erste-Hilfe-Kurs? ;) Das machen manche Schüler in der neunten oder zehnten Klasse (glaube ich). Da lernt man eben so Grundlagen, z.B. stabile Seitenlage (Recovery Position) und Brust Kompression (Chest Compression) oder Mund-zu-Mund-Beatmung (mouth-to-mouth resuscitation).
Ich glaube sie meint den Schulsanitätsdienst. So hieß das bei uns zumindest. :)
PotterheadGeeK7 Achso sorry...Was genau macht man da? 😂
@@nanaba9811 die werden bei uns in der schule gerufen wenn sich jemand verletzt hat & leisten dann erste hilfe bzw entscheiden, was getan werden soll
Ich bin Schulsanitäter, wir bekommen meist einen etwas ausführlicheren erste hilfe kurs und werden bei notfällen gerufen. Wir leisten dann erste hilfe, haben auch professionelles material (2 notfallruksäcke)
Ich bin Schulsanitäter, wir bekommen meist einen etwas ausführlicheren erste hilfe kurs und werden bei notfällen gerufen. Wir leisten dann erste hilfe, haben auch professionelles material (2 notfallruksäcke)
In 9th or 8th grade of bavarian Gymnasium, we had to do a one week internship in a company. I worked in a beer brewery, others in supermarkets, attorney offices, pharmacies, building companies, etc. In Germany, the social system ist much stronger than in Murica, so short term volunteering us less necessariy. The school nurses learn first aid and are encouraged to enter the real red cross as volunteers, which is real necessary and more professional and you cant do the required training in some afternoons. The same holds for fire fighters.
As volunteering is not mandatory to get into a university in Germany, volunteering is much more a personal thing, e.g. ppl volunteering in their sports clubs, social care organisations like Malteser/Johanniter or volunteering in your local food bank or animal shelter. It is called 'Ehrenamt' in Germany, which basically describes just that, it is a position that does not give you money, just recognition.
We have "Bundesfreiwilligendienst" and the "Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr" in which you volunteer somewhere in the social sector. Furthermore, there is "Ehrenamt" which is a position of doing work for volunteers. Lastly, most "Vereine" are involved in one or more volunteer work contexts. All those things are more centered on adults, but despite being truly voluntarily, it is a huge part of German society.
Aside from that, in the past, this was included in conscription. As a man, you either had to do military service or do some work in the social sector. Luckily, we got rid of that tyrannical law.
Volunteering in Germany is very common. There are many sports clubs, other clubs and societies, fire departments, red cross (other organizations, too), German federal for technical relief, school medics. (Schulsanitäter).
3:55 You mean „Sanitäter“. From class 9 onwards students can take lessons about anatomy and psychology with written and practical exams to become a school paramedic. There is a schedule for usually two people at once to be on duty. The school secretary (or the teacher responsible for the program) contacts the students via those Walkie-Talkies when an accident happened.
(Website of my high school: www.apostelgymnasium.de/index.php/schueler/arbeitsgemeinschaften/sanitaetsdienst )
In meiner damaligen Oberschule, in Niedersachsen, konnte man ab der 8. Klasse Schulsanitäter werden.
Benachrichtigt wurde sie immer per Schullautsprecher.
Ich weiß aber noch, dass sie mittlerweile auch per Smartphone alarmiert werden, via eines Messenger.
Bei uns wurden sie eigentlich nur zu Erst-Helfern ausgebildet, sprich wie man eine Wundkompresse anlegt oder einen (Knochen-)Bruch stabilisiert.
