Our employees spent more than 200,000 volunteer hours, or the equivalent of 25,000 eight-hour days, volunteering in 2024. We are proud of the commitment of our employees and promote it as part of our corporate volunteering offers. In addition to our focus topics, such as the promotion of the digital society, we are committed to education, science, culture and sports, among other things. We cooperate with partner organizations and provide financial support in the form of sponsorship and donations. Last but not least, we provide emergency aid in crisis situations, for example after natural disasters.
Driving employee engagement
As part of corporate volunteering, our employees contribute their time and expertise to social and ecological causes. With their commitment, they strengthen social cohesion, broaden their perspectives and further develop their skills. This can have a positive effect on the team spirit in the company.
Volunteering highlights in 2024
In Germany, more than 2,000 Deutsche Telekom volunteers spent an evening accepting donation calls for children in need during the “Ein Herz für Kinder“-Gala. In the U.S., T-Mobile US employees volunteered more than 21,000 hours and donated to charity during Magenta Giving Month in April 2024. Through T-Mobile Czech Republic’s “A day for a good deed” campaign, our employees were able to use one working day in 2024 to volunteer at a non-profit organization of their choice. Almost 400 volunteers took part in the program, and around 40 aid organizations were supported.
Corporate communities
In various corporate communities, our employees are committed to the focus topics of our CR Strategy on a long-term basis.
Climate protection and the circular economy
Shaping the digital society
Corporate culture and inclusion
The “DIGITAL@School” community (only available in German), for example, stands for strengthening the media literacy of young people: Our employees help children and young people to understand the opportunities and dangers of the digital world. They also introduce them to STEM content (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in a playful way and support teachers and parents in building up knowledge.
Another example of our corporate communities is the “Human-centered technology” community, which puts people at the center of technology and innovation. Its goal is to promote the responsible use of technologies and ensure that they are used for the benefit of humanity and without harm to it. The community organizes events such as barcamps that promote exchange among each other – mainly in Germany, but also internationally. In the reporting year, the Hackathon for Human-Centered technology was held as a cross-border event. You can find more information on this under Digital inclusion here in the CR report.
This is how much our employees have done in volunteer work in 2024
In the reporting year, our employees worked a total of around 200,000 hours on a voluntary basis. a
Sponsorship for more social participation
As part of our sponsorship activities, we support numerous artists, athletes, event organizers, leagues and clubs. In doing so, we attach great importance to regional commitment at our locations. One focus is on the social sector, including partnerships in inclusive sports – with the aim of promoting athletes with intellectual and multiple disabilities and integrating them into our society.
An overview of our diverse sponsorship commitment in Germany can be found on our
websiteInclusion through sports: breaking down barriers and bringing people together
With targeted initiatives and campaigns, we campaigned for sport for people with disabilities and inclusion in the reporting year. Since the beginning of 2024, we have been supporting the Special Olympics Germany association as a partner. Together, we want to make the impressive achievements of athletes with intellectual and multiple disabilities visible, building on our successful commitment to the Special Olympics World Games 2023 in Berlin.
A highlight in 2024 was the national Special Olympics Winter Games in Germany. We were there as a sponsoring partner, and some employees helped as volunteers on site. On Magenta TV we reported on the Winter Games.
In the reporting year, we also worked to facilitate encounters between people with and without disabilities outside of major events – e.g., in initiatives with national wheelchair basketball players and national blind soccer players as well as other top athletes in the para sector.
You can find more highlights of our “Inclusion through sports” initiative
from 2024 on our
website (only available in German)
Official partner of UEFA EURO 2024
Our sponsorship of football underlines our role as a promoter of sport and our connection to society. In Germany, we support various Bundesliga clubs and are involved in the German Football Association (DFB). We are present at matches of the German national team (men and women). In the reporting year, we were the official partner of UEFA EURO 2024 in the areas of telecommunications services, sponsorship and media rights. In the course of the European Football Championship, we also called for the DFB-Telekom mobile phone collection campaign. You can find out more about this under Circular economy.
