Sport England-Changing the face of volunteering

Changing the face of volunteering – We’re investing £4.4 million of National Lottery money to build a new, diverse generation of volunteers Volunteers are precious. They enable others to play sport and do physical activity, and in doing so enrich their own lives. Friendships blossom. Wellbeing improves. Communities thrive.

That said, the 6.7 million volunteers in sport don’t represent the make-up of society. They’re more likely to be white, male, middle class and non-disabled. Our investment will not only mobilise a new generation of volunteers, it will target groups that are currently under-represented – disabled people, those from disadvantaged backgrounds, women and older people.   Our research tells us that the demand is there – with a diverse group of people wanting to get involved in volunteering. Especially young people where social action is a top priority. Our investment will tap into that potential, and persuade others to get involved too.

We’ve selected 32 projects that will help deliver that goal. Either through our Potentials Fund, which targets young people ages 10 to 20 who want to give their time – or our Opportunity Fund, designed to attract those 20+ from disadvantaged communities.

You can read up on the full list of 32 projects here. Each is being backed by one of the two volunteering funds that we opened earlier this year.

We’re also going to make sure that we reach as many young people as possible by partnering up with the #iwill fund. Created thanks both to government support and money raised by National Lottery players, #iwill promotes social action such as campaigning, volunteering and fundraising among 10-20 year-olds.