30 March 2010
Over 1,000 local organisations will be given the chance to hear how to create volunteering opportunities inspired by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, during a series of regional workshops rolled out from July 2010 by the charities Volunteering England and YouthNet.
Today [Tuesday 30 March], Volunteering England will announce which Volunteer Centres across the nine English regions will host the workshops, during which Volunteering England will show local organisations how to use the 2012 Games to create and promote Games inspired volunteering opportunities.
These opportunities will form the backbone of the 25th Hour campaign, launched today by the Tessa Jowell MP, Minister for the Cabinet Office, the Olympics and London, which aims to inspire hundreds of thousands of people throughout the country to give time to volunteer before, during and after the Games in their local communities.
Justin Davis Smith, Chief Executive of Volunteering England, says: “The Olympic and Paralympic Games are such massive events that smaller organisations may feel they don’t have a role, so these workshops are designed to make sure local organisations can get involved and also be supported by their local Volunteer Centre.
“We want the positive impact of the 2012 Games to be felt throughout England, and by creating Games inspired opportunities, everyone has a chance to take part in their own local communities.”
A recent report published by YouthNet showed that almost a quarter (22%) of volunteers had been inspired to give up their time by the upcoming 2012 Games*.
Any organisation can get involved and create Games inspired volunteering opportunities by using online promotional and resource materials provided by Volunteering England at www.volunteering.org/gamesinspired. Interested organisations should sign up for the Games Inspired newsletter by emailing gamesinspired@volunteeringengland.org.
* YouthNet survey of 2,332 registered users of YouthNet’s volunteering website Do-it, of which 22% said they had been inspired to volunteer by the 2012 Games (published March 2010).
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Media Enquiries:
For further media information – or to arrange interviews – please contact Gabriella Jozwiak at YouthNet on 020 7250 5716 or out-of-hours on 07766 660 755. Email media@youthnet.org. Or Kimberley Rowley at Volunteering England on 0207 520 8932 or email Kimberley.rowley@volunteeringengland.org.
Notes to editors
1.‘Inspiration and Legacy from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games’ is a joint, five year project undertaken by independent charity and volunteer development agency Volunteering England (VE) and charity YouthNet (YN) (particularly its Do-it website, www.do-it.org.uk). It aims to enable all individuals that are inspired to volunteer by 2012 Games to quickly and easily access fulfilling, relevant and local volunteering opportunities
2.The project is funded by the Office of the Third Sector (OTS)
3.Do-it is the UK’s leading volunteering website. It hosts more than a million volunteering opportunities, searchable by postcode, plus articles and advice on finding the perfect role
4.YouthNet is the UK’s first exclusively online charity and was founded by Martyn Lewis CBE in 1995. It aims to create a socially inclusive environment where all young adults are engaged, informed and inspired to achieve their ambitions and dreams, and does this through three websites: TheSite.org, Do-it (do-it.org.uk) the UK’s leading volunteering website and Lifetracks.com, for young people making decisions about work, study or training
5.Volunteering England is an independent charity and the volunteer development agency for England. It works with private, public and voluntary sector organisations and individuals to increase the quality, quantity, impact and accessibility of volunteering
6.The 15 organisations Volunteering England are working with to host workshops across the English regions are:
- Volunteer Centre Warrington
- Staffordshire Moorlands Community and Voluntary Services
- Hull Community and Voluntary Services
- Dacorum Volunteer Centre
- Volunteer Centre Kensington and Chelsea
- Volunteer Centre Tower Hamlets
- Greater Manchester Centre for Voluntary Organisation
- Voluntary Action Stratford on Avon District
- Volunteer Centre Sheffield, Brent Association for Voluntary Action
- The Community Council of Shropshire
- Harrogate and Area Volunteer Centre
- Volunteer Centre Swindon, Voluntary Action Barnsley
- Voluntary Action Maidstone
These organisations recently competed in an open tendering round and have been chosen to host between one and two workshops each. A further tendering round will open later in the Spring of 2010 for further workshops which will also be delivered before March 2011
7.For more results from the YouthNet Volunteer Satisfaction report, published in March 2010, visit www.youthnet.org/
8.The 25th Hour is a nationwide campaign which aims to use the inspirational power of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to motivate the British public to give time in their communities. The 25th Hour, which is separate to the official London 2012 Volunteer programme, is based on the idea that we can all find the extra hour and more to make a difference. It will tap into the existing enthusiasm among individuals to give time to the places where they live and work. 25th Hour supporters will be able to pledge their time via the campaign’s website, www.the25thhour.org.
