Skip to content 
Volunteering with Refugees in Berlin: Your Guide as an Expat
Leaving your home country behind — often without warning, often without choice — to start over in an unfamiliar city is one of the hardest experiences a person can face. Berlin receives thousands of people fleeing conflict and persecution every year, and many of them arrive with little more than the clothes on their backs and a need for community, support, and connection. That is where you come in.
Whether you are a long-term expat, a newcomer yourself, or simply someone who wants to use their time for something meaningful, volunteering with refugees in Berlin is one of the most impactful forms of voluntary work you can do. You do not need to speak German. You do not need a professional background in social work. What you do need is a willingness to show up.
In this guide, we introduce you to five outstanding volunteer organisations in Berlin, explain what kind of support they are looking for, and show you how to take your first step — today.
Support Refugees’ Mobility: Rückenwind e.V.
Getting around Berlin is essential for independence — but BVG tickets are too expensive for many people arriving with few resources. That is the challenge Rückenwind e.V. set out to solve. Their team repairs donated bicycles and passes them on to newly arrived people in the city, giving them a free, healthy, and environmentally friendly way to move around.
When you volunteer with Rückenwind, you become part of their workshop team at the Sharehaus “Refugio”. No prior experience in bike repair is needed — the team will show you the ropes, and there are always organisational tasks to help with too. If you are more comfortable behind a spreadsheet than a wrench, there is a place for you here.
What makes this kind of work with refugees especially rewarding is that the impact is immediate and tangible. A repaired bike is not just transport — it is access to job interviews, language classes, and the city itself. Rückenwind currently supports people from over a dozen countries of origin, and their volunteer team is just as international.
Become part of the awesome team of Rückenwind e.V., repair bikes and most importantly get to know new friends.
Build Community: Über den Tellerrand e.V.
Über den Tellerrand e.V. started with a simple idea: cook together, eat together, connect. Since those early shared meals, the organisation has grown into one of Berlin’s most creative volunteer organisations, running dozens of community events that bring people with and without refugee experience together — on equal terms, always.
As a volunteer with Über den Tellerrand, you can step into the role of project coordinator for one of their existing formats, or propose an entirely new event yourself. From language tandems to craft workshops, from yoga sessions to film screenings — the variety is part of the point. Every format is designed to create genuine human connection rather than a one-directional helper–recipient dynamic.
This is voluntary work in the truest sense: you give your time, your creativity, and your presence, and you receive community and new perspectives in return. For expats who want to root themselves more deeply in Berlin life while doing something meaningful, this is an ideal starting point.
Plan interesting events and create opportunities for personal exchange. That way you can bring together people as equals.
Share Your Skills: ReDI School of Digital Integration
Digital skills are among the most valuable assets a person can have in today's job market — and one of the most unequally distributed. The ReDI School of Digital Integration is a non-profit school for newcomers in Berlin that addresses this gap directly. Their courses are free, their instructors are volunteers, and their goal is to equip migrants and refugees with the technical knowledge to enter the digital economy.
As a volunteer teacher or mentor at ReDI, you can lead courses in programming languages, teach basic computer skills, or support students with career preparation and job market navigation. Courses are taught in English, German, Arabic, Farsi, and Tigrinya, which means language is rarely a barrier to participation — for students or for volunteers.
If you are working in tech, design, data, or any digital field and want your voluntary work to leave a lasting professional impact on someone's life, ReDI School is worth looking into. Former students have gone on to work at established Berlin startups and international companies — a direct result of the skills they built with volunteer support.
Join a Volunteer Programme: Horizont International
Sometimes the most meaningful volunteer work is not a single action but a sustained commitment to growth — your own and others’. Horizont International is a 3–4 month volunteer programme in Berlin, run by OlamAid, a humanitarian organisation supporting people affected by war, migration, and forced displacement.
The programme brings together a small group of volunteers for weekly meetings, combining trainings on volunteering and emergency response with hands-on participation in volunteer actions across the city. You will learn how to support others in challenging situations, explore creative and art-therapy-based approaches, and build real skills in intercultural community work — all while becoming part of a close-knit, supportive group.
The programme is conducted in English, and also welcomes speakers of Ukrainian and Russian, which makes it particularly well-suited for expats and internationally minded volunteers. There are no strict prerequisites — what matters is motivation and the ability to commit to one meeting per week. The meeting time is agreed together with the group, so it works for everyone’s schedule.
If you are looking for volunteer work with refugees that goes beyond a one-off contribution and actually builds your capacity to help, this is one of the most structured and thoughtful opportunities available in Berlin right now.
Join a 3–4 month volunteer programme in Berlin — learn how to support people in crisis, explore art-therapy approaches, and grow as part of a committed community.
Make Sports Accessible: Champions ohne Grenzen e.V.
Sport has a unique ability to cross language barriers and create belonging fast — and Champions ohne Grenzen e.V. has built an entire organisation around that idea. As an actor at the intersection of political, social, and sporting engagement, they work to build a genuine culture of welcome for refugees in Germany, not just on paper but on the pitch.
Their Start2Coach programme supports refugees who want to become qualified football coaches. Champions ohne Grenzen provides training opportunities, connects participants with interested sports clubs across Berlin, and offers ongoing mentoring and regular exchange. Volunteers in this programme work with recently arrived people as fellow coaches, trainers for children’s projects, or players and supporters in adult training sessions.
Not a football coach? No problem. There are plenty of other ways to get involved — from helping organise the annual Kick Out Racism Cup to supporting general club work or bringing your own ideas that fit the organisation’s philosophy. The project is open to volunteers who speak English, German, or Farsi, which makes it one of the most internationally accessible sport volunteering opportunities in the city.
Start volunteering at Start2Coach and make sport accessible to people who are new in Berlin.
Get Involved Now
Berlin has some of the most active and creative refugee support organisations in Germany — and every single one of them needs people like you. Whether you want to repair bikes, teach code, host events, or coach football, there is a form of voluntary work here that fits your skills and your schedule. You do not need to speak German. You do not need prior experience. You just need to start.
Find your perfect volunteer project on GoVolunteer and filter by cause, time commitment, and location to discover opportunities that match your life. Not sure which direction is right for you? The Wunsch-Ehrenamt Tool asks you a few short questions and gives you tailored project suggestions — it takes less than two minutes.
If you want to explore more ways to get involved across the city, our guide to volunteering in Berlin for English speakersis a great next step. Volunteering with refugees is not about being a hero. It is about being a neighbour. Start today.