Corporate giving: helping with donations
With our corporate giving, we support the work of aid organizations – preferably in long-term partnerships. We select organizations that share our values and mainly support our focus topics, such as the Deutsche Telekom Foundation, which is committed to improving education in STEM subjects. We also support the aid organization “Ein Herz für Kinder” of BILD hilft e.V., the “Nummer gegen Kummer” and the “Telefonseelsorge” as well as the “Federal Association of Senior Citizens’ Organizations e.V.” (BAGSO) for many years. In addition, we work with some partner organizations in campaigns, e.g., “No hate speech”. We also provide financial support to organizations in which our employees are active on a voluntary basis.
You can find more detailed information about our cooperations on our
websiteInformation on the total financial sum of our social commitment in the reporting year can be found under Social engagement here in the CR report.
Responding directly in the event of a crisis: assistance in the event of natural disasters
For us, responsibility means reacting immediately in times of crisis. In the event of acute crises, we act immediately, especially where Deutsche Telekom has its own locations and where employees are also affected. With our core business activities and strategic partnerships, we are engaged locally to achieve the greatest possible impact. Our employees can voluntarily contribute their time and skills where they are needed – and are released for this purpose by arrangement.
Flood disaster support in Europe
Heavy rainfall led to flooding and flooding in large parts of Europe in 2024, including Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Spain. Our national companies there are committed to helping those affected with various measures.
To ensure that those affected and helpers in the fight against the floods could stay connected, Magenta Telekom enabled unlimited data and free call minutes within Austria for all mobile phone tariffs within a fixed period of time. The activation was automatic, so mobile phone customers did not have to do anything additional. These measures reached around 500,000 people.
In Spain, T‑Systems ITC Iberia participated in an emergency relief campaign of the Valencia Food Bank, which collected food and basic supplies for those affected in the eastern Spanish province. In Poland, employees of T‑Mobile Polska donated their own amounts, which the Board of Management eventually doubled. The money raised – just under EUR 36,000 – went to an orphanage that was destroyed by the floods.
In addition to Deutsche Telekom’s financial support, our employees also volunteered: For example, employees in Poland collected emergency aid packages for a total of 65 families affected by the floods.
Ensuring accessibility during hurricanes in the USA
In the fall of 2024, two hurricanes wreaked havoc in the southeastern United States, and T‑Mobile US took immediate action to restore the network connection for millions of customers. To best support critical operations, T‑Mobile US prioritized recovery requests from government agencies and identified site-specific requirements. The supportive use of artificial intelligence (AI) and data solutions helped support a faster recovery.
You can find out more about our disaster recovery management in our audited
Sustainabilty Statement in the Annual Report 2024We are there when we are needed. This is also demonstrated by our “ESG Community Contribution” KPI in the “Crisis response" area: In 2024, we supported those affected by natural catastrophes, among other things, with a total of around EUR 2.5 million. Of this, we donated over EUR 1 million in cash and made a further EUR 1.2 million in the form of donations in kind. The remaining share was accounted for by the monetary value of the volunteer hours worked and by the overhead costs.
Looking ahead
In recent years, our commitment has been in demand again and again – whether during the pandemic, in the event of sudden natural disasters or as a trustworthy partner for social organizations. In the future, we want to continue to be an anchor of stability in uncertain times and continue our commitment reliably. In doing so, we can count on the support of our employees, who have proven their great willingness to help time and again.
Deep Dive for experts
Management & Frameworks
Deutsche Telekom’s Donation policy is intended to ensure a uniform and consistent commitment to donations in Germany. It defines guidelines and framework conditions for assessing and managing donations legally, bindingly and transparently.
The sponsorship policy specifies Deutsche Telekom’s sponsorship strategy and defines the decision-making process for specific sponsorship measures. It is intended to ensure that funds are used efficiently, that the relevant departments are involved and that all parties involved are legally protected.
Further sources of information on our voluntary and financial commitment
a aThe figure includes volunteer hours during and outside the working hours of our employees. We support the latter, for example, through premises, insurance or donations.