Volunteering in Linz: How Markus Hager young people give new perspectives

Volunteering in Linz: How Markus Hager young people give new perspectives

In Upper Austria, gratitude is very important! Caritas Upper Austria honors its tireless volunteers, who not only offer vital support, but are also bright spots for people in need. Franz Kehrer, director of Caritas, emphasizes the importance of this volunteer helper in an interview with the "Upper Austrian November". "Without volunteers, many offers of help would not be possible for young and old," he explains. The areas where the help is so urgently needed include loneliness, needy and poverty. Caritas Upper Austria works closely with over 3,300 full -time employees and a variety of volunteers in order to respect and promote the dignity and skills of each individual, as Kehrer continued. Each contribution counts significantly in the support of around 300 young people with hearing and visual impairments that are in vocational training.

volunteer heroes awarded

At a solemn event in the St. Florian Abbey, the outstanding achievements of volunteers were recently recognized. Once again, Caritas gave elisabethrosis - a symbol for charity and social commitment - to committed personalities. The honored with this award, including Markus Hager and Johann Schwarzbauer-Haupt, have campaigned for fellow human beings for years. Markus Hager, for example, has been promoting young people with learning difficulties for nine years and is practically around the clock to support them on their way to the professional future. He not only provides the necessary learning aid during the lesson, but he can also be reached for his protégés at the weekend in order to enable them a solid life perspective, said Kehrer in his acceptance speech.

Johann Schwarzbauer-Haupt, another example of extraordinary commitment, looks back on almost three decades for Caritas and remains active even after his retirement. Especially during the Ukraine crisis, he was at the forefront with a telephone hotline for coordinating auxiliary measures in order to support those in need directly and respectfully. Kehrer praised him as a great support, especially in times of crisis, and praised his far -reaching networks to benefit Caritas. The volunteers show that their contributions are not only measured in words, but in a lived solidarity that improves the lives of many people in Upper Austria, such as Tips.at reported

Franz Kehrer remains the director of Caritas by the end of August 2025, while he points to a successor who is already in the starting blocks to continue this valuable work. It is clear that Caritas will not only work intensively in the present, but will also continue to rely on this indispensable use of volunteers in the future in order not to leave anyone back, according to Kehrer in the Upper Austria Nachrichten .