Spotlight on: Volunteering
Introduction
“Without volunteers, most sport and activity simply wouldn’t happen”. Following our recent campaign in support of Volunteers Week 2023 to celebrate local volunteers across Kent and Medway, we thought it timely to do a Spotlight On: Volunteering.
We want to showcase the fantastic work that is already going on across the county by local volunteers, highlight the benefits of volunteering and signpost you to the support available to help local organisations recruit and retain more volunteers. We hope you find the following resources and information of interest.
Recognising Local Volunteers
Thank you to everyone who nominated a volunteer and helped us celebrate their achievements on our social media channels throughout the month of June.
In total we received 55 nominations, representing 25 different sports and activities.
You can find out who was nominated and read all about the fantastic work they do, via the link below:
Submit a Volunteer Nomination
Following the success of our month long campaign to celebrate and recognise local volunteers, we want to extend this campaign and run it for the rest of the year.
To help us do that, we invite you to continue to submit your nominations so that we can continue to shine a spotlight on local volunteers and share their achievements on our social media channels and website.
Resources and Insight Guides
A number of national organisations have carried out research and created insight guides to share the benefits of volunteering and guidance to help organisations reflect on their approach.
Volunteering Q&A
Covering volunteering and the law, health and safety and safeguarding, Sport England have compiled a series of questions and answers designed to help your organisation or project achieve its goals while creating a more enjoyable, meaningful volunteering experience for all.
Follow this link to view Sport England’s Volunteering Q&A
Insight Guide to Volunteering
Sport England’s guide to volunteering covers the dual benefits to individuals and the organisation. It aims to equip organisations with research allowing them to think strategically about their approach to developing volunteering in this sector.
Follow this link to download the Sport England Volunteering insight guide (PDF)
Sport and Recreation Alliance Research
Hidden Diamonds is the ground-breaking research into the hidden value of sport volunteers, going beyond cost to measure the true value they create – through participation, wellbeing, trust and community.
Recruiting Volunteers
Club Matters Resources
Sport England have developed several Club Matters resources to help support you with recruiting volunteers to your club or organisation. From finding new volunteers, to safer recruitment and top tips to welcoming volunteers, you’ll find lots of helpful information on their website.
Follow this link to view the Club Matters resources
Local Resources
For clubs wanting to promote their volunteering opportunities and for those of you looking to volunteer within the sport and physical activity sector, we recommend using the following websites to upload and search for opportunities:
Contact Us
If you’d like to discuss any of the above articles or would like any more information, please get in touch by emailing activekent@kent.gov.uk and one of the team will get back to you as soon as possible.