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• Sustainable business and living practices

  location

  Basel

  
  entrepreneurial user Free spaces available time Year-round recurring

  The Economy for the Common Good (ECG) is an association dedicated to establishing an alternative economic model beneficial for all. The ECG believes that economic activity should prioritize the wellbeing of people and the planet to help bring about a fairer, more sustainable economy. The organization prioritizes democratic values enshrined in law, such as human dignity, solidarity and social justice, environmental sustainability as well as transparency and co-determination. All members work on a voluntary basis. The Basel Regional group is looking for volunteers, for example, to organize public film nights with a panel discussion, help manage social media channels or plan events to inform people about the Common Good Balance Sheet. Volunteers can help in several different areas according to their individual interests.

• Area sponsor against littering

  location

  ganze Schweiz

  
  environment user Free spaces available time Year-round recurring

  Do you want to help keep the environment clean? Then become an area sponsor and join the fight against littering! Area sponsorship is where individuals or groups (e.g., families, clubs) volunteer to help remove litter from an area of their choice. This plays an important role in keeping the environment clean and improves the quality of life in public spaces. It is an initiative which leads to noticeably less litter.

• Mentoring by fokusnetzwerk

  location

  Kanton Zürich

  
  social user Free spaces available time Year-round recurring

  As a mentor for fokusnetzwerk, you can use your knowledge and experience to help refugees gain new perspectives and enjoy a richer life in Swiss society. Together with a person from a refugee background, you can practice German over a coffee or during a walk, pursue a hobby or complete math homework together. Of course, there are other areas that you can choose, or you can suggest your own. At fokusnetzwerk you can work with a refugee for six months on an area that suits your strengths and interests.

• Distributing food

  location

  Birsfelden

  
  social user Free spaces available time Year-round recurring

  The newly founded organization Tafel Thanksgiver Switzerland aims to provide food to families in need. Our mission is to combat hunger and prevent food waste. We strive to change the lives of people in need and improve the health and well-being of our community by providing healthy, nutritious food. Every Thursday our members collect, transport, order and distribute packaged foods, beverages, fresh produce, dairy, bread and any other food items, provided to us by various stores.

• “Tree hollow habitat” project

  location

  ganze Schweiz

  
  environment user Free spaces available time Year-round recurring

  Tree hollows are ecologically important; in this project, volunteers carve out cavities in trees scattered across Switzerland's natural landscape. These increasingly scarce hollows serve as refuge, breeding, wintering or feeding sites for many endangered species, including honeybees. Volunteers cut out a Zeidlerhöhle (hollows that serve as bee hives) into the trunk of a living tree. Habitable trees with suitable microhabitats and tree hollows have become rare in the Swiss countryside. Without them, the forest ecosystem is disturbed. To strengthen the biodiversity and resilience of a forest, tree microhabitats in forest ecosystems are identified, preserved and supported when threatened. The project's main aim is to provide nesting sites for wild honeybees and other tree-cavity-dwelling species worthy of protection. Besides honeybees, 30 types of insect, 170 different mites and arachnids, as well as thousands of microorganisms live in symbiotic community in a beehive tree hollow.

• Volunteer driver for the elderly and disabled

  location

  Uznach

  
  social user Free spaces available time Year-round recurring

  The Tixi-Linth association has been providing transport for the elderly and disabled in the Linth area since 2017. This non-profit transport service allows passengers to get from A to B safely and affordably. We regularly look for new volunteer drivers so that we can continue providing this service.

• Broken Bread

  location

  Zürich

  
  social user Free spaces available time Year-round recurring

  The Incontro association helps those in need in the Langstrassenquartier in Zurich. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a greater need for support for those living on the street. To date, the association has distributed up to 400 meals every evening. The past months have seen conditions worsen for such individuals, leading to a diversified range of support. The association recently set up its own premises in the district, offering Covid-secure advice, German classes and a sewing workshop. We are now looking for volunteers to help out in the office and on the street.

• Job coaching

  location

  web-based or local in Bern

  
  social user Free spaces available time Year-round recurring

  As a job coach, you will support a person from a refugee or migrant background as part of our educational programs. You will share your personal experiences, introduce the person to professional networks and give tips on finding work. You will assume an advisory role and provide feedback. Our educational programs: The Inclusion Program is centered on personal development. A combination of hard and soft skills, coupled with an internship later on, enables these individuals to integrate the labor market sustainably. FLY was conceived to help highly qualified individuals from refugee and migrant backgrounds to further develop their personal skills. We also support those taking part in career planning and professional networking.

