Do you live your life according to the phrase “Healthy mind in a healthy body”? Do you enjoy doing sports and are you interested in the concept of open youth work? If the answer is “Yes”, then this ESC Voluntary Service is your chance – come to Bremen and support the youth center in their activities!
Dates: 07.09.2026 – 31.08.2027
Location: Bremen, Germany
Hosting Organisation: Jugendfreizeitheim Gröpelingen (Junge Stadt gGmbH)
About your hosting organisation and the tasks
Junge Stadt gGmbH is a non-profit organisation which supports children and young adults on their way to an independent and responsible life. It consists of two residential groups and two youth centers for youngsters between 10 and 25 years. The volunteering will take part in one of their youth centers, which is located in the district of Gröpelingen.
The main goal of Junge Stadt gGmbH is to encourage youngsters to be active, to participate in meaningful activites, research their interests and develop new skills in a safe space. Since Gröpelingen is a district with a very high immigration rate, the visitors of the center are very diverse. It is a place for youngsters from different cultures to connect, make friendships and break prejudices while doing sports, arts and crafts, gardening, fixing their bikes, creating music and partaking in trips and other leisure activities.
Next to a place to hang out they also offer a gym, outside sports areas, a garden, music studio and a bike repairing workshop.
As a volunteer you will have an opportunity to:
- Work in a multicultural group of experts from different areas.
- Learn more about youth work and experience it first handed in a youth center.
- Participate in fitness, soccer, parkour and boxing trainings and develop your own according to your interests.
- Help with music, arts&crafts, bike repairing and gardening workshops.
- Develop your own ideas and turn them into projects.
- Attend work camps, excursions and trips with the youngsters.
Your main tasks will include:
- Spending time with youngsters in the daily center.
- Supporting workers in sports related activities.
- Promoting being active and living a healthy lifestyle.
- Planning and implementing events together with the other volunteers for the community of Bremen
You do not need to have prior experience in youth work or sports education, as you will learn as you go along.
You want to know more? For a good read check Anastasiia’s final report and Naim’s 2nd Report on our website.
Logistics
NaturKultur e.V will be the coordinating organization in charge of all logistical matters.
Bremen is a city in North-West Germany (around 500.000 inhabitants), close to Hamburg, the border with Netherlands and the North Sea coast. Bremen is a vibrant, multi-cultural city with a lot of young people and where you can find a historical centre, modern and cultural areas, in a small area.
You will stay in a house for ESC volunteers in Gröpelingen with max. 4 others. This is a very vibrant, multicultural, and urban neighborhood. It is a place of diversity, but also a real city environment that requires an open mind. You will have your own room, but you will live in mixed-gender apartments. We value an atmosphere of awareness and mutual respect, and we expect our volunteers to be open to living and working in a diverse, multicultural community.
As an ESC volunteer, you will receive health insurance, 210€ monthly pocket money, 323€ for living expenses. Travel costs will be reimbursed depending on the travel distance (normally between 211€-395€). The local transport will be covered by the hosting organisation.
You will be supported by a Coordinator, an internal Mentor to help you get settled in your work place, and an external mentor to you get to know the city of Bremen. You will also receive German language lessons (once per week) together with all volunteers and have access to OLS, the online language learning platform.
But – how is it to volunteer in Bremen?
Here you can check out some stories from our volunteers.
Or find out more about Maria, who was volunteering in a school in Bremen.
Check also the Instagram Account of NaturKultur to get impressions from volunteers.
You can apply, if you…
- … are a resident of an EU Country or partner country
- … between 18-30 years old (on the day you start your ESC)
- …are vaccinated against the measles and can provide a certificate of good conduct
- … can communicate in English (A2 or more) OR German (A2 or more) and/or are willing to improve your foreign language skills OR if you are Bulgarian or Russian speaking
- … want to work with youngsters and are very open and approachable
- … are active and enjoy doing sports with other people
- … love to be creative and motivated about making a positive change in society
- … are an open-minded person, motivated to work in a team and with people from different religious, cultural and social backgrounds
In short, this ESC project will give you the opportunity to learn and gain experience in a new professional environment, develop your self-awareness and knowledge about people with different backgrounds, learn more about a new culture and language, find your strengths and interests in an unforgettable, unique year in Bremen! The voluntary service is financed by European Solidarity Corps The mission of the ESC is to bring people from different backgrounds together to form a society based on mutual acceptance, solidarity and cohesion.
Application Deadline: 27.05.2026