Soweit ich weiß, wurden diese Schüler jedoch seltent alarmiert und wenn, dann weil jemand im Sportunterricht verunfallt ist und die Schulsanis ihr gelerntes einsetzten können, um mitzuentscheiden, um der Rettungsdienst alarmiert werden muss
The thing with the fire department is that in little villages are voluntary firemen and they work together if there is a fire like a "hobby" and normally in Germany you volunteer in your local clubs like football club or dancing club and you help there on weekends or in the evening so it doesn't collide with your schedule and then you can write it in your resume
There's some more about volunteering in Germany. Many people do it included in their hobbies . So most firefighters in Germany are volunteers (called Freiwillige Feuerwehr) and there are so many organisations like DRK (Deutsches Rotes Kreuz) who collect volunteers. Nearly every sportsclub is lead by volunteers, including the (rare) shooting ranges. The volunteers even pay by their own for trainings and so on. (eg. to become a trainer )
I think a lot of Germans are too selfish to volunteer, but i also think the System in Germany works differently at first a lot of volunteering is in the Context of so called 'Vereine' (democratic Organizations with special rules determined by law, everybody can found) and further Germany has compared to the US a very strong welfare System, which makes a lot of Volunteering obsolete.
Main problem or difference is about the role of the state. Very simple: In the USA, the state does not provide as much social services as in Germany. So the need for volunteering is more evident in USA, while in Germany most of these services are provided by the state.
Should be noted, that until 2011 men in Germany had compulsory military service, which could be turned into a year of doing social services. Many social organizations used those, causing them to not have a big need for volunteers, that's probably also a historic cause for a lower percentage of volunteering .
I am a volunteer firefighter in Germany and sometimes this can even make it harder to find a work place. Although it is legally not allowed that being a firefighter creates any disadvantages for your employment, many employers don't like that their employee might have to leave work to go to a fire run or has to come to work a few hours later because of a fire run at night. Of course the employer gets the compensation for the missing worker and all the costs that it creates paid by the town, but still employers prohibit volunteer firefighters from going to fire runs during work time or at night, although they are, in theory, not allowed to do that. Luckily not all employers think like that and like it when their employees volunteer.
I guess these anti-firefighting employers would be glad if no one shows up to fight a fire on their premises or save them from a wrecked car after an accident? The amount of assholes out there is really incredidle...
DGzRS (Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger) it exercises the rescue mission (exclusively the rescue mission) like the Costgard in the USA. is a voluntary organization that is financed exclusively from donations.
Never heard of #workcamp before. If I translate this to german it will come out as Arbeeitslager and that is terrible.
😂😂😂
the schulsanitäter shool nurses are there, because it isn’t needed to hire a nurse.
They are sufficiently trained and are mostly there to give cooling packs or sth like that.
In bigger things they just escort the injured to the ambulance while keeping them still
To summarize what all the comments told you and to make it easier for people who are having the same problem you have:
There are several ways to volunteer in Germany. If you want to volunteer, look for those things:
- Ehrenamt = duty/work done for honor not for money. Many social societies offer those kinds of jobs. Check the "Caritas" or the "Arbeiterwohlfahrt" or the "Diakonie" for example. Just write them a message that you want to do an Ehrenamt and ask what they offer in your city. There are many others, not only those I mentioned, they are just some of the biggest ones.
- Freiwilliges soziales Jahr or FSJ for short = voluntery social year. This is a thing, many people do in between school and university. You work in a social service like a school, a nursing home, a hospital or anything like that and you get a little bit of pocket money, but no real pay. You can get a place for a whole year, but as far as I know, you can also get a shorter period of time. If you contact an agency organizing the FSJ, you can ask them about the specifis.
- Praktikum = work experience. This is an option for if you are only looking for a short period of time like up to three months. There are also Praktika for longer periods, but then you should better do an FSJ. To get a place for a Praktikum, you just send a CV and a nice letter to a place where you would like to work telling them your situation and why you would like to work with them and they will let you know whether they have a need for you or not. Definitively let them know that you want to apply for a Praktikum not a job.
- Local contact. If you don't want to use the word Praktikum, just go to local places you would like to help out at and tell them that you would like to help and ask how you can help. They will mostly be glad to have extra help and will tell you how you can help. Maybe be a little bit prepared and have a CV with you if they ask for one.
One form of volunteering in Germany is to train younger kids in sport clubs (also students in higher grades). And maybe that might not be as obvious to outsiders, because it only happen within the club and is not visible to the public.
In school are the Schulsanitäter (first aid giving students) and Streitschlichter (older student to help younger resolve conflicts).
