Volunteering
Volunteers are an important and central service to all clubs and organisations. The sporting sector makes the biggest contribution to total volunteering in England with 26% of volunteers choosing sport as their interest.
There are number of benefits with being a volunteer. These include;
• Developing your personal skills
• Building your confidence levels
• Make new friends
• Develop your C.V.
• Get better access to job opportunities
How to get involved
There are a number of organisations that provide support and guidance of becoming a volunteer and also helping with finding places to volunteer. Our volunteer partners include websites links below;
• BACYP (Berkshire Association Clubs for Young People)
• NACRO
• Volunteer centres
Volunteers within Schools, Colleges and through Step into Sport
If you are aged 14 – 19 and are within education then you can be involved in the Step into Sport volunteer project. Please (click here- to Step into Sport page) for more information.
Volunteer within the Community
If you are would like to volunteer within the Community, please (click here e-form volunteer) to fill in a application form.
Step into Sport
Sport relies on 1.5 million volunteer officials, coaches, administrators and managers and the Youth Sport Trust plays a major role in supporting their development.
Step into Sport (SIS) is a National Volunteering and Leadership Programme for young people aged 14 to 19, giving them opportunities to become involved in sports leadership and volunteering and encouraging them to continue this into later life. Each year over 3,000 young people from all over the country receive an award for their volunteering. The programme is funded by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) as part of the PESSYP strategy, which is revitalising PE and school sport across the country.
There are two areas of volunteering involved within Step into Sport, this is school based volunteering and community volunteering.
Please (click here – PDF) to download the Step into Sport Leaflet for a more detailed description.
Awards- Community volunteering
There are a number of awards that each individual will receive after completing a number of hours of volunteering. This is split down into three-award categories- Bronze, Silver and Gold
Bronze- 50 hours of volunteering
After completing 50 hours of volunteering, you will receive a certificate and bag containing a whistle, stopwatch, hat, and a pen
Silver- 100 hours of volunteering
After completing 100 hours of volunteering, you will receive a silver certificate and a polo shirt
Gold- 200 hours of volunteering
After completing 200 hours of volunteering community volunteering you will receive a gold certificate and a hoodie.
How to register?
If you are aged between 14- 19 and would like to develop and gain skills and experience in sports volunteering, follow these steps to help you achieve this;
1) Find who the School Sport Cordinator (SSCO) or Further Education School Sport Coordinator (FESCO) is to inform them that you are interested in signing up to Step into Sport. (If you are not sure who they are, speak to your head of PE or contact Laura McGauran, Lead Officer (projects), details below).
2) The SSCO/FESCO will go through the Step into Sport Passport with you, how to log your hours and also discuss with you what you want to gain from volunteering, to ensure the right volunteering opportunity is found.
3) Once you start volunteering, make sure you keep track by logging your hours on the Step into Sport Passport account, and keep the SSCO/FESCO up to date with what you are volunteering in.
4) Once you log your hours the SSCO/FESCO will verify your hours, and once you hit the 50, 100 and 200 hours you will be able to receive your award and certificate.
If you have any questions regarding above, please do not hesitate to contact Laura McGauran, Lead Officer (projects) on Laura.McGauran@reading.gov.uk Or 0118 376 6131.
Links
Youth Sport Trust www.youthsporttrust.org
Berkshire Association Clubs for Young People www.bacyp.co.uk
NACRO www.nacro.org.uk