Thank you event for volunteers / issue of the volunteer card

Volunteering in Jena was honored at a lively event in Jena's town hall on Thursday.

Mayor emphasizes the importance of volunteering

Volunteer fire departments, childcare, telephone counseling, cultural associations - without volunteers, many aspects of public life in the city of Jena would not exist or would not exist in their usual form. "The city is very aware of the special importance of volunteering for our community," said Lord Mayor Dr. Thomas Nitzsche at the celebration for volunteers in the historic town hall. He therefore wanted to use this event at least once a year to express his thanks to a few volunteers on behalf of the many others.

Great response to the city's invitation

The city has been inviting volunteers to a thank-you event for many years. More than 50 clubs, associations, departments, daycare centers and schools as well as individuals from Jena had submitted proposals for participation in this evening. They nominated people who did special work on a voluntary basis, which was enormously important for other people and could hardly or not at all be done otherwise. More than 130 of the 170 volunteers nominated accepted the invitation.

Awards for special commitment

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Jena Volunteer Award, which was once again awarded jointly by the AWO Regional Association of Central-West Thuringia and the city. Elke Metzner received the prize for her many years of commitment to helping people with disabilities. Ortrun Helmer and Alexander Lorenz were also presented with honorary certificates for their work for the community.

Presentation of the volunteer card

As part of this ceremony, the Volunteer Card from the Volunteer Advisory Board was also presented: around 50 men and women who were nominated received such a card, with which they can make use of discounted offers from JenaKultur and the Jena swimming pools, among others. Other sponsors of the volunteer card were Roma Bowling and the Goethe Pharmacy.

Special recognition for 25 years of commitment

Mayor Thomas Nitzsche expressed his special thanks to Elisabeth Wackernagel. She has been a member of the volunteer advisory board for 25 years and has worked intensively on the network for volunteers in Jena.

Cultural supporting program

The cultural supporting program was provided by the Jena dance group TOLEDOS, who presented outstanding shows from their current program, which has also won awards nationwide.

Background information

There are no official and reliable figures on civic engagement in Germany. Estimates assume that around one in three people are involved in some form of voluntary work. Applied to Jena, this would mean up to 30,000 people who volunteer on a large or small scale.