• Mentoring for young people

  location

  Kanton Zug

  
  social user Free spaces available time Year-round recurring

  MUNTERwegs is a mentoring program for young people aged 13 to 16. Would you like to join our project as a mentor for young people? We are currently in need of support and so would be very grateful to have you on board. MUNTERwegs is a mentoring project that assigns volunteers to young people from migrant and non-migrant backgrounds. The program thus contributes to cultural integration, promotes equal opportunities and enables participants to actively participate in social life. The project is mainly geared towards young people aged between 13 and 16 from migrant backgrounds and vulnerable Swiss families from the canton of Zug. As part of the MUNTERwegs program for young people, mentors help their mentees to choose a career. Volunteers receive support in regular group events and coaching sessions.

• Mentoring for children

  location

  Kanton Basel-Stadt

  
  social user Free spaces available time Year-round recurring

  MUNTERwegs is a mentoring program for children aged 5 to 12. Would you like to join our project as a mentor for children? We are currently in need of support and so would be grateful to have you on board. MUNTERwegs is a mentoring project that assigns volunteers to children from migrant and non-migrant backgrounds. The program contributes to cultural integration, promotes equal opportunities and enables participants to actively participate in social life. The project takes place at various MUNTERwegs locations and is mainly geared towards children aged between 5 and 12 from migrant backgrounds and vulnerable Swiss families. Volunteers receive support in regular group events and coaching sessions.

• Mentoring for children

  location

  Kanton Zug

  
  social user Free spaces available time Year-round recurring

  MUNTERwegs is a mentoring program for children aged 5 to 12. Would you like to join our project as a mentor for children? We are currently in need of support and so would be grateful to have you on board. MUNTERwegs is a mentoring project that assigns volunteers to children from migrant and non-migrant backgrounds. The program contributes to cultural integration, promotes equal opportunities and enables participants to actively participate in social life. The project takes place at various MUNTERwegs locations and is mainly geared towards children aged between 5 and 12 from migrant backgrounds and vulnerable Swiss families. Volunteers receive support in regular group events and coaching sessions.

• Mentoring for children

  location

  Kanton Luzern

  
  social user Free spaces available time Year-round recurring

  MUNTERwegs is a mentoring program for children aged 5 to 12. Would you like to join our project as a mentor for children? We are currently in need of support and so would be grateful to have you on board. MUNTERwegs is a mentoring project that assigns volunteers to children from migrant and non-migrant backgrounds. The program contributes to cultural integration, promotes equal opportunities and enables participants to actively participate in social life. The project takes place at various MUNTERwegs locations and is mainly geared towards children aged between 5 and 12 from migrant backgrounds and vulnerable Swiss families. Volunteers receive support in regular group events and coaching sessions.

• Wild neighbors

  location

  ganze Schweiz

  
  environment user Free spaces available time Year-round recurring

  Many of the animals in local areas avoid people, live out of sight, in hiding or only coming out at night. The project Wilde Nachbarn (“Wild Neighbors”) aims to help us to see and experience these secret residents. To do this, we’re collecting wildlife observations with the help of members of the public. Over time, these chance encounters will give us a good idea of the presence and distribution of various species. According to the latest research, biodiversity in urban areas is astonishingly high, comparable to the diversity in an average forest or agricultural area. Those who take the time will discover an abundance of exciting and fascinating wildlife in their garden or on the way to work or school.

• Retired and committed

  location

  The whole of Switzerland

  
  entrepreneurial user Free spaces available time Year-round recurring

  Tired of sitting around and twiddling your thumbs? Do you enjoy working with young people and shaking things up? Would you like a chance to pass on the leadership and other skills you gained during your working life? Then Innovage is the place for you. We bring together retirees with a diverse range of expertise into regional networks to help non-profit organizations – professionally, voluntarily, and free of charge.

• Repair Café Lucerne: Fix it up, don't throw it out.

  location

  Luzern

  
  environment user Free spaces available time Year-round recurring

  Both the Neubad and Bourbaki Repair Cafés in Lucerne are booming. Volunteer repair teams are looking for people who are good with their hands, no matter if they're already employed or retired. Are you good at fixing broken things such as electrical devices, gadgets, textiles, mechanical appliances, toys, jewelry and the like? Are you a people person keen on promoting sustainability? Then you've come to the right place! Our dynamic repair café team needs your help. Here's how it works: Visitors bring in their broken items and get to work fixing it in the repair café with the help of an expert. Tools and material are on hand to repair all sorts of gizmos. And on top of that you can talk shop over some coffee and cake.

• Tandem – mentoring for jobseekers

  location

  Schaffhausen

  
  social user Free spaces available time Year-round recurring

  Tandem’s objective is to collaborate with jobseekers to help them find a new position. To this end, the jobseeker and the volunteer mentor meet regularly, as well as communicate by phone and email. You jointly plan and structure your activities. Tandem generally runs over a period of four months. Collaboration in Tandem can be varied and mean different things – from jointly viewing and searching job advertisements through discussing and improving application documents and personal appearance to boosting confidence, listening and lateral thinking.

