Volunteering in Leipzig

01Where can I find volunteering in Leipzig?

The quickest way to find volunteering in Leipzig is through the Freiwilligen-Agentur Leipzig. The city itself calls it the central contact point for volunteering across all fields. Its advice is free and non-binding, and its database brings together offers from many areas. You can search online there or get personal advice.

The City of Leipzig also offers routes of its own. At the monthly one-to-one advice “Engagement. Impuls” you get guidance if you do not yet know where and how you want to contribute. At the Leipzig volunteering fair you come into direct contact with suitable placements. Both offers complement the work of the volunteer agency.

If you want to volunteer with a welfare organisation, it is worth looking at the website of the Caritasverband Leipzig. There you will find an overview of the institutions where volunteers can help. You then contact the management of the institution that interests you directly. Caritas points out that there is not always capacity for new volunteers, so be a little patient.

02Which areas are there?

The areas range from education and neighbourhood work through health and care to civil protection. The database of the volunteer agency lists, for example, tutoring for disadvantaged children, reading mentorships and a grandparent service. Other entries look for people for first aid cover at events, for training lifeguards or for the care service in civil protection. Neighbourhood work is represented too, for instance the local magazine “Gohlis Forum” or a meeting group in Grünau.

The city describes volunteering in Leipzig as a spectrum from neighbourhood meeting points through sports clubs and cultural offers to nature conservation. Its page also links directly to the volunteering pages of large welfare organisations. These list fields of activity, requirements and current offers. So you can compare before you contact an organisation.

At the Caritasverband Leipzig you can volunteer in day-care centres, in the outpatient hospice and palliative advice service or at the station mission. In the Catholic parishes there are visiting services that see people at home, in care homes and in hospitals. Young people aged 15 and over can help out in institutions for two weeks through Kompass Sozial and get to know the social sector. That is a good way in while you are still at school.

03How can I get involved in peace and understanding?

You work for understanding where people of different backgrounds find their place in the city. In the database of the Freiwilligen-Agentur Leipzig, the Leipzig orientation advice service for asylum seekers and migrants and an advice centre in Schönefeld, for example, are looking for support. Other placements look for people to teach German, for instance in an overnight shelter for homeless men. Tasks like these create understanding very directly, through language and encounter.

Encounter in the neighbourhood also contributes to living together peacefully. Initiatives in Gohlis, Grünau or Schönefeld look for people to accompany groups, organise meetings or carry out local projects. The city supports such projects and, with “Engagement. Impuls”, also offers advice on low-barrier volunteering. Anyone who joins in here connects people who would otherwise hardly meet.

If you have a project of your own, you can create it as a peace mission on W3ltfrieden or support an existing mission. A mission describes what you plan to do, who is responsible and how progress is documented. You can see in the mission overview whether there are already suitable missions in Leipzig. For the organisational side of your project, the service desk for associations at the volunteer agency can help.

04How much time do I need to bring?

Many Leipzig offers need only an hour a week. One placement in the database of the volunteer agency, for example, looks for people to give a child an hour of tutoring each week. Other tasks, such as first aid cover, adapt flexibly to your availability. Some entries, on the other hand, explicitly expect a long-term commitment, as with reading mentorships.

Read carefully in the database what the placement expects, and ask if anything is unclear. In the advice session at the volunteer agency you can say openly how much time you have. Together you then consider which task is realistic. That way you avoid taking on too much.

Alongside the activity, allow some time for further training. Together with the city, the Volkshochschule Leipzig offers practical courses for volunteers, for instance on cooperation, clarifying roles or digital skills. In autumn 2026 there is the workshop series “Digital im Ehrenamt”. Courses like these are optional but make you more confident in your task.

If you have more time, you can also consider a voluntary service with Caritas. It is a fixed placement over several months and different from volunteering alongside school or work. For practical questions on legal and financial matters, the city refers to the information of the Saxon State Ministry for Social Affairs. There you will find answers in one place before you commit.