Various projects for children and young people were continued in 2025 as part of the focus on education. One new addition to the project portfolio is the partner Digital Heroes. The aim of the joint work is to impart skills for the responsible use of digital information and communication channels and to provide information on topics and rules relating to class chats, fake news, hate speech and cyberbullying. This is achieved through a peer-to-peer media literacy concept throughout the school year. Participating 8th/9th grade students acquire skills in the responsible use of digital information and communication channels as part of an online course. As digital heroes, they organize class visits for younger students (5th/6th grade) and pass on the knowledge they have learned.

Another focus in the area of education remains on strengthening the personalities of children and young people. Together with its project partner Balu und Du, the Deutsche Bahn Foundation is supporting the implementation and expansion of an extracurricular program in which elementary school children (6–10 years) who particularly benefit from it are paired up with a mentor (16–30 years) for at least one year of their life. The aim is to increase children’s self-confidence and improve their perseverance, resilience and consideration for one another.

Strengthening basic skills, in particular reading and language skills, also remains important in the work of the Deutsche Bahn Foundation. The 22nd nationwide “Read Aloud Day” was held in conjunction with the Reading Foundation (Stiftung Lesen).

The theme of the call for proposals in 2025 was “Promoting dialog – strengthening democracy.” Its aim was to strengthen equal dialog between people with different political opinions and experiences. 13 projects were selected from a total of 485 applications.

The Deutsche Bahn Foundation provides uncomplicated and rapid support by offering direct assistance to people in existential or psychosocial emergencies. It works closely with Verein Bahnhofsmission Deutschland (German Association of Train Station Welfare Centers) and about 100 Bahnhofsmissionen (train station welfare centers) to carry out long-term projects for people in need of help in the station area, in addition to short-term cooperation in crisis situations. At the same time, it also aims to raise public awareness of social issues such as homelessness and help destigmatize mental illness.

Once again, various projects were implemented around train stations throughout Germany, such as the “Mutmacher:innen am Bahnhof” counseling initiative, the Kältehilfe, which offers homeless people protection against the cold, and the outpatient service of the Berliner Stadtmission (Berlin city welfare centers). A one-off donation was also made to the outpatient service of the Berliner Stadtmission to equip the nursing room, in particular for the procurement of nursing beds. Donations were also made for the purchase of a new bus to provide support during cold weather.

The cooperation with the nationwide Off Road Kids Foundation was also continued. With the help of the Deutsche Bahn Foundation, it was once again possible to produce new online explanatory videos that communicate relevant topics for young people at risk of homelessness.

The Deutsche Bahn Foundation has a long and close partnership with the German Depression Aid Foundation (Stiftung Deutsche Depressionshilfe; SDD). #morethansad was the name of an exhibition sponsored by the Deutsche Bahn Foundation and organized by the SDD Youth Advisory Board. In addition to this, the Deutsche Bahn Foundation supported many other projects, including the year-round availability of the Depression Information Hotline, the “Regional Alliances Against Depression” network and the Germany Depression Barometer. In 2025, the main topic of the study was “Depression & Social Media.”

The Deutsche Bahn Foundation also continued to be active in the field of humanitarian aid. In Afghanistan, it supported school education for girls in conjunction with the Alliance Development Helps, the alliance member German Leprosy and Tuberculosis Relief Association (Deutsche Lepra- und Tuberkulosehilfe e.V.; DAHW) and the locally active partner organization Afghan Volunteer Women’s Association (Afghanischer Frauenverein e.V.; AFV). Another project in conjunction with the Alliance Development Helps and Oxfam supports girls and young women in rural areas in Malawi and Zimbabwe in obtaining a school-leaving certificate and teaches them general life skills as well as manual skills to enable them to earn a living.

Volunteering is a personal matter for many people and is important for cohesion and overcoming social challenges. The Deutsche Bahn Foundation aims to promote volunteering, make volunteering visible and recognize the achievements of volunteers. The “Ehrensache” program celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2025. In total, about 800 employees applied for funding and around one-third of them received it.

The “Wunscherfüller:in” Christmas campaign is aimed at employees. Together, employees were again able to fulfill the wishes of a number of people in need in 2025. In addition, employees were able to quickly and simply support the many train station welfare centers throughout Germany in the form of monetary donations.

The Deutsche Bahn Foundation operates the DB Museum with its locations in Nuremberg, Koblenz and Halle (Saale), which are also supported by volunteer employees. Founded in 1882, the museum aims to explore, collect, present and communicate the history of the railway in Germany. It also maintains one of the world’s largest collections of vehicles with about 600 locomotives and rail cars as well as probably the oldest and most extensive collections of archival documents, objects, film and photographs on German railway history.

At more than 235,000 guests across all locations, the number of visitors in 2025 was well above the previous year’s level (previous year: about 220,000 guests). With events surrounding the centenary of the Nuremberg museum building, a traveling exhibition by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, rail trolley days and several summer festivals and model railway weekends, the museum offered a wide range of activities.