In conversation with Daniela Theile
The user coordination officer at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin works as a volunteer swimming coach
Around 31 million Germans give back to society through volunteer work. Helmholtz employee and swimming coach Daniela Theile is one of them. She waxes lyrically: “How many people have the key to a public swimming pool?” Nevertheless, she wouldn’t mind more recognition for civic engagement.
Adlershof Journal: What does work mean to you?
Daniela Theile: I take a very differentiated view of work. On the one hand, there is my paid work as a clerk in the user access department at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), which I see as a means to secure my livelihood. Following an accident at work, I sought employment as a single mother and trained hotel manager that would allow for a better balance between my job and my family. At HZB, I am in the very comfortable position of being able to work on-site half the time and remotely the other half. But I also spend most of my free time with volunteer work.
What does your work at HZB involve?
In the user access department, we are the first point of contact for researchers from all over the world who carry out their measurements at the electron storage ring BESSY II. We take care of things like accommodation, reimbursement of travel expenses, access control, allocation of measurement time, different events, and the department’s quality management.
You volunteer in addition to your full-time job.
I have been a volunteer for infant and toddler swimming and aqua aerobics at the German Life Saving Association (DLRG) in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district for 24 years and have been leading those two departments since 2013. I offer six courses for the little ones (four weeks to five years), four courses for children between six and 12, and four aqua aerobics courses on Saturdays and Sunday evenings at two public swimming baths in the districts Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and Steglitz-Zehlendorf. There are between 15 and 20 participants in every course. I am also responsible for all communication with those groups and, of course, I am constantly training to extend my licences. Standing at the edge of the pool, I do around 300 hours of volunteer work every year. I am not compensated financially for this work, but it is my true passion.
Water is your element.
Yes, I have loved swimming for as long as I can think. In May 2000, a colleague at HZB, who helped set up baby and toddler swimming and aqua aerobics at DLRG in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, approached me. I went to take a look, got my coaching license with the swimming association, and that’s how I started volunteering.
Why is swimming so important to you?
Swimming can save lives. Children between the ages of two and four lead the statistics for water accidents. This is why it is so important to teach them how to swim, surface, and orientate themselves underwater. Early familiarisation with water also promotes their health and motor development. Ideally, if we guide children through swimming training until the age of 12, we secure the next generation of lifeguards. Did you know that all water rescue stations at the inland lakes, rivers and the North and Baltic Sea are staffed by volunteers? That's why I never get tired of promoting the topic.
What do you wish for with regard to your volunteer work?
I receive so much gratitude from my kids, their parents, and other participants in my courses. I would like to see more reliability in communication and also perseverance in society. We are also still struggling with the aftermath of the corona years when the swimming baths were closed, and swimming lessons could not take place. This makes it all the more important that sufficient infrastructure is made available.
Peggy Mory for Adlershof Journal