Volunteer heroes honored: Helpers' Day in Beelitz thrilled!

Volunteer heroes honored: Helpers' Day in Beelitz thrilled!

“Helper Day” was celebrated in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district on July 12, 2025, an event that undoubtedly touched many hearts. Around 200 tireless volunteers from various organizations such as the fire department, the Technical Relief Agency (THW) and the DLRG gathered at the fire department technical center in Beelitz-Heilstätten to be duly recognized. District Administrator Marko Köhler and district fire chief Jens Heinze took the opportunity to thank the helpers for their tireless efforts, because around 4,000 volunteers in the district make an invaluable contribution to fire and disaster control.

“We know that volunteer work often remains in the background, but today we would like to bring the committed people to the fore,” emphasized District Administrator Köhler. This event was created three years ago in response to the devastating wildfires in the region. The main goal is to make the dedication and commitment of these brave souls visible and show them the appreciation they deserve.

Technical innovations and statistics

A highlight of the day was the ceremonial handover of two new emergency vehicles: a CBRN reconnaissance vehicle and a command vehicle. These vehicles, which were financed by federal funds, are now available to the volunteer fire departments in the district. The reconnaissance vehicle remains at the location in Beelitz, while the command vehicle is used by the Beelitz Volunteer Fire Department for regular emergency service.

The numbers speak for themselves: In the first half of 2025, the volunteer fire departments in the district recorded almost 2,300 operations - a truly impressive commitment, considering that disaster control in Germany depends heavily on volunteers. According to the Johanniter, over 1.7 million citizens are involved in such tasks, with more than 90 percent of these helpers being volunteers. Despite these large numbers, however, organizations face challenges such as demographic changes and rural exodus that affect volunteer engagement.

Challenges and initiatives

A recent study by the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief shows that around 1.76 million volunteers are active in disaster protection, but only around a third of the organizations have enough members to cope with the increasing demands. Climate change is also causing extreme weather events to occur more frequently, which means the need for volunteers is constantly growing.

In order to strengthen volunteer work, various initiatives were launched, including the “Helping Hand” volunteer award and numerous training opportunities such as medical assistants or specialist training in civil protection. Employers are also encouraged to release their employees for exercises and missions - a step that is seen as a social contribution.

Meanwhile, Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe is committed to increasing the appreciation of volunteer work and would like to raise public awareness of the commitment. However, public funding only makes up a small part of the financing of operational organizations, which underlines the desire for more government support.

Overall, “Helper Day” shows how important the contribution of volunteers is to disaster control. It's worth thinking about what each of us can do in our free time - because as the "No matter what you can do, you can help" campaign shows, every contribution, no matter what form, is valuable.

For more information on the topics of volunteering and disaster protection, take a look at the website Potsdam-Mittelmark, the Johanniter Accident Help and des Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief.