June 1, 2018

This week 1st - 7th June is  #VolunteersWeek

Volunteers are hugely important in the sport and physical activity sector and are a vital part of the workforce. 

17.3% of people in Cumbria volunteered to support sport & physical activity at least twice in the past year, they do a great job, and we want to take this opportunity to say a Big Thank you to them. 

If you'd like to join us in saying thank you to them, there are various resourecs from the Big Lottery and Volunteers Week to help you say thanks:

1. Print off the Thank You certificate from the Big Lottery to say thank you to volunteers in National Lottery funded projects
2. Download Thank you cards from the Volunteers Week website (you will need to register on the site to access these)
3. Take part in #CumbriaHour on Monday 4th June between 8-9pm, which will be hosted by Cumbria CVS or simply tweet using the hashtag #VolunteersWeek Sport England will be taking over on Wednesday the 6th June talking all about sport volunteers. 
4. or if you're looking for inspiration and other ways to celebrate your volunteers, search #VolunteersWeek on Twitter or visit the NCVO website.  Ideas can also be found on the Volunteers Week website

If you are in need of volunteers, or would like to volunteer, there are a number of fairs on accross the county this week:  

• West Cumbria Volunteering Fair – Tuesday 5 June 2018, 12-1.30pm, Carnegie Theatre, Finkle Street, Workington CA14 2BD  
• South Lakes Volunteering Fair – Wednesday 6 June 2018, 12-1.30pm, Kendal Town Hall, Kendal, Cumbria LA9 4DL
• Eden Volunteering Fair – Thursday 7 June 2018, 12noon-1.30pm, Masonic Hall, Front Street, Alston, CA9 3JF

Changing the perception of volunteering in Sport & Physical Activity

Millions of people in England (6.7m) already provide time, effort and skills to help other enjoy sport and physical activity. They deserve to feel encouraged and valued.

By far, the highest concentration of volunteers is in sport clubs – 75 per cent.

But some people are put off because they think you have to be fit, sporty or know all the rules. You don’t.

Volunteering in sport doesn’t have to take place in traditional sports club environments and people give their time for a really broad range of reasons, and in a variety of roles. We want to support more of that. This week for example Shap Pool is looking for volunteers, they need people to help with a wide range of things including looking after the little shop there. 

We also want to make sports volunteering more diverse. A typical sports volunteer is white, male, and relatively comfortable financially. Their contributions are absolutely vital, but proportionally fewer disabled people, women and black, Asian and minority ethnic people volunteer in sport.

This week we are searching for volunteers to lead Health Walks. Anyone can be a Health Walk volunteer, these walks are short low impact walks and accessible to people with long terms health conditions. This is just one example of how we are changing the perception of volunteering in sport and physical activity. If you're interested in being a Health Walk volunteer apply now>>