Like many in the German capital, when George Springborg arrived in Berlin in 2004, he had little in the way of a plan. 15 years later and he’s helped build and expand Street Football World, a charity football organisation which has attracted the interest - and the financial backing - of some of the sport’s biggest names.
Christmas is a time for spreading love and joy. You may be far from home and loved ones but to help you get that warm fuzzy feeling, we've put together a list of ways you can give back in Germany this December.
German migrant rescue group Mission Lifeline Wednesday denied breaking the law when it took on board more than 230 African asylum seekers and refused to hand them over to Libya's coastguard.
A charitable food bank in the western town of Essen announced on Sunday that it will once again accept non-German clients after it restricted its services to foreigners in January.
A Tafel (food bank) in the western town on Marl rejected accusations of racism on Thursday after it decided to stop serving single adults in the wake of the refugee crisis.
Last week a food charity in Essen took the controversial decision to stop taking any new foreign clients. The move, said to be aimed at helping German Omas, has unleashed a heated debate about racism and poverty.
Visiting Berlin on Tuesday, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates said the world must use the lessons from battling Ebola to prepare for any future "war" against a global killer disease with the help of new technology.
Mario Götze's left boot, with which he scored the World Cup-winning goal, has raised €2 million (US$2.45m) for the German charity event "A Heart for Children", organisers revealed Saturday.
Year after year, the town of Wunsiedel was the unwilling host to a march of neo-Nazis who would make their way through the town to the grave of Rudolf HeĂź. When digging up the body didn't deter the unwanted guests, the town came up with a new plan.
The coffers of the German Society for Muscular Disease (DGM) are overflowing with donations thanks to the viral craze for videos of donors dousing themselves with ice-cold water.
German football players, German tennis players, German TV characters and Germany's latest Topmodel winner are all taking on the ice bucket challenge, but is it actually making a difference?
A conservative German politician has been slammed for suggesting that poor people be given the meals removed from sale because they contained horse meat. Charities and a Catholic leader said the idea showed an astonishing lack of respect.
It was like King Kong versus Godzilla - two of the world's richest men have got into a billionaire brawl over whether Bill Gates tried to dupe SAP founder Hasso Plattner into giving away half his fortune.
One of Germany's wealthiest men, SAP founder Hasso Plattner, has promised to give away half of his €5-billion fortune to good causes. The pledge makes him the first German to join a initiative started by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.
Football legend Franz Beckenbauer is appealing to German soccer players to donate their old boots as part of a project to help disadvantaged children in the slums of Brazil. Mark Lovell reports.
Hundreds of Germany's dirtiest athletes gathered on the banks of the North Sea on Sunday for the Mud Olympics, where competitors squelched around to raise money for a counselling service for cancer patients.
Germany’s small towns and rural areas could be left at risk of fire by a European law which could stop more than a million volunteer fire fighters training enough to keep people safe.
Just over a year after its launch, a revolutionary German website is reshaping the lives of wheelchair users with online information about the accessibility of thousands of locations worldwide.
Germans have increased aid donations to help East Africa after relief agencies complained the country wasn’t doing enough to stem famine in the impoverished region.
Colombian popstar Shakira was in Germany this weekend to perform a concert and she took the opportunity to sign an agreement with the German Development Ministry to support her charity.
One of Germany’s best-known classical violinists, Anne-Sophie Mutter, has called for the country's tax system to be changed to encourage private donations to cultural causes.
One in 16 women in sub-Saharan Africa dies in childbirth. One in 13 babies is stillborn or dies within a week. For World Health Day, The Local's David Wroe meets a young German doctor who is making a difference.
Berlin’s party scene is holding a benefit event for the family of Frank Barnes, a British robot builder whose partner suffered serious injuries in childbirth. Hannah Cleaver has the details.
