Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) - The Greens and CDU want to launch the volunteer card planned in the coalition agreement with benefits for socially committed people. "The Ministry of Social Affairs is currently working on the key points to introduce such a card in Baden-Württemberg. The first trials in individual districts could start as early as next year," said Green Party leader Andreas Schwarz on Tuesday of the German Press Agency in Stuttgart.
He was reacting to the debate initiated by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier about a compulsory social year for young people. Black considers incentives better than duty. "I could also imagine a kind of bonus card for young people who are committed to helping others, with which you can enter the museum free of charge or receive advantages when applying to study." This is what the idea of a volunteer card aims for.
The card is intended to give people who volunteer in associations, clubs or in caregiving benefits to receive discounts. The coalition agreement between the Greens and the CDU states: "It should offer the volunteers a practical benefit and enable them to spend a few well-deserved hours - for example when visiting cultural institutions free of charge." The CDU in particular had campaigned for the card.
However, the idea is not entirely new. The card already exists in Rhineland-Palatinate, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Bavaria, and volunteers in North Rhine-Westphalia can use the card to visit cheaper museums, cinemas or theatres, as well as swimming pools or courses at adult education centres. The card is given to anyone who volunteers at least five hours a week or 250 hours a year for the common good.
