About us

ODL offers social empowerment services that support life management and promote well-being as well as related scientific research. We coordinate volunteering activities and promote encounters and experiences of meaningfulness. We are actively running projects that promote health, well-being, and employment, and we aim to develop services, new tools and methods to enhance well-being. We also rent out flats and business premises. Influencing, strengthening, and consolidating new procedures for the benefit of people is our top priority.

ODL’s corporate responsibility work is guided by values and principles that are based on compliance with the laws, statutes, regulations, and corporate governance. Social responsibility is visible in our daily activities as we take responsibility for people, the environment, and the economy. We hold a Social Enterprise badge.

Our story

Sincere encounters with people and connecting help with those who need it have been at the core of our activities since 1896. That is when Oulu Deaconess Institute was established to train professionals in the field and to serve the sick, the poor, and others who needed help.

Our roots stem from diaconal work, which is today most visible in helping others that need special support and in volunteering. Our activities are based on charity, which gives rise to the attitude of meeting people, helping them, and standing by them.

We ambitiously promote life management, well-being, and health. We walk alongside during hard times and in the small and big successes of life. Our services and know-how are based on multidisciplinary expertise and reliable information.