Information for people wishing to do volunteer work in Geneva

Deux bénévoles sur un évenement.

Do you want to give some of your to helping others? Your skills and knowledge would prove very valuable to numerous solidarity-based projects. Here are a few avenues to explore in order to begin or pursue your experience of volunteer work in Geneva.

Volunteer work in the field of sport

Volunteer work provides essential support to sports clubs and associations in Geneva. If you want to become a volunteer in the world of sport, you can opt to do so on an occasional basis, for example during sports events such as the Course de l’Escalade, the Davis Cup or various Swiss championships, or more regularly by committing yourself to a sports club or association. Valued by the Sports Department of the City of Geneva, this type of volunteer work gives rise to training which is divided into different modules, each lasting three hours.

Volunteer work in the social sphere

Volunteers recruited by the Social Service of the City of Geneva benefit from appropriate supervision and sometimes even ad hoc training. If you are in a position to give a few hours of your time, please do not hesitate to contact the persons listed below.

Local volunteer work

The local social outreach centres call on volunteers to participate in different neighbourhood projects through Troc social. In particular, they join projects such as Ecrivain public, a workshop designed to help with reading or homework, legal aid clinics or aid relations between two people.

Working with seniors

The local social outreach centres and Cité Seniors regularly call on volunteers who welcome, accompany or supervise senior citizens during a range of activities:

  • regardless of whether you are a young adult or a senior citizen yourself, you are welcome to volunteer to man the reception at Cité Seniors.
  • If you have any IT skills, you can join another twenty volunteers who work at the Espace Zell and in the four community centres where the public can enjoy free access to computers and a WiFi connection. Volunteers are tasked with answering any questions users might have and helping them find what they are looking for.
  • As a volunteer driver, you can also accompany senior citizens with reduced mobility on the excursions or short breaks proposed by the Social Service of the City of Geneva. To this end, you can phone 022 418 97 54 directly. In this case, you will be provided with appropriate annual training by the local social outreach centres.

Banishing exclusion

If you wish to volunteer to assist destitute people, you can provide assistance at the city’s club social rive gauche de la Ville. Volunteers help distribute meals (breakfasts and lunches) to people in severe difficulty.

You can also volunteer to help organise the Réveillon de la solidarité, with more detailed information provided below.

Accompaniment, listening and support for vulnerable people

To offer your time to accompany, listen to and support vulnerable people, either at home or in an institution, contact the  relational volunteer work coordination organisations directly.

Volunteer work in the environmental sphere

In Geneva, numerous associations take action to protect nature and the climate. You can choose to be involved on an occasional basis, during events such as Net'Léman or the green film festival, or more regularly by becoming an active member of an environmental association. The two pages below list numerous organisations which are active locally and may be of interest to you:

Occasional involvement to support events

The “la Ville est à vous” organisation committees

Every year, with the arrival of the fine weather, Geneva’s inhabitants can't wait to fill the city’s public areas over an entire weekend by organising garage sales, concerts, performances and workshops. You can participate in the events of la Ville est à vous held in your district by playing a role in the organisation committee that conjures up the programme for this festive event from the ideas provided by the local inhabitants.

Réveillon de la solidarité

For many years now, the Social Service has organised a major New Year’s event running from 7.15 p.m. to 2 a.m. every 31 December, intended for people who have been marginalised from society. Feel free to join the 80 volunteers involved each year in preparing the Réveillon de la solidarité. In addition to serving meals, volunteers also take care of the artists who perform at the event, organise the childcare service, etc.

Information and registration: @email

Sporting events

If you would like to work as a volunteer during major sporting events, please contact the relevant organisers directly.

Associative platforms promoting volunteer work

  • The Genève Bénévolat platform brings together several associations and thus enables you to choose from among the different causes they defend. Once a year in November, it organises a one-day volunteer work “speed meeting”. Throughout the year, a wide range of advertisements is listed on this website, which creates a link between associations or event organisers and volunteers.
  • The Centre genevois de volontariat (CGV) promotes the recruitment of people wishing to become volunteer workers, be it for an institution or a private individual.

Being or becoming a family care-giver

The Information for family care-givers section presents a list of centres or services designed to support people who take care of a loved one who is aged, ill, handicapped or no longer self-sufficient on a voluntary and informal basis.

Article modifié le 05.09.2023 à 16:04