Well I had to "volunteer" in 8th grade as well, but they were called "service hours" as you said. Changing the name to service hours results in the same thing (students serving their community) without saying they're forced to volunteer. It's all semantics. But I do think that having young people serve their community is a very reasonable expectation for graduation.
American volunteering remembers me very much of a “Freiwilliges soziales Jahr” (= “social voluntary year” ). It exists, but it’s not a requirement to get into college. But you can as well volunteer at organizations such as the Red Cross (paramedics), the german federal agency for technical relief (Technisches Hilfswerk) or the voluntary fire department. You could also add clubs or associations with a focus on a.e. helping the environment or helping the poor people to that list.
I used to be an au-pair in America 6 years ago. When school started my host mom got me in volunteering at the kids' elementary school. The boy was in 2nd grade where I did like a get better in reading thing once a week. The girl was in 5th grade and I went on 2 field trips with her class. Also helping with classroom parties was pretty fun. All the other parents were interested in talking to me when they found out that I was from Germany.
I did volunteer tutoring at our public library. I found students who were failing in school, and I worked with them for a few years. By the time I finished, they had grades in the 90s. A couple of them were in the National Junior Honor Society.
If fire fighting isn't your "thing" you can also volunteer in your local DRK (Red Cross) or something. There are other organisations as well like the "Diakonie" or something like that you can ask whether you can be of assistance. A good idea are also "Die Tafeln" in Germany, they are always in need for people to help. There are plenty of ways to volunteer, or, as Germans like to say, to do something "ehrenamtlich"! 😊
Great video! But I think you are missing the main reason why there are so few places for students to volunteer in Germany. In the USA popular volunteer positions such as working at a summer camp, helping out at a blood drive, working at a nature center and such are needed because the US lacks an overarching infrastructure to provide these services to its citizens(and residents). So the burden of providing many essential social services is being placed on the communities themself. Young people volunteering during high school can almost be seen as an emergent property of a lacking social infrastructure in the US. In Germany a larger percentage of these functions are performed by full time employees of the local, state or even federal government and in some cases volunteers with professional experience and training in those areas. So when you asked your German friends where to volunteer, the first thing on their mind was training at the local VFD, since from your friends perspective the volunteer positions you had in mind are essential services which are provided by the government or non profit organizations.
As far as volunteering for college applications goes, this is simply due to the way that the American education system is structured: The US has one HS degree for everybody, from the student who aspires to become a physician, engineer or attorney to the student who wants to become a chef, hair stylist or car mechanic. As a result the bar for graduating from an American high school is geared toward the lower end of the spectrum. That is why in the US you have to take a college entrance exam such as the SAT or ACT. The problem with that is that a high SAT score just tells the university how good you are at studying for an upcoming exam, but tells them very little about your ability to overcome challenges independently and out of your own motivation (which is exactly how most top universities expect their students to learn). Volunteer hours give the university additional data points about your degree of self motivation and willingness to help your peers. In Germany assessments for these abilities are already baked into the curriculum and grading system at the Gymnasium. I hope this answers some of your questions.
My source:
I'm a German immigrant and husband to an American college professor living in Oakland, California.
For example: Animal shelter, Red Cross, technical aid organization, social service, food bank, fire department, sport clubs, Amnesty International... Millions of Germans are volunteering in this organisations. But this voluntieering is truly voluntary, there is no pressure what so ever. Except Fire Department, if there are not enough volunteers, the towns have to recruit/conscript people.
7:45 there are actually organisations which offer the program called “work and travel” and then you work a bit on a farm or help in a household... and then you can live there basically for free
I had the same impression that Germans don’t volunteer much, when I moved to the UK and saw so much volunteering. I though I was a really bad person compared to that until someone pointed out that I had done hundreds of free hours in my sports club and regional sports organisation as a coach, running youth activities like summer camps, board member, instructor, organising events or simply for the upkeep of infrastructure. I think between 16 and 25, I did 10h per week minimum, but I didn’t relate that to “Volunteering”. But it is. To find a huge number of volunteers, look into the Sportvereine - not for profit sports clubs - with an emphasis on normal people, not Olympic candidates or professionals. They have a big role in society most notably in public health and teaching social skills, confidence, discipline, grit and other things to children.
