In 2025, our employees volunteered more than 215,000 volunteer hours, or the equivalent of around 27,000 eight-hour days. 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, e.g., after natural disasters.
Driving employee engagement
As part of corporate volunteering, our employees contribute their time and expertise to social and environmental 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 2025
At Living Culture Day 2025, our employees around the world showed how we live corporate volunteering at Deutsche Telekom. Under the motto “The Power of We – Together for Good”, our teams have been involved in social and environmental projects in the company – from education and health initiatives to local aid campaigns and fundraising campaigns. In addition, as part of the Living Culture Day, we carried out a Group-wide donation initiative in favor of “Aktion Deutschland Hilft”, which included a central donation of EUR 10,000 from Deutsche Telekom as well as other contributions from employees.
Another focus was the activities for the anniversary “30 Years of Telekom” in Germany. On this occasion, we have financially honored the voluntary commitment of our employees with donations to charitable projects and called for further voluntary activities with the initiative “30 Years of Telekom – 3,000 Good Deeds”.
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
are the focus of various environmental communities.
Helping to shape the digital society
– this topic is at the heart of promoting inclusion in the digital world. This includes, for example, promoting media literacy.
Corporate culture and inclusion
are also at the heart of our employee networks.
The “DIGITAL@School” community (only available in German), for example, stands for strengthening the media literacy of young people. The members of this community want to help children and young people understand the possibilities and dangers of the digital world. Teachers and parents are supported in building up knowledge. Whether at events or workshops in educational institutions, the Digital@School community makes innovative technologies accessible and at the same time wants to strengthen creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration. A special highlight in 2025 was the support of the “European Girls Olympiad in Informatics”: In cooperation with the nationwide computer science competitions (BWINF), the members of the DIGITAL@School community enabled girls from over 60 countries to participate in this computer science competition and expand their knowledge in workshops with experts from Deutsche Telekom.
Another example of our corporate communities is the human-centered technology community. Its goal is to put people at the center of the development and use of technology and innovations. The community organizes events such as barcamps that promote exchange among each other – mainly in Germany, but also internationally. In the reporting year, cross-border events such as a hackathon and the “Responsibility Campus” on the topic of responsible AI development took place. The human-centered technology community disbanded at the end of 2025, and its activities and results were integrated into operations.
This is how much our employees did in volunteer work in 2025
In the year under review, our employees volunteered a total of around 215,000 hours. a
Sponsorship for more social participation
An overview of our diverse sponsorship commitment in Germany can be found on our
WebsiteAs part of our sponsorship activities, we will continue to support numerous artists, athletes, event organizers, leagues and clubs in 2025. In doing so, we attach great importance to regional commitment at our locations. One focus is on the social sector, for example through partnerships in inclusive sports.
Inclusion through sport: breaking down barriers and bringing people together
Sport has the power to connect people, open up perspectives and break down barriers. That is why Deutsche Telekom has been involved in competitive and popular sports for many years – always with a special focus on inclusive and Paralympic athletes and sports projects. In doing so, we work closely with Sporthilfe, Team D Paralympics and Special Olympics. The aim is to make people with disabilities visible as role models, to honor their impressive achievements and to bring their stories closer to the general public.
A highlight of 2025 was the Special Hockey European Championship (EM) in Mönchengladbach. The German national special hockey team won the European championship title here. The finals took place parallel to the classic European Hockey Championship and were broadcast live by us via our platform. We were also the jersey sponsor of the winning team.
In 2025, the “Special Olympics Athlete of the Year” award, initiated by Deutsche Telekom, was presented for the first time as part of the renowned Athlete of the Year election in Baden-Baden. We were also a partner and host of the “Para Athletes of the Year 2024” award ceremony, which was held in April 2025 at the Telekom Forum in Bonn.
You can find out more about inclusion through sport on our
websiteIn the run-up to the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games in Italy, together with FC Bayern Munich, we set an example for greater visibility of ParaBiathlon. Two top athletes explained to the professional footballers at FC Bayern’s training ground the technique, the procedures and the special challenges that their sport entails.