• Save food items from going to waste and send food by mail to Tischlein deck dich

  location

  The whole of Switzerland

  
  social user Free spaces available time Year-round recurring

  We save food items from going to waste. We send food items in perfect condition by mail to Tischlein deck dich to distribute to people affected by poverty in Switzerland. Food items (unopened, non-refrigerated items in perfect condition such as rice, canned goods, oil, vinegar, pasta, sugar, flour, salt. Items must be in date; no fresh products or frozen food) are packaged in Tischlein deck dich regional warehouses and distributed to people affected by poverty in Switzerland. Idea proposed by: Tischlein deck dich

• Caritas-Bergeinsatz. Help mountain farming families in need

  location

  The whole of Switzerland

  
  social user Free spaces available time Year-round recurring

  Volunteers help Swiss mountain farming families who are experiencing an emergency due to accident, illnesses, pregnancies, or some other hardship. Help with a range of occasional work such as hay making, farm work, animal care, household chores, childcare and the like, and experience the joy of the simple life in the mountains.

• incluso – Mentoring for migrants looking for an apprenticeship Zurich

  location

  Zürich

  
  social user Free spaces available time Year-round recurring

  incluso is looking for volunteers with professional experience (mentors) to work with migrants (mentees). The aim of the project is to promote equal opportunities in the Swiss apprenticeship market for young people from migrant backgrounds – especially those who have recently immigrated to Switzerland. We organize tandems who work together over the course of a school year. There is an ever-increasing set of demands placed on school leavers as they transition to the job market. They need to be well connected, understand the complex Swiss education system and be confident in their own abilities. Young people from migrant backgrounds face greater hurdles in this process and often have fewer resources at their disposal.

• obvita – go for walks with the elderly and the blind

  location

  St. Gallen

  
  social user Free spaces available time Year-round recurring

  Residents are accompanied on walks in their local area. They form new acquaintances and find new things to talk about. You get to know elderly people and understand their thoughts and concerns, as well as developing your social skills.

• obvita – cafeteria support

  location

  St. Gallen

  
  social user Free spaces available time Year-round recurring

  Residents are served in the cafeteria. They form new acquaintances and find new things to talk about. You get to know elderly people and understand their thoughts and concerns, as well as developing your social skills.

• developing strategies

  location

  Biel / Bienne

  
  entrepreneurial user Free spaces available time Year-round recurring

  The aim of this project is to enable the charity association Tel 143 – Dargebotene Hand Nordwest (“Helping Hand Northwest”) to locate new sponsors and volunteers and to promote its existing connections. As Tel143 is entirely dependent on donations, it must find new sponsors and volunteer listeners, and promote its existing connections. Your help will be important to the long-term success of our mission.

• Learning German

  location

  Region Aargau

  
  social user Free spaces available time Year-round recurring

  We require volunteers with good German to teach the language to migrants in one-on-one tandems 2 to 4 times per month. You can help them learn German in the traditional way with a grammar book, or combined with other activities like shopping, museum visits or cooking together. These tandems are an opportunity to target the migrants’ precise individual needs and for them to obtain specific language skills. You can meet in public or private spaces.

• Digi-Treff

  location

  Bremgarten, Aarau, Region Zofingen und Baden

  
  education user Free spaces available time Year-round recurring

  We have seen a massive increase in digitalization as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, a trend which is set to continue. However, this places technophobes at a disadvantage from the outset. As part of Digi-Treff (from the German “treffen”, meaning “to meet”), anyone interested can come by with their laptops or smartphones and ask questions about various software applications. Two volunteers will be on hand to answer individual questions. In Digi-Treff, volunteers help participants practice using their laptops and smartphones. Typical scenarios: Setting up an email account, writing emails, filling out online forms, setting up and using digital banking, looking for a job/apartment online.

• WohnFit

  location

  Stadt Zürich

  
  social user Free spaces available time Year-round recurring

  In a housing market as competitive as Zurich's, finding suitable accommodation is much harder for those affected by poverty. Adequate living space is essential for social and economic inclusion and for escaping poverty. WohnFit is looking for volunteer mentors willing to spend six months helping social welfare recipients in Zurich to find an apartment. Commitment: 1–2 hours per week. How it will work: To be agreed individually and in consultation with the person you will help to find an apartment. If necessary, the project manager can provide support. Introduction: Mentors are interviewed in detail about their expectations and capabilities and receive individual training to prepare them for their tasks. Support: After mentor and mentee have been introduced to each other, they will both be personally guided and advised by the WohnFit project manager throughout the process. We organize regular meet-ups where volunteers can share their experiences with one another, helping you achieve your goals.