Volunteering near you
Volunteering in Stuttgart
From the city volunteer agency and its online exchange to the Citizens Foundation: how to find a role in Stuttgart that suits you and your district
Contact points
| Contact point | What you find there |
|---|---|
| Freiwilligenagentur der Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart | The city’s advice and placement service, staffed by a team of volunteer advisers. It also helps organisations recruit volunteers and support them well. |
| Freiwilligenbörse der Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart | The agency’s free online database of regularly checked opportunities from non-profit organisations. You can filter by district, field and the people you want to help. |
| Bürgerstiftung Stuttgart | Looks for volunteers to help at events and in the office on its projects. In return you get a travel allowance, reimbursed expenses, liability insurance and contact with others. |
- State
- Baden-Württemberg
Where can I find volunteering in Stuttgart?
The central address is the city’s volunteer agency, which advises and places people who want to volunteer. It grew out of a citizens’ initiative in 2004. In 2024 it received the quality seal of the Federal Association of Volunteer Agencies for the sixth time. The advisers are volunteers themselves and use a personal conversation to work out which role fits your life.
If you prefer to search on your own, use the agency’s online volunteer exchange. Institutions, clubs and initiatives add their opportunities to a shared database as network partners. In the search form you choose districts, fields and the group of people you want to support, or you search with your own keywords. If you have not decided yet, you will find the newest opportunities under “Top-Aktuell”.
The exchange is free for volunteers and organisations. The agency checks every listing regularly so that content and contact details stay up to date. Only opportunities from non-profit organisations are published. They register through the city platform MeinServiceStuttgart, and the agency releases each listing only after checking it. So if something catches your interest, you can contact the organisation directly without having to do much research first.
Which areas are there?
Opportunities range from projects for children and support for older people to work in your own neighbourhood. Because many organisations post their requests in the same database, they are visible across the whole city. For you, that means you can see in one place what is needed in your district. Organisations can publish as many listings as they like, so the choice grows with the network.
The Bürgerstiftung Stuttgart, the city’s Citizens Foundation, offers a different way in. It regularly looks for people to help at events or to work in its project office. It asks for team spirit, openness towards other people, reliability and agreement with its mission and aims. In return it covers travel costs and expenses, insures you and invites you to its own events.
Writing can be volunteering too. The agency publishes the magazine w!n, which is put together by a volunteer editorial team. It reports on new, established and surprising ways to get involved and is available at the information desk in the town hall and in the citizens’ offices, among other places. If you are curious about the city’s volunteering scene, you can join the editorial team.
How can I get involved in peace and understanding?
An obvious route is working with refugees, because understanding grows there through direct contact. For refugee support, the Citizens Foundation refers people to a dedicated coordination office at the city that trains volunteers in this field. There you get preparation and a contact person before you accompany people in everyday life. That gives you confidence, especially when language or experience seem to divide at first.
In the online exchange, the filter for target groups helps you. You select the people you want to support and then see only matching opportunities. Neighbourhood work also contributes to understanding, because it brings together neighbours who would otherwise hardly meet. If you listen and help people find common ground, you strengthen life together in the district in a very practical way. The agency’s advisers can help you find a role in which meeting people is at the centre.
On W3ltfrieden you can also create your own peace mission or support an existing one. A mission is a verifiable project with a responsible person, and its progress is documented in the mission log. It could be a meeting evening in your neighbourhood or a project you take on together with an organisation from the exchange. The mission overview shows you whether there are already missions near you.
How much time do I need to bring?
That depends on the opportunity, and you have a say. The agency cares that volunteering is enjoyable, matches your interests and is easy to reach. That is why the district filter is worth using: short journeys save time and make it easier to keep going. Many listings already describe how often and when help is needed. If a listing says nothing about it, ask the organisation directly.
At the Citizens Foundation, roles are tied to events and office work. That suits you well if you do not want to commit every week but are happy to help now and then. Ask which dates are coming up and how much preparation they need. There is a travel allowance for your journeys, and expenses are reimbursed. That way you can plan your volunteering around your everyday life.
How a role ends matters too. The agency explicitly advises organisations on how to support volunteers well and let them go with a good feeling. So you do not have to commit for ever when you start. Be open about how long you can take part, and a suitable solution will be found.
Sources
Four steps to volunteering
- Sort out your wishesThink about the district, the field and the people you want to support. The online exchange filters by exactly these.
- Search the exchangeUse the search form or look under “Top-Aktuell” for the newest opportunities. If one interests you, contact the organisation directly.
- Ask for adviceIf you are unsure, talk to the agency’s team of volunteer advisers. The advice is free and without obligation.
- Give it a tryArrange a first session with the organisation. Afterwards, take your time to decide whether you want to stay.
More cities
- Volunteering in MunichBavariaIn Munich several volunteer agencies offer personal advice, and the city bundles everything you need to know about getting started on a platform of its own
- Volunteering in FrankfurtHesseFrom the Bürgerinstitut and the city guide to AWO: how to find a volunteering role in Frankfurt that fits your everyday life and your interests
Keep going with W3ltfrieden
Got an idea for your city?
Turn it into a peace mission. The peace mission bot asks you five questions and drafts a first outline. Nothing is published before people have reviewed it.
Want to help carry the platform?
W3ltfrieden is in its build-up phase. The support page lists every way to help carry the platform and its first missions.