News
Thank you to all volunteers: BVB honour voluntary engagement
As in previous years, numerous volunteers from partner organisations associated with the foundation and the club were honoured for their passionate and important work on the edge of the pitch in front of the south stand. Representatives from Dortmunder Tafel, Gast-Haus e.V., Friedensdorf Oberhausen, the BVB Learning Centre, Nordstadtliga, Kinderhospizdienst Lünen, the volunteers and the initiatives “Angekommen im Sport” (Arrived in sport) and “Uns verbindet Borussia” (Borussia connects us) were all in attendance.
As one of Dortmund’s most important contact points for homeless people, Gast-Haus has been closely linked to the city’s community and BVB since its inception 30 years ago. More than 300 volunteers regularly work there to keep this institution running. As a sign of appreciation, the two BVB managing directors and foundation board members Carsten Cramer and Lars Ricken recently took the opportunity to visit the centre in person with a little surprise. We captured the visit on video.
Background
On Matchdays 13 and 14 of the Bundesliga and Matchdays 15 and 16 of the Bundesliga 2 (5 to 7 December and 12 to 14 December), professional football will be paying tribute to all the people who work behind the scenes: around 1.7 million volunteers invest 15 to 20 hours a week to keep the game running.
The commemorative and action day on 5 December is an annual expression of recognition and promotion of voluntary work. It was officially adopted by the UN in 1985 and implemented in 1986. Whether in the volunteer fire brigade, in providing accommodation for refugees or in sport, volunteers take on tasks in many areas of life that would otherwise not be done or would require full-time employees.
Anyone who would also like to volunteer can contact the FreiwilligenAgentur Dortmund (Dortmund Volunteer Agency), for example. The agency has been active since 2002 and acts as an interface between citizens who want to get involved and organisations from all sectors that are looking for volunteers. The relevant advisory services are free of charge and non-binding. More information is available on the FreiwilligenAgentur website.