London 2012 Olympic Games inspire volunteering for all

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.

On 30th 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.

Voluntary Action Barnsley will be hosting one of these workshops in February 2011 and anyone interested should contact either Beryl Cooper or Martin Sugden on 01226 320 105 if they wish to attend and/or if they have 2012 inspired volunteering roles that they would like to develop.

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.

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