Support families after birth as a family mentor

Känguru arranges volunteer family sponsors for 6 to 12 months who come to the families once a week for about 3 hours and, depending on the arrangement, provide practical childcare or emotional support.

In monthly team meetings at the locations, the volunteers can discuss experiences and develop solutions together with their regional coordinator. The regional coordinator is available to them as a permanent contact person to reflect on their family work and, if necessary, is also available for individual one-on-one discussions in problematic situations.

An important part of supporting our volunteers is the offer of special further education and training. We offer training on topics such as the development of babies in the first months of life, child protection, appreciative communication, counselling and support services in the neighbourhood, psychological disorders in the postpartum period and first aid for children.

We are looking for volunteer family patrons who support the families during this time 1-2 times per week for 2-4 hours and relieve them specifically. For example, they go for a walk with the child, accompany the parents to the pediatrician, look after the older siblings and are available for advice and support.

Through recognition, attention, time to listen and encourage, you as a volunteer make an important contribution to the families.

The duration of each sponsorship is usually 6-12 months, but is subject to an individual agreement between the family sponsor, the family and the regional coordinator.

Reliability, empathy and tolerance. For us, the fun and joy of this social commitment with the families and children are in the foreground.

"Känguru-hilft und begleitet" has set itself the goal of recruiting experienced volunteer family sponsors for families seeking support and to arrange these contacts. Many of them are happy about this support in everyday life, as they may have no or few trusting social contacts or sufficient family ties. Their situation may be exacerbated by social isolation. A lack of support can lead to an extreme stress situation and overstrain for parents and single parents. We would like to counteract this situation by placing you as a godparent and create a low-threshold and trustworthy offer for parents.

In order to be able to guarantee a high quality of care for both sides, you as a volunteer family mentor are integrated into a team of volunteers in your district and have the opportunity to regularly participate in joint team meetings and interesting training sessions. Your regional coordinator is your direct contact for all questions and concerns and is always available for intensive support.