In the reporting year, we also worked to enable people with and without disabilities to meet people outside of major events. For example, we participated in initiatives with national wheelchair basketball players and national blind soccer players as well as other top athletes from the para sector.
Partner of football
Our sponsorship in football is intended to further underline our role as a promoter of the sport. 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).
Corporate giving: help with donations
You can find more detailed information about our cooperations on our
websiteWith 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: in Germany, for example, 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., against hate on the internet. We also provide financial support to organizations in which our employees are active on a voluntary basis.
As part of our social engagement, we have also been supporting the “Plaudernetz” in Germany since the summer of 2025 – a hotline against loneliness launched by the aid organization Malteser. We provide a free phone number and technical infrastructure. Since its launch, more than 10,000 telephone calls have already taken place via the hotline. Originally, the chat network was initiated in Austria, where it has been active since 2020 and is being implemented by Caritas of the Archdiocese of Vienna together with Magenta Telekom and the Kronen Zeitung.
Information on the total financial sum of our social engagement in the reporting year can be found under Social engagement here in the CR report.
Responding directly in the event of a 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 from work for an agreed period of time after consultation.
Support for those affected by natural and fire disasters in Europe
In Greece, we provided free voice and data packages to customers in areas affected by natural disasters, especially floods and fires, in 2025.
In North Macedonia, Makedonski Telekom made a donation to the Red Cross to help the families of the more than 60 dead and nearly 200 injured following a fire disaster at a discotheque in the town of Kočani. In addition, employees also took part in an internal fundraising campaign.
Accessibility ensured during wildfires and flash floods in the USA
In early 2025, severe wildfires in Southern California caused significant damage in Los Angeles County. T‑Mobile US responded with rapid support for those affected and emergency services. The company automatically adjusted around 12,000 antennas to keep the mobile networks in the affected areas functional. In addition, T-Satellite, the satellite-to-mobile service, was made available ahead of its commercial launch, enabling 198,000 users to send and receive text messages and emergency alerts.
Additionally, the company supported relief efforts by setting up a Mobile Command Center to provide connectivity to emergency teams on the ground and activated T-Priority for many first responders. T-Priority is the first 5G network slice offering for first responders in the United States. Through T-Priority, a portion of the network’s bandwidth is reserved in the existing mobile network, which enables first responders, such as police, firefighters and paramedics, to communicate reliably and quickly even in the event of network congestion.
Six months later, T‑Mobile US supported relief and recovery efforts after severe flash floods hit communities in Central Texas. The T-Satellite service was deployed for emergency alerts and essential text messaging and a mobile radio station (SatCOLT), was used to improve network coverage on site. Drones also helped with search and rescue operations.
As part of the company’s ongoing support to the first responder community in the United States, they also donated USD 2 million to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which supports families of emergency responders through initiatives such as scholarships for children of emergency responders who died in the line of duty.
T‑Systems: coordination of spontaneous aid in the event of a crisis or disaster
How can clubs, associations and committed citizens be better involved in coping with crises and disasters? The Software-as-a-Service platform KatHelfer is intended to significantly simplify the coordination of spontaneous offers of help for authorities and organizations with security tasks.
You can find out more about our disaster recovery management in our audited
Sustainability statement in the Annual Report 2025KatHelfer uses communication channels that many people already have on their smartphones: via RCS, WhatsApp or Telegram, potential helpers can contact us directly via their smartphone and provide information on location, availability and skills. The AI compares the information with the need, identifies suitable people for spontaneous help and informs them about the operation.
KatHelfer was developed by T‑Systems in the “KatHelfer PRO” project together with stakeholders from civil protection, science and industry and funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space. Since December 2025, the platform has been used by the first customers at the state level.
We are there when we are needed. This is also reflected in our “Community Contribution” KPI in the “Crisis response” area: In 2025, we supported those affected by natural disasters, among other things, with a total of more than EUR 1.8 million. Of this, we donated over EUR 250,000 in cash and made a further EUR 1.6 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 – for example, in the event of sudden natural disasters or as a trustworthy partner for society. These experiences have deepened the exchange with key stakeholders and helped us to identify needs at an early stage and jointly develop viable solutions.
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 worldwide.
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.