Imo a reason many of the typical volunteering activities seen in the UK or US are rarer in Germany is that tax funding of normal government tasks on local, regional and national level is not quite as dismal. But thats a personal observation I haven’t tried to back up with data yet
There are also volunteers at workplaces - basically workers volunteering to fill in one of the required roles, like first aid, which also includes a paid course during work hours. For first aid the course has to be refreshed every year.
For young adults there is the "Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr" (FSJ), but I don't know the details.
Whatever you volunteer for, it will also show future employers that you have an open mind and are ready to get the job done.
Volunteering as fireman is pretty common, especially in the rural areas... also social year, technical help service and many more are very common to volunteer in.
Btw. I was volunteering at a kindergarten during highschool, at a hospital after finishing school, at for 20 year now at a social center... volunteering service at hospital was paid, the rest you do for no payment in your free time..
Look up Zivildienst. After finishing school men had to either join the army or do something that compares to your voluntary work. Red cross or home for the elderly or similar things. You got paid for it though, but pretty low vages.
It really sounds like this defeats its original purpose when it is required for something else rather than for the will of doing good, sounds hypocritical. I even question if it can even be called volunteering anymore then. Secondly, in Germany not as many people are in need for help or are in poverty and most social support is organized by the state. As we know US libertanianism believes the state shoudnt do anything and nothing is as good as freedom and having no enforced contribution to the common good organized by the state.
i miss the old Zivildienst. Formerly, every German man at the age of 18 was had to do army service for almost 2 years. Those who rejected war service could work in a social field like hospitals, retirement homes and so on. So, many intelligent but unexperienced and immature boys had to deal with old and sick people, drive kids to school or do other weird stuff. I choose working at a home for kids with behaviour disorder because I wanted to study psychology. It was the best time in my life, and I learnt that I was not suited to become a psychologist. But we had so much fun.
I started volunteering with tutoring 5th graders. Probably was 10th grade then, or 11th. Later on, or at about the same time, I began volunteering for an environmental organization, which I did for years. Then I was moving around Germany for many years and didn't want to volunteer for anything because I never knew how long I would stay in one place. After my return to Bavaria, I counted ballots in a local election. I read that they were looking for people in a local newspaper, called, and was accepted. I paused for quite a while then, but in January 2020 I called a food bank (Tafel) and asked them about volunteering. They said, well, maybe - and then came The Virus. So they won't take anyone new right now. (At least they didn't outright close, like in some cities.)
Ein Hindernis für Freiwilligenarbeit bei Unternehmen (z.B. Landwirten um dein Bsp. aufzugreifen) ist das Gesetz für Mindestlohn, was vorschreibt, dass du ab 3 Monaten Arbeit mit Mindestlohn bezahlt werden musst, darum gibt es viel weniger Stellen, da viele Unternehmen es sich nicht leisten können oder wollen.
In Germany, there are many volunteering activities in clubs (Vereine), but probably more among adults than youngsters. Same holds for France.
We were never encouraged to volunteer, but we all held summer jobs in hospitals or hotels or just anywhere, it wasn´t the thing to be given a big grant by your parents.
I have a lot of experience in volunteering at rescue organisations. We need a lot of voluteers there. But it's not that easy because you need a lot of e.g. medical training to do it properly. Same with the volunteer fire departments.
As a lot of guys already said, Praktika are very common. We just never got the idead to call that "voluntarily", because that's bullshit.
Actually in school you have to do internships regualrly and always for 2 weeks minimum. But in Germany, everyone understands that you aren't really helping with such small time spans. So companies usually do it for recruiting or just being social.
The US concept doesn't seem to be reasonable at all.
In The Netherlands, where I life, it’s actually illegal to have people volunteer for positions that are normally paid positions. I think that’s an European Union law, so it would be illegal in the entire EU.
