England Athletics- Join our Volunteering Support scheme to help make volunteering the best experience possible
England Athletics, funded by Spirit of 2012, are looking for between 20-30 people to join us on the first leg of a very exciting adventure! You may remember that last month we held an Innovation Day, bringing together members from our clubs who wanted to improve the experience of volunteering in our sport by looking at the role of the Volunteer Co-ordinator and how this could work in a club setting. Supporting volunteers, helping them to settle in and feel valued in a club setting is so important – why? Well, because volunteers tell us that having people in the club they can go to for extra support can help to make the experience much better and has an impact on how likely they are to continue to volunteer.
But, it can be difficult to find one person to take on the role, so we’re instead going to explore and encourage clubs to form Volunteer Support Teams by identifying Volunteer Champions, people who will support volunteers at the club.
What is a Volunteer Support Team? Very simply, anyone in the club who helps to support volunteers and make the experience a great one.
Do we have already have one? You will definitely have people in your club that support your volunteers but they may not be organised into a team or group and there may be no leaders. If there is someone it is often one person trying to do everything!
Why do volunteers need champions? At the moment volunteers quite often have different experiences at our clubs depending on what role and when they are there as well as what experience they have. Champions are there to ensure:
- The club has enough volunteers in the right roles
- Volunteers are in the right role with the right training and experience for them
- The volunteers are happy with their roles and getting the most out of their shifts or tasks as well as supported in the roles or tasks
- The volunteers are recognised, celebrated and thanked for what they do as well as given opportunities to change roles, progress or adapt to life changes if needed
We want to give some extra support to people who are the Volunteer Champions in their clubs and groups!
We are looking for people to join this exciting phase, and come along to an introductory training day on Saturday 1st July in Central London.* All expenses will be covered for you.
Over the course of the day we will explore:
- The responsibilities of Volunteer Champions and how to deliver effective support in the club
- How to build the Volunteer Support Team
- Practical tips and examples to shape an action plan to take back to the club
- Recruitment and induction of volunteers, including how to run a Volunteering Open Day
- What a great volunteer experience feels like and how to make this a reality
- Next steps for the scheme
At this stage you may not have a team in place. This is absolutely fine. If you have 1 or 2 people that’s a great start and it would be brilliant if they could come along.
You therefore might be:
- Currently a Volunteer Co-ordinator and would like to benefit from additional support and introduction to a network of people who are also supporting volunteers in their clubs
- You and others in your club would like to set up a Volunteer Support Team and want to find out more
- You are interested or are currently involved in recruiting volunteers for the club, or in supporting volunteer development
- Upbeat, positive and someone who wants to make volunteering the best experience it can possibly be!
If you are a club who would like to improve the experience of volunteers, but you don’t have anyone at the club who could carry out this role, get in touch with us via volunteering@englandathletics.org and we can arrange a call to discuss to help you to potentially identify people who might be suitable.
The closing date to apply to be a part of this first leg of the scheme will be Friday 23rd June, with training scheduled for the following week on Saturday 1st July.
Click the link here to register your interest – please tell us your name, your club, your contact details and why you would like to take part. It’s as simple as that!
Please note that this is not the opportunity to join the scheme as additional opportunities will be available over the coming year.