Since several people from different parts of Switzerland private-messaged me about how to go about volunteering for the Red Cross, I thought it'd be easier to post some general information here and share my experience instead of responding to each one individually.

There should be a coordinator in your area for volunteer work - just google "Rotes Kreuz" and whichever canton you live in, and you'll find the right chapter and, most likely, the person who oversees volunteer work. Each chapter will have defined several areas they focus on, such as asylum-seekers, the elderly, young people, disabled individuals etc. and the chapter's work, programs, day-care centers or whatever will reflect that.

When I began volunteering a little over one year ago, I was told there are a variety of volunteer opportunities available, some for regular work, some intermittent, and they range from visiting housebound people, which would obviously require a good grasp of the language, to stuffing envelopes and helping out at Christmas parties, which probably wouldn't require top-notch language skills, to driving elderly or disabled people to doctors' appointments - all sorts of stuff.

The best thing to do is get in touch with the local "Rotes Kreuz" and tell them you'd like to help out. Be clear on how much time you can give and when you are free to give it - say, on a set day every week/month, or whenever you can find spare time (I am pretty flexible in when I do mine, which was a big requirement for me).

My experience was that they did a good job of listening to me (I wasn't sure at the time what I wanted to do, I just knew I wanted to help out), while also telling me about what they were after. Ultimately, I chose to work with older people in my neighborhood, and am very happy with that, but also with the team of Red Cross people I work for because they are very good about keeping in touch and their door is open should I ever need to discuss anything.

good luck, and I hope your experience with it similarly rewarding!