Ik the US you often see volunteer positions that used to be, or normally are, paid positions. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why an American could think that people in Germany (and I have heard this about The Netherlands as well) do not volunteer as much.
Something else that I just thought of is scouting. I live in northern Germany and it is probably different in Bavaria than in my state (Germans always that Bavaria isn‘t Germany because Bavarians are so fricking different and always feel like the better Germans) but anyway I was a scoutleader in my hometown. I grew up being a scout and once I got older I automatically became a scoutleader. In Germany we don‘t have parents being scoutleaders like in the US it‘s actually teens. That also makes it so much cooler for kids because teens are way cooler than adults or there parents 😂
The program with the studant school nurses is called Schulsanitäter, I am one by myselfe. We get training from the red cross or other organisations and get called in medical emergencys.
My respect Sweetie, you nailed the point volunteering is different in the US and Europe. As nearly all European nations are some kind of social welfare state we relay more on professional social work than on community-based private organizations. Therefore we did not force our youth to give something back at the scale the US did and sometimes there is even a backslash against more volunteer engagement (for example in 2016 right after the big wave of immigrants had reached Germany some big guns of the German social service industry (organizations that are well established in providing social services) raised their voices and demanded more "professional" integration work and less volunteer engagement). I did not know why they asked for it, but what I know is that even the German Government could only spend any Euro once and if the Government would decide to give a handful of Euros to a group of retired German schoolteachers who offers their work as volunteers and teach German to refugees, what is then left for this professional organizations?
But I have to be cautious because I work for such a professional social service company. So I did see both sides the benefit of being professional and the problem that my employer is a social might who could ruin the image of any politician easily.
Back to your video, as I had said you nailed the point the topic of volunteer work comes with different solutions in the US and Europe. Especially in your age group, in my (I could easily be your father or grandfather) age range it is another story, we older folks do what we think is best for us and it is much harder to push us with incentives.
They asked for it because it is very difficult to organise long-term help (and those refugees needed long term help) just with voluteers, and because they needed way more than just people to help with learning, they needed professional psychologists aso too.
@@swanpride That did make sense but as someone who works for a huge social charity organization, I st ill belive that their is more about it.
@@lotharschepers2240 As someone who engages in a huge social charity organisation I know how a lot of lobby work is necessary to get additional funds from the government. It is way too prone to just drop the work on the shoulders of volounteers, with no notion to fix it. It is kind of the helping paradox. If charitable organisations and volounteers constantly jump in to fix something, than there is no incentive for the government to fill the gap. Hence it is necessary to remind them once in a while that even behind volounteer work, there are always people who organise it are are busy to do so full time.
@@swanpride I think I got your point and I did agree with the broader picture. But I never got the point when it comes to integration. I fully comply with your points about psychologist help and other related long terms needs, but I can not understand how integration could work if we citizens did hand it over to our government or professional social organizations.
Well in 8th grade we in Germany (North Rhine Westphalia) are required to experience a job for four weeks. I guess thats close to your volunteering, but you dont have school in that time. You have to work a full 8 hours and five days. Thats called 'Praktikum' and you usually dont get paid for it because you are not a skilled worker.
Such things are also done in holidays and it helps you to get a job or get a sense what you wanna do. Many guys in my class learned that their 'dream' job isnt what they thought.
I think the term volunteering emans two different thing in the us and germany. For your school career american volunteering is more comparable to germans "Praktikum".
As for the public volunteering it's more like "Ehrenamt".
The other difference is that this second meaning of volunteering is mostly organized by companies, clubs or NGO's in germany and so more kind of "hidden".
An alle 5% die das lesen:
Falls ihr Ferien habt dann genießt sie und ich wünsche euch auch weiterhin schöne Ferien🤗♥️!
Danke, aber ich hab erst in zwei Wochen Ferien 😂
@@annithebunny4346 Uiih wirklich das ist aber blöd😢Ich dachte es hätten schon alle außer ich Ferien denn das hier ist die letzte Schulwoche von mir tut mir leid🙏💖
Ich habe auch noch keine Ferien😂😢🙈
Ich habe in 3 Wochen wieder Schule RIP